How I use Anybox

Saving links to get back to at a later time is a problem with a million great solutions. I even helped create an open source one that is still chugging along, works great, but hasn’t been updated in far too long. My current solution to this problem is an app called Anybox. I’ve been using and paying for it for a few years and here is how I use it.

If you know my solution to this problem, then you know I like to categorize my links into actions. So that is what I do in Anybox. I have the following tags: Read, Watch, Listen, Buy, and Do. I get by using this small selection but I could easily be convinced that I should have a few more.

As I save links throughout my day I quickly select one of these tags so that I’m able to quickly sort my entire list by the action I plan to do with them later. I have a few additional tags that I use sparingly: Evergreen (links to sites that I may revisit often), Photographer’s Websites, and Artist’s Websites (should be self explanatory, but I collect a slew of these).

The Anybox user interface for the macOS app.
The Anybox macOS app

To track my progress (have I read, bought, or listened to the link?) I use the star feature combined with a Smart List for each action tag. Each Smart List is set to show links tagged with each action tag, the added bit is that the Smart List only shows me links which are starred. When I un-star them, they are removed from the Smart List (but, are still tagged). This helps keep my individual lists tidy.

All of this is synced across my laptop, phone, and tablet. And it all works great.

Anybox is chocked full of features, many I do not use regularly but when I need them I’m very happy they are there. My particular use case is not likely to be what the author intended but it works great for my needs. And they also have added nearly every feature I’ve asked for via email.

Give it a look. Maybe it will work for you.

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