Google Yourself to De... Productivity!

Do you ever find yourself having a hard time searching the Internet? It is a big place so how do you navigate it? Most people have a favorite search engine, some even have many favorite search engines that they use for different purposes. A search engine, like any software resource, is only as good as its user. If you don't know how to use it properly, you are not going to get the kind of results you are hoping for. So here are a few tips you can use when using Google (the author's favorite search engine):

• Use the "Advanced Search" option, you will see a link for this next to the search box. It allows you to further narrow your search and to get really specific. If you are getting 1,874,987 results your search is pretty worthless, I mean do you really have time to go through all of them?
• Get Help - Why are people so afraid of getting help? Google has it's own page of, "Advanced Search Tips." Read them, they are pretty helpful.
• Don't stop using the search engine just because you have found the website you are looking for. Open a second browser window and use Google to search that website for the content you are looking for. This can save you valuable time going through the website trying to find specific content when chances are Google already crawled it for you.

So what about other things you use your computer for? Below are a couple of examples of things that Google can do for you, if you don't believe it click the links and see the examples.

• Calculator - Yeah that program that is buried in the accessories folder and takes a couple minutes to find if you have not used it in a while. Typing the math problem you need solved into the Google search window will return the results quickly. It can also tell you how many quarts are in a liter and other useful stuff like that. You can get help here
• Do you have a hard time tracking down the phone number for your local theatre and then hate sitting on the phone listening to the times that each movie is playing? Then how good are you at understanding the scribbled notes you took while the message was playing? Well you can search for movie listings and show-times using Google too.

Keep in mind, the Internet should make your life easier, your work quicker. It should not be the thing that bogs you down and gets you stuck.

This is not an endorsement of Google, there are a number of sites that offer very similar features. Getting good at one search engine will help you increase your productivity, and you have to start somewhere, so this is my suggestion.