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I subscribe to 55 different feeds including Hacker News. I use Google Reader as it is the fastest, most portable option and it isn't blocked at my office. To be

I subscribe to 55 different feeds including Hacker News. I use Google Reader as it is the fastest, most portable option and it isn't blocked at my office. To be honest, I don't find balance. I just let it roll. I find that no matter how much time I spend on either work or "sharpening the saw" (to borrow a CH term), I will likely get the same amount of work done. Why? I really don't know, I just do. Google Reader is nice because I can let it go and come back later and still see all the old items and skim through the headlines. If there's something I like but it is far too long, I'll star, share and email it to myself.

JoelPM 17y ago
Google Reader has also helped me manage the amount of time spent reading news. I click on "All Items" and then start scrolling through. If there are longer items that seem interesting I star them so I can come back. Shorter items I skim and then move on. I also try to assess the value of an item (not everything in your reader is worth reading - really!) as I'm going. I find that things generally fall into the following categories: 1) Interesting, short, and worth reading right now. 2) Interesting, long, and worth reading later. 3) Mildly interesting but doesn't help me improve as a programmer/engineer and thus not worth reading. 4) Not interesting and not worth reading. 5) Webcomic (dilbert/penny-arcade/xkcd) The last category is self-regulating since they are only released periodically. They also take 30 seconds to parse, which seems like it's worth the enjoyment they bring. It's also worth remembering that when you're bored at work, EVERYTHING in your reader is going to seem extremely interesting (but they're not paying you to read it).
- jokermatt999 17y ago
  I've found feeds become much more manageable on Google Reader if you get used to the keyboard shortcuts of j/k'ing forward and back through items. Assess each item based on its headline, and build up a rhythm of j-j-j, moving quickly past less interesting items. I've noticed myself reading far less inane articles since picking up the habit.

JoelPM 17y ago

Google Reader has also helped me manage the amount of time spent reading news. I click on "All Items" and then start scrolling through. If there are longer items that seem interesting I star them so I can come back. Shorter items I skim and then move on. I also try to assess the value of an item (not everything in your reader is worth reading - really!) as I'm going. I find that things generally fall into the following categories: 1) Interesting, short, and worth reading right now. 2) Interesting, long, and worth reading later. 3) Mildly interesting but doesn't help me improve as a programmer/engineer and thus not worth reading. 4) Not interesting and not worth reading. 5) Webcomic (dilbert/penny-arcade/xkcd) The last category is self-regulating since they are only released periodically. They also take 30 seconds to parse, which seems like it's worth the enjoyment they bring. It's also worth remembering that when you're bored at work, EVERYTHING in your reader is going to seem extremely interesting (but they're not paying you to read it).

jokermatt999 17y ago
I've found feeds become much more manageable on Google Reader if you get used to the keyboard shortcuts of j/k'ing forward and back through items. Assess each item based on its headline, and build up a rhythm of j-j-j, moving quickly past less interesting items. I've noticed myself reading far less inane articles since picking up the habit.