Incorporating Instapaper
I’m constantly signing up for and trying out the latest web applications. Most of the time I stop using them after the first login. Occasionally I’ll play with one for a couple of weeks. And once in a while a new web app becomes a regular tool. Instapaper is starting to look like one of the latter.
Reading Routine
I purchased NetNewsWire (NNW) not long after purchasing my first Mac (a used PowerMac G4), mostly on the recommendation of chairman Gruber. Since then, nothing has made me want to leave NNW for another RSS reader. The only issue I’ve had is that my work machine is an HP so NNW is not an option when at work.
Keeping up with my feeds mostly happens at home. But there are days when I want to do some reading at work. I tried Google reader for a while (with the excellent greader theme from Jon Hicks). But having to keep up to date on all my feeds in two feed readers was a waste of my time.
I’ve also tried using NNW on my mac and using a synced list on NewsGator while at work. This did not last for long either - mostly due to poor performance. NewsGator is extremely slow for me and buggy to boot. I love NNW, but it seems a shame that Ranchero was bought out by a company that makes Windows software (I’ve done a comparison on this very thing before).
Suffice to say, I had a hard time finding a satisfactory solution keeping my reading in sync between work and home. That is where Instapaper has now filled in admirably.
How? First, it has allowed me to keep up with my reading when at work. I don’t always get a lot of time to read at work anyways, so going through my entire list of feeds was a waste. Now I simply have a list of items that I’m sure will be a good read. I simply choose one during my lunch that piques my interest at the time.
Secondly, it fits in with my weekend routine quite nicely as well.
The New Routine
So now with NNW and Instapaper, I can keep up with my reading wherever I am and whenever I have time. Here’s how I use them.
Most weekday evenings I get a chance to go through my feeds in NNW. But a lot of those evenings my time is limited so I really skim through the shorter content.
When I get to something longer that really interests me, if I have time, I read it. If not, I use Instapaper’s bookmarklet to save the item for later. Now when I have a free moment at work, I simply choose from my list of items on Instapaper.
I also mentioned above how it fits in on the weekends. It does so simply by giving me something to read. Most of my feeds have content published during the week, but slow to a trickle on Friday through Sunday. I used to get a bit stressed trying to keep on top of my feeds during the busyness of the week - then the weekend would come along and I’d have nothing left to read.
Now I have a list of the items that deserve a longer look available at the time when I can give them the attention they deserve. And I’m less stressed.
One last thing to mention is the feel of the application itself. It’s dead simple. It was clearly designed for use on the iPhone, but is comfortable on a regular browser. It does just what it needs and nothing more. It’s a clean tool and a joy to use.
It’s becoming an indispensable tool for this reader.
