From chaos to order: how to organise your bookmarks, reading lists and other content saved online

Bookmarks, reading lists or notes: where should you save what?

At first glance, all these tools do more or less the same thing — they help you save things. But they serve different purposes.

In other words, a bookmark is an address, a reading list is a queue of articles, and a note is a reminder of why you need that information.

This distinction may seem trivial, but it’s very effective in combating digital clutter. When each type of information has its own place, you don’t have to search for the page you need amongst hundreds of links saved at random.

How to organise your bookmarks in Google Chrome

Saving a page in Chrome is very easy: simply click on the star icon ☆ to the right of the address bar. All saved pages can be found in the browser menu. But if you just keep adding everything indiscriminately, within a few months you could end up with hundreds of bookmarks with no clear structure.

So it’s best to create a few folders organised by topic straight away. For example, instead of one huge list, you could create folders such as «Work», «Finance», «Travel», «Shopping» and «Useful». You can then store the pages you need inside these folders. For instance, in the «Travel» folder, you could keep websites for airlines, hotels, travel services and maps.

Chrome has a Bookmarks Manager for this purpose. In it, you can create folders, move bookmarks between them, rename them and sort the list.

Don’t create a folder for every little thing

It’s easy to go from one state of chaos to another here. If you create folders called «Work», «Work 2», «Work-related websites», «Useful for work», «Very useful for work» and a few more nested categories, finding the page you need won’t be much easier.

It’s better to start with 5-7 clear categories, and only add new ones later if you actually need them. A folder should help you find what you need, not force you to remember which folder you put a link in three months ago.

What to keep on your bookmarks bar

The bookmarks bar is where you keep websites you need to access in just one or two clicks. If the bookmarks bar isn’t already visible, click «Show bookmarks bar» in the Chrome menu — and a row of icons will appear just below the address bar. It makes sense to put your email, calendar, work tools, online documents and other pages you use every day here.

However, it’s best to organise all your interesting articles, online shops and reference materials into folders. Otherwise, the bookmarks bar will itself become yet another list that’s hard to navigate.

If you have a lot of bookmarks, Chrome lets you search for them directly from the address bar. To do this, simply type @bookmarks, press «Tab» or the space bar, and type the name of the page you’re looking for. This is particularly handy when you remember that you’ve saved something, but can’t quite recall where.

Reading list: a place for everything I’m «going to read later»

One of the most common causes of digital clutter is the habit of leaving dozens of tabs open: «I’ll finish reading this article this evening», «ll watch this video after work», «I’ll definitely need this». And within a few days, there are already dozens of open tabs in your browser, making it difficult to find anything specific amongst them.

This is exactly where Chrome’s «Reading list» comes in handy. The idea is simple: if you see something interesting, save it. You can then close the tab and don’t need to keep it open for weeks on end.

On a computer, you can add a page to your reading list via the Chrome menu or by right-clicking on the tab.

You can find your saved items under «Bookmarks and lists» → «Reading list».

On a smartphone, the principle is the same: you can add a page to your reading list via the Chrome menu.

If you use your reading list frequently, you can pin it to the Chrome toolbar for quick access. Go to «Bookmarks and lists» → «Reading list» → «Show reading list», then click the pin icon 📌 next to the list’s name. You’ll then be able to open it with a single click.

But you need to clear out your reading list too

There’s one pitfall: a «read later» list can very easily turn into a «never going to read» list. That’s why it’s useful to go through it from time to time and ask yourself a simple question: «Am I really going to read this?». If the answer is «No», you can delete the page without a second thought.

If the content has proved genuinely useful and you plan to return to it regularly, it’s best to move it to your regular bookmarks.

That way, the reading list remains a temporary holding place rather than a digital storage space.

But where should you keep your own thoughts and notes?

Bookmarks are great for saving web addresses, but sometimes you need more than just a website — you need your own context. For example, you might want to save a link to an article about home improvements not for the article itself, but because it describes a good way to insulate a balcony. Or an online shop you should revisit before a trip, because it has that particular rucksack you need.

In such cases, it’s more convenient to use a notebook. This could be Google Keep, Apple Notes, Microsoft OneNote, Notion or any other service you like. For example, Google Keep lets you create text notes and lists, add images and audio, and use labels, colours and reminders.

Here, you can save not only «where to find it», but also «why I need it». It’s a small difference, but it’s often what saves you from a situation where, six months later, you open an old link and can’t remember why you saved it in the first place.

How not to turn organisation into yet another chore

Even the best system won’t work if it takes half an hour to save every link. So there’s no point in trying to make everything perfect. A few simple rules are enough:

• Don’t save everything and anything. If you can easily find the content in a few seconds via Google, it probably doesn’t need its own bookmark.
• Don’t let open tabs pile up. If you’re not going to read a page straight away, save it to your reading list.
• Don’t be afraid to delete what you don’t need. Old bookmarks can also become outdated.
• Have a clear-out every few months. Delete what you no longer need and organise what’s left into folders.

It’s a bit like a wardrobe: if you regularly clear out things you no longer use, it’s much easier to find what you do need.

But what if you use several devices?

These days, we might start reading an article on a laptop, carry on reading it on a smartphone, and save the link on a tablet. That’s why it’s important for our digital «lockers» to be accessible across more than just one specific device.

In Chrome, once you’ve signed in to your Google account, you can synchronise your bookmarks and reading list across devices. This means that information saved on your computer will also be available in Chrome on other devices where you’re signed in to the same account.

This is particularly handy for those who switch between their work computer and smartphone throughout the day. However, there is one important point to bear in mind: synchronisation and cloud services rely on internet access, so a stable connection is essential.

With Maxnet, you can stay connected not only during normal Internet use, but also in situations where the power supply is unreliable. In particular, for PON connections, provided the subscriber has a backup power supply for their equipment, the Internet continues to work during power cuts. This means your saved bookmarks, reading lists and notes remain accessible when you need them.

Who will find this system particularly useful?

Learning to tame digital chaos is useful for virtually anyone who uses the Internet. However, there are several categories of users for whom the benefits will be particularly noticeable:

• Students — so they can keep their study resources, coursework materials and things they want to read in their spare time separate.
• Those who work with information — journalists, marketers, designers, programmers, teachers and other professionals who have to open dozens of websites every day.
• Those who frequently shop online — so they don’t have to keep dozens of shops open in tabs and don’t have to search for the right product all over again each time.
• Travellers — to save websites for airlines, hotels, travel services, maps and useful information about their destination.
• Anyone who constantly says «I’ve seen that somewhere before» perhaps it’s high time to organise your digital bookmarks.

As a result, instead of hundreds of tabs and endless searches for «that particular website», you get a simple digital system where everything you need has its place. And then the Internet works for you, rather than turning into yet another cupboard that’s a nightmare to open.