Since you are probably reading this webpage with a browser such as Internet Explorer or Mozilla Firefox at the moment (I don’t what else besides a browser you’d be using), you’ll probably benefit from these five tips:

1. Consider offline environment

There are a few things I make sure of personally before I go online:

• I’m not hungry. I don’t want to surf the web and eat at the same time, even if I do sometimes eat anyways.
• Music. Having some background music while I look for stuff and participate online is a must for me. While this may just be personal preference, it gives me a clear mindset and I know what to look for.
• Limited Interruptions. I find it very annoying when I have to answer the phone, deal with someone talking to me, etc., while I’m trying to work. So every time right before I decide to go on the computer, I’ll talk with my family, and tie up whatever loose ends I have to before I begin.

2. Organize your Bookmarks
In order to easily find all your favorite websites, it is important that you make sure you keep your bookmarks classified properly. A good number of folders to have, IMO, would be ten, with categories such as Forums, School, etc. If your really bold, then Porn too (OK, I don’t have that last one). Then maybe include three or four sub-folders, depending on the category.

It is up to you whether you want to use social bookmarking sites like del.icio.us or not, however I prefer to keep my favorites private.

3. Stick with One Browser

As many browsers read with different font sizes, spacing types, etc. I feel it should be noted that keeping with one web browser will make your life easier.

4. Use as few features as possible

It is unnecessary to have many different things going on at once. Don’t use similar features such as the “Bookmarks Toolbar” then also have a system of organization in your primary favorites section.

While some users do not like to use tabs, I still find them useful. I do like to have multiple pages open at once, so I prefer to use the tabbing system instead of having multiple browser windows open, for example I’ll be reading Dan Price’s Blog, while at the same time commenting on Steven’s SEMMY win. And I may also have other applications running on my computer, like Microsoft Word or Notepad++.

5. Customize it to your liking

Here’s a stroke of Genius I like to use. I primarily use the FireFox Browser, so what I’ll do is install all the toolbars (Google Stumbleupon, etc.) onto Internet Explorer, this way my FF browser is not cluttered up and I have more screen real estate while surfing the internet.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 5th, 2008 at 2:20 pm and is filed under Miscellaneous Internet. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.