Don’t lose the forest for the trees. (source: code poet)
In my previous post, How to Monitor Industry Trends and Expose New Opportunities, I covered using Google Reader to help you discover new ideas. Now, here are 4 very simple ways to improve your productivity in Google Reader.
When you need to review news, blog posts, Twitter feeds, articles, etc. in Google Reader simply follow these 4 steps:
1. Focus on one category at a time.
I like to pick a particular tag/category and only read information from that category. That way, I stay focused on a particular topic, and can more quickly filter through stuff I’ve already read that is being republished by multiple blogs.
2. Turn off the left column
Once you are logged into Google Reader, and select a tag to review, just hit the letter “u”. This will hide the left column, and enter full-screen mode, allowing you to focus in on the content.
3. View the content in expanded view, only showing new items
By viewing in expanded view, you will see all of the content of the news item. If the news item is longer than the window, you can hit the space bar to page down through it.
4. Use “j” and “k” to go forward and back through news items
Now, with the left bar turned off, and expanded view turned on, you can easily navigate all of the news items in your tag using the j and k keys.
Now you have all of the tricks to be a Google Reader power-user, and process tons of news items in record time!
Thanks to Tim Ferriss and Robert Scoble for some of these tips. And here is a full list of Google Reader keyboard shortcuts.
Got a Google Reader trick to share? Please leave a comment!
See also: