Whether you want to practice the trombone or play with your children, using an RSS reader is usually the starting point for any strategy to collect and unplug so that you can get on with living your life. Many of you probably already use RSS feeds in this way and, if so, this post might be a little basic for you and you’ll probably think I’m way behind the times.

But that’s the point. Our times are frenetic. We’re scattered and stretched and wasting time and energy on stuff that doesn’t matter or that can be done more easily using simple technologies like RSS. And many people either don’t know there are tools available to help take control back or are intimidated by them.

A little about RSS

First, the acronym “RSS” stands for Really Simple Syndication. It’s a way that websites and blogs can let you know there’s something new available and (often) allow you to read it at your leisure. The best analogy or schema I’ve heard is that it’s a lot like the Associated Press‘s news wire.

Two notes:

• First, nearly half of my readers use some form of RSS reader to keep up with my blog.
• Second, maybe you have an analogy for what it is and how it works; your analogy might even be better. If so, why not share it in the comments?

Not Getting Too Technical

I’m not actually all that interested in the technical side of how an RSS feed works (if you are, you can read more about that here). Rather, I’m interested in using an RSS feed to automate and collect. So, let’s look at the five steps of RSS that actually matter.
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