I just got back this week after four weeks away from work. So clearing email and needed housekeeping so as to get rid of the incessant “Your mailbox size is over the limit set by the system administrator” in 15 min intervals twice a day, not to mention not being able to send emails at some crucial point during the workday, is might I say …, somewhat “trying.”
OK, I admit it. I’m a bit of a pack rat. But in my defense, it’s “only” because I feel I can’t delete those emails with links that I just have to read. What’s worse is that the person who sent me the link also has a signature graphic that makes that email balloon to 100 KB … what a spacehog!! Well, today I came across a Firefox extension that might just save the world (OK, maybe just the world of email pack rats).
It’s called “Read It Later” from the Idea Shower. I love it !! The download and installation took just seconds.
Now, when I check my email and click on a website, a blogpost, a report or a new study that I know I want to read later, I just click on the checkmark next to the URL, and it’s saved in my Reading List. And then comes the one click that gives me untold pleasure these days … DELETE !! So save the single relevant link, and DELETE that email ! That’s just what I needed. No more vacillating … do I read this now, or delete it ?! Just read it later.
I simply click on the Read It Later icon to breeze through my Reading List when I’m ready to get back to it. And then once I’m done reviewing it, I can click on the red checkmark next to the URL, and it’s gone! Talk about easy housekeeping!
And synching my Reading List between my computers at work and at home couldn’t be any easier!
But how’s this different from say Zotero which helps you organize your bookmarks? Well, I prefer to use my Zotero for links related to my research and project work. I don’t really want to create another sinkhole in my Zotero collector for one-time “To Read” links which I quickly lose track of.
Now I have a smaller, more manageable Inbox, and a Reading List that I can look through at the end of the day or when I have time during the week to do a quick review. Oh, I feel a sense of liberation …
