Closing tabs, giving in to time.

[3DStudent]

I've recently been wondering about how everyone goes about when you have too much on your plate in terms of time. Specifically, too many forum tabs open. I have some old posts that I don't have time to read, and I always keep them with the hope that I'll read them in my free time.

For instance I still have the anart and Lisa Guliani threads open. Usually, when a thread quickly inflates to many pages, I'll get behind just reading the new daily threads. And then it gets buried and not returned to.

I'm pretty sure it's my OCD that has a part in play. Like fear of giving up something. Or hoping that I'll one day finish them. But I find it hard to just say to my self that I realistically don't have the time and just will not likely read them. Or in other words, I find it hard to move on. I'm not reading them as it is, anyways.

And taken a bit further, I do this with other things, like projects in life. I want to print some ebooks, and I still intend to do so. But it kind of got sidetracked and it is still pending. I guess this is the Law of 7, with no energy shock input to keep it going? It seems we always return to the familiar routine.

I don't mean to complain too much, as I can use my time more fruitfully. I've been making efforts to decrease my unnecessary dissociation. But I was wondering if anyone else experiences this or wanted to say something related. Thanks for reading.

 

[Beau]

You can use the bookmarks feature - https://cassiopaea.org/forum/index.php?action=bookmarks - to store forum threads. Or, if you use Chrome, you can create a bookmark folder on your browser for a subject that you have lots of tabs open on and save them there. You can create multiple folders for each subject. I do this, because I'm the opposite. I don't like having tons of tabs open on my browser because it just feels chaotic. So I save the ones that aren't high priority.

To create a bookmark folder in Chrome (Firefox doesn't appear to have this), select Bookmarks --> Bookmarks Manager --> Right-click Bookmarks Bar and select Add Folder. Then you can name the folder whatever subject you want.

 

[pete02]

To create a bookmark folder in Chrome (Firefox doesn't appear to have this), select Bookmarks --> Bookmarks Manager --> Right-click Bookmarks Bar and select Add Folder. Then you can name the folder whatever subject you want.

I'm quite sure Firefox does. I have all my bookmarks in category folders on my computer however I'm not at my computer right now so I'm at a loss on how to tell you to do it.

 

[Approaching Infinity]

To create a bookmark folder in Chrome (Firefox doesn't appear to have this), select Bookmarks --> Bookmarks Manager --> Right-click Bookmarks Bar and select Add Folder. Then you can name the folder whatever subject you want.

I'm quite sure Firefox does. I have all my bookmarks in category folders on my computer however I'm not at my computer right now so I'm at a loss on how to tell you to do it.

Yep, you can: Bookmarks --> Bookmark All Tabs, then it'll ask what to name the folder.

 

[JGeropoulas]

I can totally sympathize with your frustration. I'm much the same way. So years ago, I began using Bookmarks feature on Firefox for web stuff, and the Bookmarks feature on the Forum for threads to pacify that OCD part of myself.

But still, no matter how well I manage my time, I'm always frustrated by not having enough time to read all I've bookmarked. (I often joke that the Forum is the best frustration on the planet.) Prioritizing is supposed to be the key, but I always seem to have five #1 priorities, which leaves me like a "deer in headlights". If I do Priority #1a, then I'm nagged by the thought I should be doing #1b. And if I do #1b, I'm nagged by the thought I should be doing #1c...

What I've evolved to do, out of necessity, weariness, and increased demands upon my time is to just go with any of the top five #1 priorities and try to persist until finished. In conjunction with this, I try to give equal weight to trusting my intuition and do what energizes/motivates me the most at that time.

And as a backdrop to it all, I've gotten better at accepting some annoying realities, such as precious few hours each day are available for reading after tending to all my obligatory tasks and duties, and that the Forum grows faster than I can read it.

But FWIW, I've concluded that the "#1 priority" is not getting to read everything I'd like to read, but nurturing my state of being in the face of this frustration.

 

[IncenDiary]

I am the same. But I have gotten used to random reboots and sometimes tabs not restoring on restart :P Ouch.

But there is always MORE and NEW stuff, so I have learnt to just go with the flow. I have found it strange how I can re-read something I knew I read a while ago and still find a viewpoint and an idea that I never remembered or noticed or just plain didn't have enough information to understand at the time.

I love it!

 

[Laura]

Every morning I check the "view the most recent posts". Doing that day after day, I can keep track of what threads are most active which I follow. If there is a thread that is particularly interesting to me, I follow it. If there is a thread that is controversial, I follow it. So, there are those three criteria. Also, when there are new threads, I check them out to see if I want to follow them or NEED to for some reason. Obviously, I'm doing it from a different perspective: monitoring needs, issues, etc, but it can be done the same way for general purposes. I just go down the list of what's new for that day, open a tab on the latest post (which will open at the newest post I haven't read - just right click the arrow icon on the far right and open in a new tab) and then I have however many tabs opened for those three purposes. I go through them quickly at first. If needed, I slow down and read carefully, respond if wanted/needed, then close that one and go to the next. If I don't get slowed down writing a long post, I can do this in half an hour and have a good idea of what is going on.

But, as I said, I have a slightly different viewing perspective so obviously, I spend some additional time and in some cases, where the topic requires, I check several times a day to keep up.

But, in general, the average reader could probably keep up with what is really important by doing what I described above.

 

[3DStudent]

I do this, because I'm the opposite. I don't like having tons of tabs open on my browser because it just feels chaotic. So I save the ones that aren't high priority.

Maybe not the opposite. I don't like having a lot of tabs either. It's overwhelming and like, "Ahh, so much to do." But I find I have a hard time accepting the reality that I will likely not read them. I think bookmarking them for later is kind of like saying you want to read them, but will likely never do so. I have many bookmarks and I mostly never return to them.

I am the same. But I have gotten used to random reboots and sometimes tabs not restoring on restart :P Ouch.

If you're using Firefox, there is an add on called Session Manager. It will periodically save your tabs and is helpful if it crashes. I also use one called Tab Groups Manager, which lets you put tabs into groups.

I think it comes down to the fact that I'm overwhelmed in a few aspects in my life. I need to do some Spring cleaning in a few areas, not just internet tabs. I think the message behind my words is that I just want to let go of some things.

 

[davey72]

In the past i have always just saved the whole web page. Many i turned into pdf, and put them on my phone to read while i'm out. Cause none of my phones are hooked up. I have quite a few on any of my computers, (same with SOTT articles. My reasoning was that if anything ever happened to my internet that i will always have something to read. They have come in handy a few times already.

 

[Lindenlea]

In the past i have always just saved the whole web page. Many i turned into pdf, and put them on my phone to read while i'm out. Cause none of my phones are hooked up. I have quite a few on any of my computers, (same with SOTT articles. My reasoning was that if anything ever happened to my internet that i will always have something to read. They have come in handy a few times already.

Same here except I turn my info etc., into a word document (cut and paste).

Another couple of things I do for travelling (using a smaller laptop) is to open a draft email to myself on my home laptap, add any links, info, photos etc., then save the draft to keep adding to it at a later time, so that when I travel and have access to a wifi hotspot or library I just have to open my draft email and access any info I need. Also works with contacts, I complete all my contacts info with name, address, tel. no, any contact info I need but don't have an email address I just make one up with their name in it. This has been great when moving around, as everything is in one email account, whereas carrying the USB files with the latest whatever on them can be a nuisance trying find the right one.