Organize YouTube playlists so you actually use them

Quick answer

Playlists start tidy: 'Cooking', 'Workouts', 'Learn Python'. Six months later they're 200 videos deep and you never open them.

What 125x is: 125x is a web app at 125x.app. You connect your YouTube subscriptions, and it gives you a feed of the latest videos from the channels you follow, each with a summary: a verdict, the 5 key takeaways, and the spoiler, plus Actionable and Lessons tabs with more tips. You read that and decide what's actually worth opening.

Open 125x

The basics

To save a video, open More, then Save, and pick a playlist or create one. Open a playlist to drag videos into the order you want (YouTube Help).

A system that stays small

This week: five videos max.
Reference: things you'll rewatch, like recipes or workouts.
Course playlists: one per skill, in order.
Skip 'Someday'. That's what Watch Later already is.

Keep them clean

Remove videos once you've watched them, unless they're reference.
Prune each playlist once a month.
Fold it into your weekly YouTube review.

How 125x fits

Read the summary in 125x before saving. Videos that are a skip never reach a playlist. See Watch Later too long.

FAQ: questions people ask

How do I reorder a YouTube playlist?

Open the playlist and drag the videos into the order you want.

How should I organize YouTube playlists?

Keep a small 'This week' list, a few reference playlists, and one ordered playlist per skill.

How do I keep playlists from getting too long?

Remove videos after watching and prune each playlist monthly.