Let browsing work for you

Being online for a minimum of 5 hours a day, I find myself bombarded with links I receive in email, chat, texts both on my phone and laptop. Mind you, a lot of it consists of the latest Roma match info, or new music to check out, but there is also some good stuff that relates to my profession and I want to review later. I tried using browser bookmarking systems that sync across all devices, but found it clunky and hard to manage.

Since I started my design consultancy over a year ago, I realized not only was structure important to a successful project, but also to the business as well. That meant that my time needed to be used more wisely, even when it came to browsing links. There are a lot of different tools that I could have used to save links, but I ended up with Pocket, mainly for it’s visual approach to links. Recently, they launched apps for iOS and Android which makes it even more handy to save when I’m on the go.

I normally collect anywhere from 10 to 20 links a week that I want to look into with more detail. I find that most of the content ranges from design and UX articles, marketing and front end code topics. Every Monday morning, I make a cup of tea and bring up the latest 10 links. I give myself a good two hours to read and research a subject or try a new design/UX method. Since I started scheduling my link review time, I have looked forward to Mondays as it helps me grow and learn every week.

Taking the time to stop and reflect on what you and others are doing in your profession can only help you grow and be better at what you do. Give it a try and if you do, let me know if it helps you.