How to restore recently closed tabs on web browsers

To recover a recently closed website, open your browser if you're not already there, and press the following key combination CTRL SHIFT t

And speaking of Window browser tabs...

You can navigate from one browser tab to another
by holding CTRL and pressing TAB.

If you want to close the current tab, use CTRL w

I frequently hold CTRL with my thumb,
then tab from one website to another,
and still holding CTRL, press w to close. 

It's the quickest way I know to inspect
and close a bunch of tabs.

But of course, if I close a tab mistakenly,
I can bring it back with CTRL SHIFT t.

Happy searching!

Tony

About the author

Why do I forget everything I learn?

There are many reasons why we forget what we've learned, but in modern society, information overload is a common ground for memory erasure. The quicker we jump into a new subject, the faster we lose what we have learned earlier. This is an example of "use it, or lose it".

Yes, it sounds true that as we gobble more information, older information goes out the window, or falls off the cliff.

This is called information overload, also known as infobesity.

We all suffer from this epidemic one way or another, so I have a few suggestions that may help:

• First, start by skimming through a new topic to get a bird's eye view of what you're about to learn.

A quick scan of the subject gives a chance to the subconscious mind to prepare for accepting the new information, and possibly associate it with what you had previously learned.

Then, take a break.

• Second, as you study, slow down and give time to the mind to digest the subject you're reading through. 

Reading out loud certain passages will help to slow down data intake.

Subdivide the topic into manageable chunks and take a break in between them.

When you return from your break, don't feed in more information yet. Revisit the issue in your mind and see how much you can still remember or understand. This is really important.

Try linking the current section of information to the previous episode in your studies, so that your mind can catalog things properly.

If you don't remember something, review or skim through the previous topic. Do not go any further until you revisit the subject.

Everyone learns differently, but one think is true: you need to slow down and manage the information that knocks at your door.

If you let everything in, your memory will "overflow" and you will remember nothing.

• Be present and aware of your actions. 
• Be selective on the data showing up at your door. 

Don't assume you understand the obvious, test each theory in several different ways like a mad scientist. Testing will help you remember because you are active in the learning process, and because you are slowing down and giving your mind time to digest the data.

• Periodically, declare data bankruptcy and start afresh.

For example, if you haven't read your emails for over a month, perhaps they are not important to keep. Select all, skim the titles one last time looking for something you must keep, and then delete all the others.

Starting afresh is good medicine. Declaring data bankruptcy by purging everything unread, is a good practice.

Be a good gardener. Sometimes we just need to let go. 

I hope this helps.

Tony

About the author

How to search for images including free to use images

Google Search has an advanced image search tool you can use for fine tuning your image search.

For me, the most useful features in this tool is the "Find images by usage rights" where you can find among other options, the "free to use or share" category.

The link below will take you to the Advanced Image Search Tool.

• google.com/advanced_image_search

Here's an example of a "free to use" image I found by searching for "Information Overload":

The image comes from Pixabay with the following license:
Free for commercial use. No attribution required.

Search with intent,
Tony

About the author

How to search for similar website alternatives

The Google Search engine uses the "related" symbol to find alternative matches to a given website. If the website is well known and an alternative exists, it will be listed.

Having choices is only good
when we remain mindful.

Here are some examples you can try (do not include spaces):

• related:facebook.com
• related:quora.com
• related:udemy.com
• related:wikipedia.org
• related:youtube.com
• related:google.com
• related:news.google.com
• related:cnn.com
• related:amazon.com
• related:usa.gov

As you can tell from this last example, usa.gov, the keyword "related" is also used to find different branches of the same entity if they have individual websites of their own.

In addition...

Google Search now uses a drop down menu on cached articles from which you can select related  articles  (see image below):

That drop down menu option allows us to fine tune our search once we find an article of possible interest.

Happy searching!

About  the author  

Using the -site- keyword to get better online search results

How do you separate weeds from wheat when searching for a topic online? Answer: Use a general search engine such as Google Search, but choose the source of your data before beginning search. This article will show you how to accomplish that.

For example, when I search for information overload, Google Search displays 102,000,000 possible answers.

It would take me hours to try finding relevant information away from all the ads and unqualified results. This is not a good way to search.

One step to improve search results is to decide upfront which data source we want to use for our research.

As an illustration, let me randomly pick an information source, such as The Guardian.

All I need to do is to add the following flag at the end of my search words (the Guardian website name):

site:theguardian.com

Here's what I mean (all in one line):

information overload site:theguardian.com

Now, my results are reduced to 3,650 possibilities and it seems that most of the articles found on the first page-result are relevant to the information I'm looking for.

Let me try another website:

Information overload site:npr.org

NPR gives me 562 results. It's not much, but those are high quality articles and I'll be delighted to skim through them if I have the time.

What if I want to see what other news outlets around the world are saying about information overload?

I can try Google News:

information overload site:news.google.com

That's 3,030 articles from newspapers and magazines around the globe.

Here's another example:

information overload site:smithsonianmag.com

Using site:websitename.com is a useful approach for getting good search outcomes. 

It is not a perfect solution, and not the only way to find information, but it's a must know, must use technique.

And you may be wondering if it isn't better to search the website directly. Well, you will get another result experience when doing so. Websites use their own search criteria, but nothing is as powerful as the mighty Google Search engine or its engine alternatives.

You probably already knew about this search technique, so let's put it to use more often. That will tell Google and other search engines that we need more of these tools to filter out irrelevant information from our valued research activities.

Happy search,

About  the author