How to organize cooking tutorials by length for home cooks in 2026

A plain guide for home cooks to put the shortest cooking tutorials first in a playlist, with steps, the tools to try and the mistakes to avoid.

By XP Daily · 2026-10-19

XP Daily is published by the makers of DaysAid, QuickDictate and YTSort, which are compared here alongside other tools.

Find the length of each tutorial, order the playlist from shortest to longest, and start at the top. You can do it by hand on paper or in a spreadsheet.

Option	How it orders videos
Paper list or sticky note	You rank by hand
Spreadsheet	You sort by a length column you fill in
YTSort	Reorders a YouTube playlist you own by video length, shortest or longest first ^[1]

What you need before you start

Watching cooking tutorials shortest first takes only a few things.

A playlist you own. Reordering a playlist in place only works on one that belongs to your account. For someone else's playlist, you can copy the videos into your own first or work from a written list.
The length of each tutorial. YouTube shows it on each thumbnail. You need it to rank the videos.
A reason for going short first. It might be to fit a quick break or to start with quicker recipes before longer ones. Know which, because it decides what you do with the long videos.
A place to keep the order. The playlist itself, a paper list or a spreadsheet all work. What matters is that the order lives in one place.
A web browser. Only needed if you want a tool to do the sorting. Add the tool to your browser once, before you start, following its own instructions.

Set aside a short block before you begin organizing. Sorting while you are already halfway through a recipe tends to break your flow.

Step by step

These steps work with any tool, including a pen and a sheet of paper.

Open the playlist you want to sort. Make sure you can access the playlist before choosing a way to put shorter tutorials first.
List every video with its length. Write the title and the time shown on the thumbnail. Do not sort yet.
Mark videos that must stay in order. Some recipe series build on earlier steps, such as a dough lesson before a shaping lesson. If one tutorial needs an earlier one, keep those two together.
Rank the rest from shortest to longest. Put the shortest at the top.
Decide what happens to the very long tutorials. You can leave them at the end or schedule them for a longer free block.
Check the order before you commit. Read the new list once from top to bottom and look for tutorials that now sit in a confusing place.
Apply the order. Reorder the playlist by hand, or use a tool that does it for you.
Watch from the top. Start with the first video and move down the list.
Keep notes as you go. Short tutorials pass quickly, so a line or two per video about a key step helps the ideas stick.
Review after the first few sessions. If the order is not helping you cook, change it.

Tools that can do it

You do not need software for this. Here are options to consider.

Paper list or sticky note. You write each title and length and rank them by hand. Nothing is published here about price or limits because it depends on what you already own.

A spreadsheet. A column for the title, a column for length and a sort on the length column gives you a shortest-first list. Check how it behaves on your phone if you plan to use it in the kitchen. Facts about specific spreadsheet apps are not provided here, so check their own pages for limits and cost.

YTSort. YTSort is made by the team that publishes this site. YTSort is one option. Reorders a YouTube playlist you own by video length, shortest or longest first. ^[1] It sorts the full playlist, not just the videos loaded on screen. ^[1] After sorting, it reads the playlist back from YouTube and re-applies any moves that did not stick. ^[1] It shows the before and after order so you can check it before applying. ^[1] YTSort is free, and all install options include the same features. ^[1]

You can get YTSort through a bookmark, a browser script, or a Chrome Web Store extension. ^[1] The extension needs Chrome or Edge, and the script version works in any browser, including Firefox, with Tampermonkey, Violentmonkey or Greasemonkey installed. ^[1]

Common mistakes to avoid

Sorting a series that builds step by step. If later tutorials rely on earlier ones, a pure shortest-first order can leave you confused. Keep dependent lessons together.

Trusting the order without a look. Read the new order once before you start. A quick check catches tutorials that ended up in an odd spot.

Forgetting the long tutorials. Moving them to the end is fine, but give them a longer block in the day or they never get watched.

Trying to reorder a playlist that is not yours. Check who owns it first. If it is not yours, copy the videos into your own playlist or keep a written list.

Watching without notes. Short tutorials go by fast, so notes can help you keep track of a key step.

Never reviewing the order. If the order is not working for your schedule, change the approach instead of sticking with it.

Frequently asked questions

How to put the shortest cooking tutorials first in a YouTube playlist?

List each tutorial with its length, rank them from shortest to longest, then apply that order to the playlist by hand or with a tool. Check who owns the playlist first, since reordering in place only works on one that belongs to your account. For a playlist that is not yours, copy the videos into your own first.

How to sort a cooking tutorial playlist from shortest to longest?

List each tutorial with its length, rank them from shortest to longest, then apply that order by hand in the playlist. A tool can do the reordering for you. Check each tool's current details before choosing how to sort your playlist, since limits and cost are not covered here.

Can the new playlist order be checked before it is applied?

With YTSort, yes. It shows the before and after order so you can check it before applying. ^[1] With a paper list or spreadsheet, you see the order as you write it, so read it through once before you start watching.

Which browsers work with YTSort?

The add-on needs Chrome or Edge. The script works in any browser, including Firefox, once you add a script manager such as Tampermonkey, Violentmonkey or Greasemonkey, a small add-on that runs scripts for you. ^[1] It can also be run from a bookmark. ^[1]

Is shortest-first order right for every cooking tutorial playlist?

Not always. If a recipe series builds step by step, keep dependent tutorials in order. Shortest first can suit a quick free block. For longer series, review the order after a few sessions and change it if the order is not helping you cook.

YTSort is free; all install options include the same features. ^[1]

Try YTSort

Sources

YTSort's own description of itself (the product of this site's publisher)