One of my biggest joys and also struggles is that I am a scanner. The site MetaFilter is a good example of what a scanner's brain looks like - we get interested in everything. I never ever get bored but sometimes I can get overwhelmed. My brain constantly feels like it is coming up with ideas and projects, and the world around us is so filled with awe inspiring, beautiful stuff, and people are creating so many interesting things - that I get boggled.
The internet especially is like Willy Wonka's candy garden and there are certain sites that are like mental crack for me, one prime example being Reddit. There is a good article on Cognitive ecstasy which explains well why I feel this way.
I collect a lot of articles online and save websites for later reference, as well as reference materials for projects and resources. I also follow a lot of blogs, youtubers and sites which I often get a lot from - there is something about a really high quality website with good content that is really enjoyable, and I like seeing different people's take on the world. I get very inspired by all this.
This really clutters up my computer and my brain with a million tabs and loose ends and I feel I have to tie every one up and follow up on them. The problem is the internet is constantly leading you on - 'click this link...click this link' until you find yourself looking at the most random things - I really enjoy this process as you can discover some amazing things - but I call it 'going down the rabbit hole' - it can be bad and can waste a lot of time and also, for me - generate a lot of miscellaneous book marks I then don't know what to do with.
One reason for my recent surge in blogging is I realised I was hoarding all these amazing articles, sites and links for future reference because I didn't want to loose them. By putting them on my blog I can share them for others to enjoy and use, and also I can find them again should I want to come back to them, without clogging up my bookmarks bar. This article on apartment therapy on online organising was quite inspirational for me to have a look at my digital clutter.
I also personally have a bookmarks folder for each day of the week with different sites to look at that day. I really only do this with my absolute favourite sites which update regularly and are high quality because I feel to a degree 'you are what you eat' with your internet consumption, and I want sites that inspire me to push harder with my work and life. I switch in and out sites as and when I find new good ones and get bored of other ones. I try and tie up the sites thematically with the day so they are in line with what I am doing that day. At some point I will do a post with my day tasks and sites I read, but this post has gotten long enough I think.
To summarise though, this spring I am trying to clean my internet habits by 'having a good chuck out' - both deleting links and putting them on my blog, and 'tidying up' - organising the links I do want to keep in folders and keeping them up to date. My main thing to focus on will be dealing with stuff as it comes in and not letting it build up I think.
