Huge time-saver: Go straight to the recipe and skip the long story

All the buzzes, beeps, pop-ups, rings, dings and notifications built into our tech make it hard to focus. They’re built that way because it’s good for business when we’re addicted. Use these steps to quiet your notifications — and your mind.

If that feels good, wait till you put your phone down. Do a digital detox you can actually stick to.

There’s another time-waster online: Endless blog posts when trying to find something specific. Cooking blogs are a shining example.

A tale as old as time

You found a promising recipe online, but the author has a 3,000-word story on how deeply meaningful those chocolate chip cookies are — and there are pop-up ads everywhere.

Want to skip the story and jump straight to the steps? There are a couple of methods you can try. If you always look up recipes, try them out and see what you like best.

A quick note: I’m all for supporting creators, so I visit their websites. (Pageviews add up to ad dollars.) I pay to read articles on the sites I visit most. You should, too, if you can afford it and there’s content you really appreciate.

This site does it for you

Copy the recipe’s URL into Just The Recipe. Like magic, it’ll give you the ingredients and steps you need. It’s super simple to use and strips away all the junk.

If you love it, there’s also an app and Chrome extension.

Even simpler and it works almost every time

You probably always use this command but didn’t realize how handy it can be for things like this.

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Digital detox: How to put your phone down this summer

The idea of a digital detox is nothing new. Heck, the phrase brings up 66.6 million Google Search results.

Speaking of Google, you should hide your address, phone number and any other private details that come up in a search. Get the simple steps to do that here.

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Get paid $2,400 to ditch your tech for 24 hours

The pandemic has reinforced the importance of technology in our lives. Remote work enables us to keep our jobs while maintaining social distance. Some children are doing the same with remote learning. We can attend weddings, birthdays and conferences without having to leave home.

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