Relishments

Savoring life in the Berkshires

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • About
    • Start Here
    • Relishments Around the Web
  • Flexitarianism
    • Cookbooks
  • Recipes
    • Recipe Reviews
  • The Berkshires
    • Boothbay, Midcoast Maine and More
    • Adventures in Other Places
  • Technology
    • My Favorite Technology Tools
  • Contact
    • Sponsor

Getting Out From Under My Google Reader

Published on May 11, 2011 By Emily. Updated on May 11, 2011

A couple weeks ago, I had the pleasure of meeting up with Heather for lunch.  In addition to yummy food and a nice break from the hardcore shopping that Brian and I were in the midst of, Heather and I had an awesome conversation about blogging and blogs in general.  If you ever want to have a conversation that really makes you think, I suggest you schedule lunch with her.

Heather mentioned that she’s reducing the number of blogs she subscribes to via Google Reader to 28.  Mind=blown.  There was no way I could reduce my Reader to that few. But then I was unable to stop thinking about the way I use Reader and how I might change that.

First, some background about Google Reader and how I use it.  Reader is a RSS feed aggregator that brings all the content from my favorite blogs to one place.  Despite the theory held by many that blogs are meant to be read on their actual sites and not in readers, I read almost all the blogs I follow using Reader.  I only go to the actual sites to in order to leave comments.  I look at all the titles of the posts in my Reader in collapsed view, star the ones I want to come back to, mark everything as read and, when I’ve got time, click on "starred items" and then read the posts I actually want to read.  This method allows me to sort out a lot of the stuff I don’t care about, such as a NY Times recipe for beef brisket, which I’ll probably never make.  On the day that Heather and I talked, I had over 200 blog feeds coming into my Reader. How did I manage to not get completely overwhelmed? Well, I didn’t, really. My Reader was a constant source of stress.  I spent the better part of last summer trying to get to the bottom of my starred posts and, though I was successful and have generally kept it that way since, I’m constantly looking to see if I have new posts and trying to get time to sort through the influx, leave comments, save recipes, get links for Highlights posts and find inspiration for Relishments.

Reader Screenshot

An actual screenshot of my actual starred items

 

Heather’s idea about slimming down her blog intake resulted in the following observations on my part:

  • I was ignoring a lot more posts than I was marking with a star.
  • I was so busy trying to stay on top of my reading that I didn’t spend much time commenting on blog posts that I liked
  • It’s silly to have feeds for blogs I only skim.  There are a handful of blogs that I always read immediately, but even more that I always skim and a few that I rarely read.  Why were those blogs still in my Reader?
  • I shouldn’t be guilted into reading blogs because they’re popular or I might miss something.  That’s what Twitter is for.  (Confession: this is almost an exact quote from Heather)
  • I should be reading and promoting quality content (ditto on the above note).  In other words, I should be helping really great bloggers get more attention.
  • The amount of time and effort I was spending trying to keep up prevented me from creating good blog posts.  Time I should have been writing my own posts was spent skimming other peoples’.

Still, I felt a little nervous.  Reducing my intake too much would have a serious affect on the Highlights, which I really do like writing.  I didn’t want to miss anything.  There are a million great blogs out there.  My interests keep widening (decorating blogs, teaching blogs, friends blogs) and I want to keep a diverse collection…

Nevertheless, my talk with Heather convinced me that I was probably overindulging.  So, I did a bit of a subscription purge.  I got rid of 16 currently posting blogs from my unread items right off the bat.  The initial purge contained news aggregate blogs that were mostly repeats of info I’d already gotten elsewhere, several couponing blogs, some company and product status blogs, a couple food blogs that rarely posted recipes that interested me, comics I no longer follow and humor blogs that aren’t funny.   Then I went into my subscriptions settings and deleted all the blogs that haven’t posted in forever and/or had little interest to me.

When I was done, my blog subscriptions were down to 134.  Still a lot, but much much better than it was.  In the couple of weeks since I’ve made the change, I’ve also made some mental changes.  I’ve tried to put posting first, followed closely by leaving thoughtful comments on interesting posts.  I’ve also felt a lot less stressed about the state of my Reader.  There’s nothing wrong with not reading every single post someone writes; there’s nothing wrong with ignoring posts.  It’s okay if it takes a few days to get to the bottom of my starred items.  I’d rather be creating my own content or doing something else with my time than trying to stem the tide of new posts.  Thanks, Heather, for helping me get out from under my Reader.

PS.  Even if you’re not suffering from a Google Reader addiction, you’ve probably got some silly thing eating your time.  Matt just wrote a great piece on No Meat Athlete that ties right in to all this (he must have been reading my mind!): You Have All the Time You Need: How to Find an Extra Hour and Start Something Awesome Today.

Related Posts

Guilty as Charged
For the Pumpkin Obsessed: Recipe Links
Welcome to the New and Improved Relishments!
Check out what these other blogs are talking about...
Did you enjoy this post? Share it!

Filed Under: internet Tagged With: social media, websites

« The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
Highlights: The Farmer’s Market »

Comments

  1. Lisa Fine says

    May 11, 2011 at 8:44 pm

    Love these concepts, and they’re things I’ve thought about for the last six months.

    Back in November I cleared out a lot of blogs from my reader, and felt calm. But I noticed that I was losing touch with many of my blog friends. I find that I comment on blogs more than I use Twitter or Facebook, so when I stopped subscribing, I missed people.

    I keep 60 or so blogs in my feeder now, and sure, I skim plenty, but I like to keep up with certain people’s lives, and their giveaways and news. But I definitely don’t read through everything like I did when I started blogging.

  2. Heather says

    May 11, 2011 at 8:47 pm

    thanks for all the v. nice things you say about me in this post :)

    also – am SO SO SO proud of you!!

    again, I want to state here, for the internets to see, something I said to you at lunch that day: I count on my internet communications (twitter, google reader people following, and emails with blends) to update me on posts I may have missed.

    For example – I read SEVERAL posts a week that other people have shared in one way or another because THEY found them valuable. Through out time, I have made note of which of my blends/twitter followers find similar themes valuable and pay special attention to links they RT (i have a post coming up about this, i promise!).

    I also TRULY BELIEVE that as a blogger I take responsibility for sharing information I believe my readers/followers will find most valuable – so I am often a SHARING MACHINE!

    also – just because a blog isn’t in my reader doesn’t mean I never read it! Now that I spend LESS TIME with my reader, when I have extra “blog reading” time I search through on twitter, or go to a favorite bloggers blogroll to “surf through” to other posts I may find interesting.

    ok. i am now done rambling.

    xoxox

    • Emily says

      May 15, 2011 at 12:53 pm

      Thanks for rambling and clarifying your side of the story :)

      And, even more so, thanks for helping me find more time in my day!

  3. sarah (the SHU box) says

    May 14, 2011 at 3:14 pm

    ahh i just had to say how honored i was to see my blog on this list!!! thank you :)

    my reader has about 100 feeds too, but i don’t feel pressured to finish them all. i have one set called ‘a list’ that has about 10 and i do read those every day, but otherwise i dabble :)

    • Emily says

      May 15, 2011 at 12:55 pm

      Sarah, I love reading your blog. It’s one of the feeds I look forward to seeing updated every day. Keep up the good work!

  4. Heather says

    June 9, 2011 at 10:58 am

    can i post part of this, and link back to your original post for the remainder, for an upcoming blog tips thursday post on HLB?

  5. Mac says

    June 16, 2011 at 10:41 am

    Wow 134 blogs! I’m a newer blogger, that makes me nervous that 130+ blogs may be in my future Readers lol!

    • Emily says

      June 18, 2011 at 6:05 am

      Yeah…134 blogs is a little ridiculous. But I’ve gotten a lot less obsessed with making sure I read everything and everyone and I’m pretty quick at filtering out the posts that don’t interest me.

  6. Lisa @ Fit in the Midwest says

    June 18, 2011 at 10:39 pm

    Thanks for all of these great tips. I can relate because I feel the pressure to get through my reader too and actually just got control of it today. I am guilty of rushing through writing my own blog posts so I have time to read other sites. Definitely not a good habit to get into!

    I actually starred your post via google reader (Healthy Living Blogs) and had been meaning to go back to it for a while. I like the starring feature too.

    • Emily says

      June 26, 2011 at 4:41 pm

      I completely hear you-I’m really working hard to prioritzing my blog before other people’s. Sometimes it’s just so much easier to read than to write!

  7. Dan says

    June 22, 2011 at 3:25 pm

    Thanks for the post. I’ve since taken a few feeds out of my Reader and will continue to ween off some feeds.

  8. Leigh Ann says

    January 11, 2013 at 5:59 pm

    My problem is that I have unsubscribed to several that I realized I was never reading, and they KEEP COMING INTO MY READER! I can’t stop them!

    • Emily says

      January 20, 2013 at 9:01 pm

      Yikes! I’ve never had that problem. Have you checked your subscriptions list and made sure they deleted? That would drive me crazy.

  9. Deirdre says

    January 11, 2013 at 8:50 pm

    I saw this on the cleverist- I definitely need to do a reader purge! Thanks for the insights! Cheers :)

    • Emily says

      January 20, 2013 at 8:59 pm

      Thanks for stopping over! Best of luck with your Reader purge!

  10. Kelly @ View Along the Way says

    January 11, 2013 at 10:46 pm

    Great article! Sometimes I feel like my Google Reader owns me, but like you said, it’s hard to let go! I’m inspired to go do a google reader purge now. Thanks for the tips!

    • Emily says

      January 20, 2013 at 8:59 pm

      Glad you enjoyed the post–hope your purge goes great!

  11. Amanda {A Royal Daughter} says

    January 14, 2013 at 2:02 pm

    Cleaning out my google reader is something that happens a couple of times a year. I’ve found that there are some blogs I’m interested in for a while, but not for the long term.

    This was a great post!

    • Emily says

      January 20, 2013 at 8:58 pm

      I completely agree. It’s so easy for me to keep reading things I don’t really care about unless I make myself stop and clean out my Reader once in a while. Definitely worth the time.

  12. mobile seo says

    September 21, 2014 at 7:59 am

    So you need at Ekkomediagroup. This search engine optimization is
    a mobile specific browser, it all! Within YouTube, to book something
    online, we cannot say that in a friendly nearness shop.
    We see things like size, color scheme. It may look good.
    If you’re having trouble communicating with people and informs them about the
    search engine optimization search results are important to avoid some of the website should aim
    for building a good design. That empty space in CPU. Yahoo
    and many more. The great thing about ecommerce websites.

    Feel free to surf to my blog post mobile seo

Welcome!

Welcome to Relishments! Follow along with my adventures in flexitarian eating and cooking in the Berkshires of Western Massachusetts.

The Berkshires
Recipe Index
CSA Menu Plan
First Time?
 

Support Relishments on Patreon

Just so you know…

I’m just a girl who loves to cook and eat. This site is not a source for nutritional information.

Relishments is affiliated with various sponsors. Some product links on this site are affiliates; I may get portion of the sale. All opinions on this site are honest, regardless of revenue opportunities. Find out more about my policies here

Relishments is affiliated with…

View my food journey on Zomato!

  
Ahalogy Badge

relishments

Emily
I don't have clear words to express my feelings ab I don't have clear words to express my feelings about the state of the world lately. As a teacher and a mother, it has been extra difficult this week to be fully present in my roles without thinking about innocent lives that should have had longer on Earth. How what has happened in each of the many mass shootings this year can happen anywhere. If you are feeling sad and frustrated too, you are not alone.

I don't have answers, but I'm trying to take care of myself and my biological and school families. I'm saying "I love you" a lot to my children and my students. I'm closely following and sharing the work of @everytown while contacting my state and federal representatives and the president. I'm going for walks and getting fresh air and trying not to overload on news. I'm sharing good resources in my stories as I see them.
UPDATE: the giveaway is now CLOSED. Congrats @aloh UPDATE: the giveaway is now CLOSED. Congrats @alohr3!

 @thelazygenius' second book, The Lazy Genius Kitchen, is finally here and I'm so excited! I don't purchase many books, but I pre-ordered this last July because I knew it would be right up my alley and then I pre-ordered a second copy because I knew that I'd want to give one away.

Author Kendra Adachi has been one of my favorite voices in recent years. Her principles (shared through her first book, The Lazy Genius Podcast and her Instagram) have helped me focus my priorities and give myself more grace. 

This book is NOT a cookbook (it has just 2 recipes), it is a kitchen guide - to help you "have what you need, use what you have, and enjoy it like never before". It is beautiful (full color!) and thoughtful.

I'm very excited to send this book to one of you.

TO ENTER: Leave a comment below with one of your greatest kitchen struggles. 
I'll draw a winner at 8 pm on Friday, May 6.
This giveaway is not affiliated with Instagram or The Lazy Genius, Kendra Adachi.
.
.
.
#LazyGenius #KendraAdachi #NameWhatMatters #TheLazyGeniusKitchen #TheLazyGeniusWay #BookGiveaway
This morning we took advantage of @massmoca's Berk This morning we took advantage of @massmoca's Berkshire Teacher and Social Worker Appreciation Day free admission. After enjoying the student Art Invitational exhibit, the 4 of us took in several of the other galleries. Mass MoCA always impresses and it was delightful to be able to be out in the world with my kids.
.
.
.
#igers413 #InTheBerkshires #WesternMA #WesternMass #Berkshires  #VisitTheBerkshires #NorthAdams #NAmazing #MassMoCA #ArtMuseum
Today I finally found my way into @plantconnector, Today I finally found my way into @plantconnector, in its new location on Main Street in North Adams. The shop is incredible - the displays are great and the plants are delightful. There's a refill station with bottles and jars for soaps, detergents and other products, a terrarium bar, and an abundance of sustainable and beautiful products. I'm now in the process of pondering who I can purchase Plant Connector gifts for in the coming months.
.
.
.
#igers413 #InTheBerkshires #ShopLocal #WesternMA #WesternMass #Berkshires  #VisitTheBerkshires #NorthAdams #NAmazing #PlantConnector
This is your periodic reminder that @berkshiremuse This is your periodic reminder that @berkshiremuseum is a great visit for all ages. The current Voyage to the Deep exhibit, which involves an interactive Nautilus submarine that my 5 year old spent literally hours in.  We also thoroughly enjoyed the Aquarium and Berkshire Backyard. Highly recommended - we'll be back soon!
.
.
.
#igers413 #InTheBerkshires #WesternMA #WesternMass #Berkshires  #VisitTheBerkshires #BerkshireMuseum #PittsfieldMA
My January and early February menu plans for my @m My January and early February menu plans for my @mightyfoodfarm vegetables are finally up on the blog. See how we're making use of these beautiful items, as well as the items from the other pick up we made in the past month. 
Link in profile.
.
.
.
#MightyFoodFarm #EatLocal #EatSeasonal #VermontGrown #CSApickup #CSAshare  #KnowYourFarmerKnowYourFood #MenuPlanning #MealPlanning #igers413 #igers413_food #BerkshireFoodies
One of my favorite things to do is bake from scrat One of my favorite things to do is bake from scratch.
But, in the interest of full transparency, this pie was made with Pillsbury pie crusts and a $5 bag of Walmart Granny Smiths. I used the recipe on the pie crust box.
I am very excited to eat it.
.
.
.
#RelishmentsBakes #BakingFromScratch #baking #igers413_food #semihomemade #pie #ApplePie
#igers413 #BerkshireFoodies
I can't remember the last time I baked bread, some I can't remember the last time I baked bread, something that was part of my routine for a long time. Today school was cancelled due to the extremely cold temperatures outside and I took the opportunity to make 8 loaves - most of which will be put into the freezer until they're needed. Baking more bread was part of my 2022 theme of "resume" and I'm so happy to be back to it.
Recipe, as usual, from @breadin5
.
.
.
#RelishmentsBakes #BakingFromScratch #HomemadeBread #baking #igers413_food #BreadBaking #BreadIn5 #ArtisanBreadIn5 #igers413 #BerkshireFoodies
New on the blog: my first posted CSA menu plan sin New on the blog: my first posted CSA menu plan since September! I didn't intend to take so much time off, but I'm looking forward to the meals I've planned over the next 2 weeks using @mightyfoodfarm produce.
Follow the link in my profile to see the post.
.
.
.
#MightyFoodFarm #EatLocal #EatSeasonal #VermontGrown #CSApickup #CSAshare  #KnowYourFarmerKnowYourFood #MenuPlanning #MealPlanning #igers413 #igers413_food #BerkshireFoodies
Load More... Follow on Instagram

Copyright © 2022 · Foodie Pro Theme On Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in