Organizing Internet Bookmarks - A Handy Time Saver

byCaramac48

201 followers

Updated 9 years ago

I don't know about anyone else, but my browser bookmark bar was an absolute mess. It was disorganized and overcrowded; and it was taking me forever to find anything. Today I decided enough was enough and finally sorted and organized my bookmark bar. I wish I had taken a screenshot before to show you how bad it was, but this will have to do my unfinished education folder.

Why Do I Have So Many Bookmarks?

In my niche I am constantly researching best educational practices and bookmarking resources, so I can make sure I give the credit when due. (No plagiarizing here!) Even before starting WA I would bookmark sites as well, as I personally work in my niche when offline. I bookmarked ideas in case I end up needing them in a long term substitute position or if I think they will be helpful when I finally switch to full time teaching. Lesson planning is hard enough, why reinvent the wheel again. If someone has already found a great way of delivering something, and is willing to share and let other educators use it, then I am going to concentrate my time on developing an effective way to present another standard.

Then of course there are all the websites I have bookmarked for other reasons such as paying bills (grr...), hobbies, etc... I pretty sure most of you also do the same in some way, maybe it's a great recipe you go back to time and time again or a great website for finding the cheapest gas.

Then of course with WA and creating my websites I had lots of websites all bookmarked in no logical order related to creative commons pictures, affiliate programs, WordPress, and social media to name a few as well. Plus watching the training I would get frustrated with myself as Kyle's browser was so organized in the videos. (Kudos to you Kyle).

LET ME BE FRANK, IT WAS GETTING OUT OF CONTROL AND I COULDN'T FIND ANYTHING EASILY. THIS MEANT I WAS BEING LESS PRODUCTIVE!

What Did I Do About It?

I made the decision to take the time to tidy up my bookmarks and categorize them, BEFORE doing any more work on my website or more training. It has taken me about 2 hours, but it was worth it. I still have to finish my education folder but it can wait till the summer break and at least those websites are together in one place now. I've also got rid of lots of bookmarks I didn't even need!

Look how pretty it is now.

You can even make it so you can have sub folders within your folders.

You will be able to organize your bookmarks like this in all the popular browsers. I was able to do it by trial and error very easily, but I am sure there are instructions on the world wide web too!

I used google chrome, as it allowed me to sign into my google account and back up my bookmarks, so if heaven forbid something happens to my computer it is all backed up in the cloud. It also means I have access to them seamlessly across devices as long as I using the google chrome desktop or mobile app and am signed into google. No having to enter your bookmarks into each device!

Safari also seems to have a similar service. I am not sure about Microsoft Edge or Firefox as I only use them when a website is not compatible with Google Chrome or Safari, which is rare.

In My View Taking the Time to Organize Your Bookmarks is Worth It!

So if your bookmark bar is a mess and you are having to constantly search for websites you have bookmarked, maybe it's time to organize your bookmarks and increase your productivity!

Elisa