4 ms·

Close Your Open Tabs (2018)

13 points by ecliptik 5y ago

PaulKeeble 5y ago
I tend to utilise a few windows on varying topics with maybe 10 tabs on any window and I rarely breach about 15 tabs total. I have 5 pinned tabs. That is it, maybe it is because I worked with computers that had 16MB of RAM but I don't tend to keep much open these days despite the 32GB of RAM the machine provides as I just don't find it productive once the tabs are reduced down to nothing but their icon, the title text is an important guide.
gregwebs 5y ago
For me an open unpinned tab is either a TODO or unorganized information. The way to close it is to write down notes about it or turn it into a TODO.
- tconfrey 5y ago
  This is exactly the use case BrainTool[0] was built for. From its Bookmarker you can set a TODO and/or add a note as you close a tab and save it into the Topic Manager. Everything is saved to a private personal plain text file. I'm actively soliciting feedback so do please check it out! https://braintool.org https://braintool.org
  - gregwebs 5y ago
    I like this take a lot. But for me notes don't exist in just a single browser or even a single computer. The notes need to be well synced. Using a single plain text file actually works against that (because you are more likely to end up with conflicts). I use SimpleNote for my notes because it syncs to mobile well and I can quickly jot something down on mobile when needed.
ryankrage77 5y ago
> Instead of feeling nervous that you missed something because you let a tab close, feel confident that you will be able to rediscover it using your browser history. Except the browser history only goes back 6 months. I keep tabs open so I can find them again more than 6 months later. Every 18 months or so I'll somehow lose my tabs (browser crash, opening multiple windows and closing them in the wrong order, etc), and I'll use that as a fresh start.
CodesInChaos 5y ago
The one-tab extension solved my tab problem. Since it saves the list of closed tabs, I don't feel like I'm losing my open tabs, even if I never take another look at them.
castillar76 5y ago
I felt this: I have way too many tabs open on every platform I own. One way to combat the “but I want to look at that later!” feeling was to start being aggressive about filing them in either Instapaper (for things to read) or Raindrop.io (for reference stuff). Then I know I can find it later if I actually turn out to need it (which, anecdotally, is about 25% of the time) and I can confidently close the tab and move on.

13 points by ecliptik 5y ago

I tend to utilise a few windows on varying topics with maybe 10 tabs on any window and I rarely breach about 15 tabs total. I have 5 pinned tabs. That is it, maybe it is because I worked with computers that had 16MB of RAM but I don't tend to keep much open these days despite the 32GB of RAM the machine provides as I just don't find it productive once the tabs are reduced down to nothing but their icon, the title text is an important guide.

gregwebs 5y ago

For me an open unpinned tab is either a TODO or unorganized information. The way to close it is to write down notes about it or turn it into a TODO.

tconfrey 5y ago
This is exactly the use case BrainTool[0] was built for. From its Bookmarker you can set a TODO and/or add a note as you close a tab and save it into the Topic Manager. Everything is saved to a private personal plain text file. I'm actively soliciting feedback so do please check it out! https://braintool.org https://braintool.org
- gregwebs 5y ago
  I like this take a lot. But for me notes don't exist in just a single browser or even a single computer. The notes need to be well synced. Using a single plain text file actually works against that (because you are more likely to end up with conflicts). I use SimpleNote for my notes because it syncs to mobile well and I can quickly jot something down on mobile when needed.

ryankrage77 5y ago

> Instead of feeling nervous that you missed something because you let a tab close, feel confident that you will be able to rediscover it using your browser history. Except the browser history only goes back 6 months. I keep tabs open so I can find them again more than 6 months later. Every 18 months or so I'll somehow lose my tabs (browser crash, opening multiple windows and closing them in the wrong order, etc), and I'll use that as a fresh start.

CodesInChaos 5y ago

The one-tab extension solved my tab problem. Since it saves the list of closed tabs, I don't feel like I'm losing my open tabs, even if I never take another look at them.

castillar76 5y ago

I felt this: I have way too many tabs open on every platform I own. One way to combat the “but I want to look at that later!” feeling was to start being aggressive about filing them in either Instapaper (for things to read) or Raindrop.io (for reference stuff). Then I know I can find it later if I actually turn out to need it (which, anecdotally, is about 25% of the time) and I can confidently close the tab and move on.