Category: Life Tips

All posts pertaining to focusing on whatever task is at hand, including cleaning your home or office, studying for a big exam, or tackling a project

9 Things I Learned After Switching From Chrome to Microsoft Edge

Photo by Salvatore De Lellis on Pexels.com

This past weekend, I made the switch from Google Chrome to Microsoft Edge. It was a reluctant switch for me after using Chrome almost exclusively since 2012, but it was worth it. I noticed right away the major changes Microsoft made with Edge that I didn’t have with Chrome, and I want to showcase that.

My personal past grievances with Microsoft Internet Explorer were what made me reluctant to switch in the first place. They had started making the browser better since their Windows 10 launch in 2020 and it has (for better or worse) shaken off the past reputation IE has had. In fact, I have only used Internet Explorer to download Chrome. Well, not anymore

My switch to Edge happened because I knew a couple of people who had told me their CPUs were working too hard when using Chrome. After switching to Microsoft Edge, they noticed that their CPU wasn’t working as hard. That was a big change when I made the switch. I’ll get into that later, but here are other things I learned after making the switch

Switchover was easy

I’ll be honest — when I started using my current computer in October 2021, I used Microsoft Edge to download Google Chrome. I have used the browser a few times because my PDFs open there. However, the switchover was easy and painless because it copied what I had with Chrome. I’m talking about bookmarks, extensions, passwords, and even the current tabs I had opened on Chrome.

Microsoft Rewards

Another thing I noticed right away was the daily Microsoft Rewards tasks. I had been doing this every morning for the past week and in my opinion, it’s a great way to earn points by using Bing while learning about new things, even though I’m a Google person at heart. You can earn points by solving a puzzle, taking part in a daily poll, answering quick questions, searching certain items, and sometimes you get bonuses. You can even set a goal with those points. I set my goal of receiving a $10 Amazon Gift Card, which can be redeemed for 10,500 points (at the time I have 1050 points. That’s 10% for you math illiterates). Overall, I like this feature and I think you should give it a shot

Sleeping tabs save resources

This was a very noticeable thing for me, and this feature sets itself apart from Google Chrome. If enabled, Edge will put your tabs to sleep after a certain amount of time, from 30 seconds to 12 hours. I have mine set to 30 minutes. You can access it by going to Settings > System and Performance > Optimize Performance. From there, you can turn on “save resources with sleeping tabs” and you can then set a timer for when your tabs stay active. This has been a huge help as Chrome keeps your tabs awake throughout your time on the browser (and it will even reload after just 5 seconds of inactivity. I had to download an extension to stop it from happening)

Vertical Tabs

I was reluctant about this feature at first because I’m so used to having tabs on the top of the browser. I gave it a try and it felt as if I had decluttered my browser. You can even pin it for easier access, which is up to the user in hand. I decided to switch to vertical tabs and even pin them because I like to easily switch between them and the constant hovering over them gets annoying for my day-to-day operations. This is entirely up to you, but I would recommend it

Easy on CPU

This was a major reason I switched over. If you have been noticing that your CPU has been working overtime to keep Chrome running, you will be very surprised when you switch over to Microsoft Edge. It’s less taxing on your CPU and your computer fan will be very happy. This was the case for my mom, who had to switch over because her computer fan was working overtime and it was making a lot of noise. I even noticed it with my CPU. If you’re looking to lower your CPU output, this is the browser to use

Websites as Apps

I’m not too keen on this one because I thought they were apps that you can pin to your sidebar so that you can open them with ease. It turns out that they actually pin to your taskbar. My taskbar is cluttered as it is, so that was a huge no from me. If you’re up for it, go ahead, but I wouldn’t use it if I were you

Collections

The one thing my Microsoft Edge account did not copy over from my Chrome account was the Chrome Bookmarks. The bookmarks were great, but they didn’t have a way of organizing them. I just started using the collections feature after reading about it and how it’s better than keeping your tabs open indefinitely. It works like Bookmarks, but you can make more than one. So far I made two collections — one was exclusively YouTube videos I have saved since Saturday. If you’re into organizing, this feature is for you.

Bing is King

As mentioned earlier, I am a Google person at heart. The vast majority of my searches over the years were on Google. However, going to a new tab and searching on the browser bar will take you to Bing’s search page (you can get 5 points per search up to 55 points). It’s a minor inconvenience but it is Microsoft after all, so they have to promote their products. Just like Chrome and the Google search engine

Math Solver, Citations, Web Capture

I actually found this feature while setting up Edge and it immediately caught my eye. I added the math solver (which is useful for a math person like me), a citations button (to help me cite sources for important pieces), and a web capture (to take a picture of my screen when needed). There are also buttons for sharing, performance, web select, history, downloads, and more. Those can be found by going to Settings > Appearance > Select which buttons to show on the toolbar.

Conclusion

Overall, I’m happy to make the switch to Edge because of lower CPU outputs, ways to earn points using Bing, and the number of features that Chrome just didn’t have. I hope this review finds its way to your decision to use Microsoft Edge

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Why is this true?

NEW: You can listen to my blog post here

So I found this tweet on October 5 and I feel like that speaks to my existence.

A tweet from ADHD Jesse reads “My phone has this great feature that reminds you when it’s time to wind down so you can get to ned on time, and I’ve developed a great nightly ritual of dismissing it without giving it a second though. It’s as effective as my first alarm in the morning, which is to say, not.” I quoted his tweet and asked, “Wait, why is this true?”

I might or might not have ADHD, but I can tell you that I am on a spectrum. I felt different than other kids in school, so I think we know where we are going with this. Anyway, I ended up following ADHD Jesse because his tweets speak to me in a way that IRL people can’t. Just today, I made my own observation based on my experiences in life

A tweet I made this morning reads “I’m the type of person that can switch from work to play real quick but takes forever to switch from play to work. And I also know people who take a major issue with that”

Yeah, this is more of my experiences in school and at work. I can switch from work to play real quick because I want to take that break to recharge, but then when it comes to switching back, it takes me a little longer because my brain doesn’t compute it as quickly as others can, and I have dealt with people (teachers, other students) who take a major issue with this minor problem.

Speaking of, why do people love to take something minor and make it major? They have to know people don’t give a shit about said non-issue, but they will go out of their way to make people care. For example, Joe Biden. Yes, the man is almost 80. My grandmother is 80. Yes, I get that we need younger faces leading the Democratic Party. That is not lost on me. But come on, I’ve seen Joe in action. He’s as fit as he is, but no, he’s 80 so he can’t think straight. So what? I’m 33 and can’t think straight most days either, so why is this an issue? I can understand that if there is a situation where critical thinking is required, then yeah, I can see that argument.

I feel like using someone’s age, intelligence, and judgment against them in a situation where it’s not needed is an ad hominem attack and it does nothing but make the judgmental person feel good about themselves.

All I’m saying is this… if a person wants to disparage someone else because of how slowly they get back to the grind after a rather short break, then they can exit stage left. That behavior says more about them than it does about the person they’re angry at. And yes, it’s a chemical imbalance, not incompetence.

I might do a blog post about these flexes which are really red flags because some people need to be checked

Weight Loss Update

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A couple weeks back I posted a blog about the best diet you can possibly have, and I can tell you that in the 6 1/2 months since I started this journey, I have lost 30 pounds.

I started at 296.4 pounds on February 22. I decided to change my lifestyle that day. I switched to vegan foods for breakfast and lunch. I stopped snacking at night. I started exercising even just 30 minutes a day. I walked around the block once a week. I sometimes dabbed into dairy-free and gluten-free products. Essentially, I stopped gorging and started writing down everything I ate each day

6 1/2 months later, on this day, September 8, I now weigh 266 pounds.

I’m not done yet! I’m 16 pounds away from reaching my first major goal of 250, and 66 away from my ultimate 200-pound goal

My smaller goals are in increments of 10. I think it’s important to set smaller goals to achieve your bigger ones. It makes your progress more bearable

So, that’s my weight loss update. If you have yours, let me know in the comments below.

How I use Anchor.fm and YouTube to turn my blog posts into TTS

NEW: You can listen to this blog post here

When I started my blog three weeks ago, one of the services that were presented to me was to turn my blog posts into podcasts with a service called anchor.fm, and I initially didn’t want to do it because I never liked my voice on video. One night, I looked into it further, and out of curiosity, I signed up for the service. After signing up and creating a podcast (which is the same name as this blog lol), I connected my site to the platform and I saw all of the posts (I had 13 posts at the time when I signed up) that I can turn into podcast episodes, and they also add posts when they get published so now I upload a text-to-speech version within the hour after a post goes live. Today is my 25th episode, so I thought I can give a tutorial of sorts on how I use anchor.fm and YouTube to bring TTS to my blog posts

Services I used

  • Anchor.fm, to turn a blog post into a podcast episode
  • Microsoft Video Editor, to make a simple video using the audio
  • YouTube account, to upload the video with all the necessary
  • The blog post in question, to post the YouTube embed

For this one, I’m going to use the 1st WordPress Adventures post I made last Sunday for reference

WARNING: This is a long tutorial, so strap in, y’all

1 — well, the post has to go live. I schedule my posts to go out daily at noon eastern, so the things I’m about to show you took place up to 30 to 45 minutes after posting.

2 — I log in to my anchor.fm app and automatically they find a new post to turn into an episode (you can sign up for anchor.fm and then follow instructions to connect your site to the platform).
3 — I click on “create episode” and the service will start generating the script.
4 — there is an option to either use automatic TTS voice translation or to record your own voice. Like I said, I hate how my voice sounds, so I clicked on automatically convert to audio.
5 — I run into two options… Remy and Cassidy. Remy is the female TTS voice and Cassidy is the male counterpart. I always pick Remy because I am female, after all.
6 — Then click save and continue.
7 — again, you’re presented with two options… record audio (with your own voice) with Anchor and record video on Riverside. I ignore it and click on save episode
8 — You can edit the title and description before publishing. I usually leave them alone except change HTTP to HTTPS because who uses HTTP these days
9 — This is what it will look like. This podcast is 3 minutes 33 seconds. I will be using that in the video portion of this tutorial
10 — I scrolled down to the player and click on the three dots to select “download audio file”
10 — I was taken to another page where I again click the three dots and click download to start the process. Now, I will use the audio for the next 6 steps in this tutorial
11 — I opened my native video-making service Microsoft Video Editor, which came with Windows 10. These steps will be about MVE, but you can also do this on your own native or downloaded video-making service
12 — I clicked on “new video project” and named it TMIPITW 016. I name all of them TMIPITW followed by a three-digit number. WordPress Adventures #1 was number 16 in the series
13 — I added the title card. Then I changed the background color from blue to black. In step 9, I revealed that the podcast is 3 minutes and 33 seconds. I set the duration to 214 seconds (which is one second more than the time allotted to fit the audio). (60*3)+34=214
14 — I went to custom audio and then added the audio file.
15 — Then I added the text — that is, the title of the blog and then I add “Blog link in description” because I will be uploading it to YouTube in a bit. Then I made sure to fill the status bar so that the title will appear throughout the video.
16 — After that, it’s time to finish the video. There are three options for video quality… 1080p, 720p, and 540p. 1080p was recommended to me, but I use 720p because less space on my portable hard drive. Then, we let it render
17 — Then it’s time to upload. I went to Youtube and clicked on the plus camera option and picked Upload Video
18 — I selected the video I just made and then the process starts
19 — For my first blog, I added the description manually. Now, with subsequent videos, all I did was to import the video details from the previous videos. As you can see, I imported everything except the title and I change the link in the description
20 — I always add a video, a subscribe button, and the playlist to the ending credits
21 — Let it check for copyright, which was a quick process. Sometimes it’ll be done as I put details on the videos
22 — I set the visibility to public and clicked publish. I also grabbed the link, which will be used to embed the video to the blog
23 — I opened the blog post on my editor and clicked the plus sign between blocks. Then I selected YouTube and added the link to embed it
24 — This is the finished product.

And then we profit. I’m kidding, but this is my super long tutorial on how I added a TTS version to my blog posts.

Is the Pomodoro Technique worth it?

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NEW: You can listen to this blog post here

Short answer: yes

But what is the Pomodoro Technique and why is it a popular way to break down big tasks into smaller ones?

Pomodoro is Italian for tomato and it refers to a sauce that comes from it. It also serves as a working interval to focus on a part of a larger task.

Meet Francesco Cirillo, who invented the Pomodoro technique we all know and love today.

The idea behind it is that you pick a task and you work on it for 25 minutes. 25 minutes is the kitchen timer Cirillo based his technique on. Then, you take a short break (usually 5 minutes). Then you repeat the process until you’re done with the project at hand. It also notes that after every 4th Pomodoro session you take a longer break, usually about 10 to 30 minutes.

So why use this technique to accomplish bigger tasks?

  • It makes the project less daunting
  • It prioritizes the easier tasks so that you can take on bigger ones
  • It reduces everyday distractions
  • You’re studying for a big exam but don’t want to take hours at a time without breaks
  • It also helps with procrastination (the main reason why I love this technique)

In short, 25-minute work intervals with 5-minute breaks is the way to go if you’re trying to get things done. However, the Pomodoro techniques have since extended to other intervals (ex. 50/10 or 45/15), so you have options of how you divide them and which tasks to take on.

Wait, why are you inconsistent again?

NEW: You can listen to this blog post here

Yes, I named my blog “The Most Inconsistent Person in the World”, yet, I was able to send out a post daily (so far, knock on wood). Also, my days (and even hours) are not the same. I change interests all the time. I write down things but do not actually do them. I get distracted by social media. I sometimes forget to do important things around the house, and if I do remember, I sometimes skip a step or two.

This was something that I have been fighting myself with since middle/high school. No amount of planning, coordinating, scheduling, or organizing was helping my situation. Yes, I have apps that I type out my schedule to stay on task, but so far, that has been a hit-and-miss.

If you’ve been here before, you know that my post topics are all over the place. I have changed themes several times until I found the perfect one (aka the one you’re seeing right now). I spent the first two weeks researching the internet on how to be successful in blogging. I can say their advice is all over the place (if you missed it, here’s the post).

But what about now? Am I still inconsistent with the schedule? In a way, yes, or else I would not tell you right off the bat that I’m a complete human mess. I am trying to build a structure for this blog. I posted about Eurovision and anti-MLM and started a new series on my time blogging on WordPress. I also have some ideas for my future blog posts, so keep an eye out for that.

Blogging is an outlet. I love writing, (as much as I love math). I can type my thoughts out. I can get my stuff out there for anyone who wants to read it. I have also learned how to turn my posts into podcasts. I will post about that in due course. They are all uploaded to my channel and are on a playlist, so you can check them out there. You can also subscribe there if you want.

The month’s almost over, so we’ll see where this post (and blog in general) will take me. And again, I want to thank those who came by and read even one post. I’m doing this to build an audience, and I’m grateful for every single one of you.

I’ve Been Blogging For A Week

NEW: You can listen to this blog post here

And it felt like I got a new hobby to play with, even though I don’t have a niche.

But I did spent some time last week before and after work searching on Google, Reddit, WordPress itself, and other sites for tips on being successful while blogging. I have gotten some valuable tips along the way, and I will like to share what I have learned and experienced

You don’t really need a niche: Most bloggers have a niche and are using that to make money for their knowledge, but if you don’t have a specific niche, that’s fine too. I personally don’t have a specific niche and have a variety of topics to write about. Considering my blog is a week old, I’m actually okay with it. Even if you want to make money off your blog, you might not need a niche to do it. I would say, just be knowledgeable on the various topics you want to write about. So far, I have already written about Eurovison, anti-MLM, Rocketbook, and Bingo… all vastly different topics, and that’s not even scratching the surface

SEO: I’m still learning Search Engine Optimization, but what it does is that you can create backlinks for your site, curate relevant keywords to your topic at hand, and gain more visibility to Google and other search engines. I was told this is important for marketing, so I will be focusing on this behind the scenes a little bit more.

Theme: If you haven’t read my blog post So I’m New To WordPress, I’ll leave a link. On that post, I wrote about my struggles to get the theme I wanted plus the color scheme that not only I like, but it also doesn’t strain the readers’ eyes. I went through three themes before I decided on the one you’re seeing now, mainly because I wanted to use excerpts on the front page. If you are someone still strugging with a theme, I can tell you this… find the one that you like, but also one that helps the reader see your posts clearly.

Keyword Researching is definitely a thing: So I had to look this up because I wasn’t really sure where they were going with this, but I did find a website where you type in your keyword and it’ll show you how it would perform as well as other keywords you could use. That’s what I did with my Bingo Blitz post. This is also part of the SEO, but basically, the best thing to do is to use the low frequent tags to gain traffic, and then you can move up from there.

Sharing your posts also help: I have mine set to share automatically on Twitter and LinkedIn, but you can also plug your blog on other social media sites like Facebook and Instagram. Now I haven’t shared on Instagram yet, but then again, I don’t really use social media a lot. I also found out that you can share your blog on Quora and Pinterest and you may get more traffic, so I will be trying that out too, since I have accounts on both.

Posting as often as you possibly can: This was a big one for me because I thought initally that you have to post, let’s say, 5 times a day, but fellow WP blogger Mac’s Opinion gave me a great recommendation — post daily. Some bloggers can get by with posting 2 to 3 times a week, sometimes 4, but I feel like, because I’m starting out, I want to post daily. Of course, because of my job, I can’t physically post daily, so instead, I use the schedule option so that each post I make, I set it to 12pm EDT every day to keep up with my posting schedule. If you want to try that, make a post, and then after you’re done, when you click Publish, go to the arrow on the ‘Publish’ tab (just below visibility) and you can schedule your post there. This is also great for drafting purposes when you can make changes to your posts before it goes live.

Finally, just be yourself: With all these tips in mind, and life in general, it’s always important to be yourself. You don’t have to copy every single thing a successful blogger does, but you can always put yourself out there for other bloggers to read your posts. I have struggled to be myself nearly all my life, but I can tell you, it’s rewarding once you let go of things that are holding you back. Blogging is a great avenue to share tips, tricks, and your opinions on various topics, and you might find an audience for it.

These are all the tips I was able to get from my research last week. Do you know any others? Drop them below in the comments section. If you’ve been coming back to this blog or if you are a new visitor, thank you so much for reading.

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