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“Hm. This looks interesting. Let me bookmark it to read later.”
How many times over the years have you done that? Countless, I’m sure. Me, too.
I don’t make space during the week to read everything I want, so I save a lot of it for time I’ve set aside for just this (generally evenings or weekends).
However, bookmarks? They are a thing of the distant past. When I want to tuck something aside to read later (as oppose to archive forever in Evernote, my digital archive/brain) I simply tuck it in my pocket. Pocket with a capital “P,” that is.
Pocket is an app built specifically for this purpose…in fact, it was originally called Read Later. It syncs with over 500 different apps: Buffer, Twitter, Facebook, and Flipboard just to name a few.
You’re in the middle of reading an article on your computer but are interrupted. Later when you’re on a your laptop and want to finish reading it, instead of having to search for it again, Pocket keeps it all sync’d seamlessly.
The articles you put in Pocket while on your desktop will be on your iPad, iPhone, laptop, etc. Open up your Pocket account and there it is, right where you left off. Pocket offers reading convenience on multiple devices at it’s finest.
One of my top criteria for a productivity tool is that it doesn’t…wait for it…hamper my productivity. One of the most obvious ways to achieve this is easy of use.
Pocket excels at this. For example, adding the bookmarklet is easy; you just drag it to your toolbar and it’s right there, ready to use. When you’re on a page you’d like to read later, just click the icon and it’s immediately saved to your account. Super simple. Super convenient.
As you’re going through your Pocket content, when you find something brilliant you want to keep forever? Use my IFTTT recipe and you can set up an Evernote archive today. Once you’re IFTTT recipe is activated, all you need to do is click the star to favorite it. The article and image will be archived to a specific Evernote notebook.
Whenever you can accomplish a task with one simple click, that’s a productivity win.
Instead of getting distracted by the latest Buzzfeed quiz on which Golden Girl I am, I can save the article in Pocket to read later.
I like to read non-work items (and take Buzzfeed quizzes, duh) at night and on the weekends.
Being productive doesn’t mean you never have fun, it just means you don’t get distracted when you are taking care of business.
Here’s a handy IFTTT recipe that will send any Malcolm Gladwell articles in The New Yorker to Pocket directly. Ok, it doesn’t have to be Gladwell, you can customize it to any RSS feed that you want. I recommend Gladwell.
Going through your email and find a link to an article that looks promising? Just forward it to add@getpocket.com. That link’s page will be added to your list, ready to be read the next time you open Pocket.
It’s also a great way to add articles while you’re on the go without opening the app. As long as you’re logged into the email account with which you registered for Pocket, you can send a link to add@getpocket.com to populate your Pocket.
Sometimes sites have great content but are, frankly, horrible visually. (Websites that are full of ads that take over the screen, flashing ads or that think text should be light grey and size 4- you know what I’m talking about!) That’s when I thank Pocket for one of my favorite features; it strips away all of the sidebar chaos and just leaves the content in which you are interested.
So I often save articles to Pocket just to read them without all the awful clutter on some sites.
No ads, no visual distractions, no ugly sidebars. That’s a productivity win in and of itself.
Pocket makes sharing easy; reading something that would be perfect for a friend? Email it to them! Want to view the post in a browser? Easy with a *click*! Want to copy the link to your clipboard? That’s also an option in the drop-down menu.
I also love that Buffer is a ready option (as you’ll see in #10).
Did you know that the blue light that emanates from our screens causes eye strain at night? And that it can create difficulties falling asleep? Bad news when you’re tucked in bed enjoying some end of the day reading. Luckily, pocket has Dark Theme that, combined with dimming the screen, is perfect for this. There is also a Sepia Theme, which is a lower contrast option.
To enable it, tap the “AA” button, then the Themes button to toggle between Light, Dark and Sepia Themes. Happy eyes!
Got Buffer?
I sure do! The Buffer option is another one of my favorite features about Pocket. I can share across my main social media platforms with the drop down menu. (Seriously, Omega 3’s are great for sleep, just like the Dark Theme lighting option) (I’m all about the good sleep!).
Pocket is the tool I rely upon for saving articles you run across online for reading at a later time. In fact, it’s one of my most-used productivity tools. It keeps me on track on a day-to-day basis by being the perfect place to set aside content for future consumption.
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