7 Productivity Secrets for...Youtube?!

Jeff -

I may or may not have created this entire post (and video) to justify the fact that I can still be productive while...watching Youtube videos

Watch it in action

Tip #1 - Incognito Mode to Protect Recommendations

You might be already using incognito mode for...other browsing activities but I sometimes like to watch Youtube videos in incognito mode so Youtube doesn't continue pushing "addictive" content on my home screen

  • Press CMD+SHIFT+N (or CTRL+SHIFT+N for Windows users)

Did you know you can turn on incognito mode on your mobile phone as well?

  1. Open the YouTube app on your phone > click on your profile icon
  2. Select “Turn on Incognito”
  3. Now you can watch your guilty pleasures in peace ☺️

Tip #2 - Intentionally Manage your Home Feed

If you want to clean up your home feed:

  • Go to any YouTube video, press the 3 dots below it
  • Select “Not interested” or “Don’t recommend channel” to help filter the type of videos that show up

This will help prevent you from going down a rabbit hole and binge watching videos you’re not supposed to. 👀

Tip #3 - Insert Audio Clips into Presentations

Want to include fancy elevator music in your presentations?

  1. Click on your profile icon in the top right corner > select “YouTube Studio”
  2. Under the menu tab on the left, go to “Audio library”
  3. Within the search bar, you can search for a mood or genre of music
  4. You have the option to download these tracks
  5. Go back to Google Slides > click Insert in the menu tab > select “Audio”
  6. Select the track you just downloaded
  7. You can now choose to start the music automatically, adjust the volume, and loop the audio!

Tip #4 - Best YouTube Keyboard Shortcuts

  • Press “M” to mute
  • Press “F” for full-screen, “T” for theater mode
  • Press “SHIFT + .” to speed up the video, “SHIFT + ,” to slow it down
💡
Pro Tip: Click on the settings icon at the bottom of the video > Playback speed > select “Custom” to change the increments of your playback speed

To view the full cheatsheet for YouTube keyboard shortcuts:

  • Click on your profile icon > select “Keyboard shortcuts” or simply press CMD (or CTRL) + /

Tip #5 - Use Find Function with Transcript Feature

Need to rewatch a specific portion of a video?

  1. Click the 3 dot menu beneath the YouTube video > select “Open transcript”
  2. Press “CMD+F” to bring up the find function > type in the keywords you want to search
  3. Select the specific time the words are mentioned and the video will jump directly to that section

Super handy for how-to or tutorial type videos and will save you from having to rewatch hour long videos!

See a frame or scene you really like in a YouTube video?

  • Pause the video > right click > select “Copy video URL at current time”
  • Now you can hyperlink it within an email by pressing “CMD+K” > paste the URL

Another huge time saver.

If you ever need to search for a specific video from a channel:

  • Click the magnifying glass icon on the channel page to search
  • Type in the video you want to search
  • It will show you a list of videos related to your search terms

This is useful when searching from channels that make educational videos across a wide range of categories!

Need to brush up on your presentation skills?

Learn some tips and tricks for Google Slides and grab a free template here!