Fresh Focus On Productivity!™

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Guest post by Danny Gamache

Likely most of you use a RSS reader to keep up with blogs and other websites.

RSS readers collect all the new posts on websites you subscribe to so you can read all the updates in one place.

Unfortunately, many people let RSS limit their productivity, because they get overwhelmed with feeds. These people have too much to read, not enough time to read, and no system for working through their RSS subscriptions.

That used to be me too!

Thankfully, over the last few months, I have made some significant improvements in how I handle RSS feeds. With some simple changes, you too can improve your RSS management and be more productive. Here are some simple tips:

1. Use Google Reader

If you are not already using Google Reader for your RSS feeds, you need to switch now. This was the most important change as I improved how I used RSS. Google Reader saves time by many ways including: • presenting feeds in list view • allowing you to star articles for easy follow up • using a simple folder system

2. Set up Folder Categories Based on Importance or Special Categories

How you set up your folders can be a huge factor in how productive you are with your feeds. Start by setting up folders that allow you to assign feeds based on their importance. I do this by setting up folders based on how often I need to read the feeds. I start my folder categories with these three folders: @ Daily @ Weekly @ Extra Time Only Obviously, the most important feeds go into the “@ Daily” folder, with the rest going into “@ Weekly” and “@ Extra Time Only” depending on how often I want to read the feed. I also have a couple of folders set up by special category. For example, I have a folder “News” where I have a few news feeds, and one called “Blogging” where I put feeds about blogging effectively. I use special categories because I want to read these feeds at specific times. While I do read my “News” feed daily, I want to read it separate from other blogs. I read my “Blogging” folder when I have time dedicated to improving my blog.

3. Be Smart with New Subscriptions

Now that you have your folders set up, you can also manage new subscriptions easily. Every new subscription should go in the “@Weekly” folder. As you read the feed over the following weeks you will need to make a decision of where the feed belongs. Is it very important for your life or business? If so, move it to “@ Daily”, if it is moderately important you may want to put it in either “@Weekly” or “@Extra Time Only”. If it is not important, then you should unsubscribe immediately.

4. Use Tags for Action Items

Beyond folders, you can also use the “tag” function to mark specific articles for future use. Where the folders will keep track of specific feeds, only put individual articles into your tags. I use three tags for articles that I want to keep: • Action – for articles I need to do something with • Ideas – for articles that give me ideas I may want to act on in the future • Keeper Articles – for other articles that I want to keep for future reference I also use the star function to mark articles that I want to read, but have not read yet. I do this when I am marking the entire folder as read to clear out a lot of articles that I’m not going to read.

5. Unsubscribe from feeds that are not important or that you just don’t read

One of the most important steps you will need to take in managing your feeds is to delete the feeds that are not important to you and that you just don’t read. You should be continually considering whether a feed is worth keeping or not. At a minimum, make sure that ever couple of months you go through your feeds and decide which ones to unsubscribe.

6. Not sure if you should keep it, let it pile up

If you are not sure whether to keep a feed or not you need to let it pile up. Then, after the feed has piled up for a few weeks, go through the articles and ask these questions: • Did I miss it? • Is it valuable when I go through it? • Did I save any articles for future use? • Did I put anything into action because of what I read? If you answered “no” to most of or all of these questions then you need to unsubscribe. If you answered “yes” to several of these questions then you need to read that feed more often, as it is more important than you thought.

7. Eventually Just Mark “All Read” and Start Over

Finally, if your feeds continue to pile up and you are not getting them read, you need to take the plunge and start over. You can simply select a folder and “Mark All as Read”. Now you can start over with a clean plate. Hopefully these tips will help you manage your RSS feeds for maximum productivity. ________________________________________________
Danny Gamache, The Success Professor, is committed to teaching others principles of success for life and business. Danny is a business professor at a private college where he equips students for careers in business and success in all areas of life. He can be found at http://www.successprofessor.ca

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