How to plan which lectures fit today for lecture watchers in 2026

A step-by-step guide for lecture watchers to pick which lectures fit into today's free time, with planning steps, tool options and common mistakes.

By XP Daily · 2026-10-23

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

Write down each lecture with its length, note how many minutes you have today, and add lengths in order until the next one would go past that time. Move the leftovers to another day.

Option	How it helps you plan today
Paper list or sticky note	You write each length and add up the time by hand
Spreadsheet	You type each length into a column and add up the time with a formula
YTSort	Reorders a YouTube playlist you own by video length, shortest or longest first ^[1] and shows the total, average, shortest and longest durations ^[1]

What you need before you start

Planning today's lectures takes a short list of what you have, how long each lecture runs, and how much time is free today. Gather these before you start.

Your list of lectures. Keep every lecture in one place, such as a playlist or a course page, so you can see the full set at once.
The length of each lecture. YouTube shows the length on each thumbnail. You need these numbers to add up the time.
The free time you have today. Write it down in minutes so you know where to stop.
A place to write the plan. A paper list or a spreadsheet works. What matters is that the plan lives in one place you can check.
A web browser, if you want a tool. A tool only helps with the sorting and totals. You can plan without one.

Set aside a few minutes before the day's viewing starts. Planning while a lecture is already playing tends to break your focus.

Step by step

These steps work with any method, including a pen and paper.

Write down every lecture with its length. Note the title and the time shown on the thumbnail. Do not decide anything yet.
Write down today's free time. Use one number in minutes so the next steps are simple to follow.
Mark lectures that depend on earlier ones. If lecture four builds on lecture three, keep them together and in their original order.
Pick the lectures that fit. Start with the shortest lecture not yet chosen and add its length to a running total. Stop when the next one would go past your free time.
Decide what happens to the rest. Move the lectures that did not fit to another day, or to a longer free block later in the week.
Read the plan once. Check that the chosen lectures still make sense in order and that nothing important was left out.
Watch the chosen lectures in order. Start at the top of the list and move down.
Note what you learned. Two or three lines per lecture help you remember the day's ideas.
Review the plan at the end of the week. If the total time is always too much or too little, change the amount you pick the following week.

Tools that can do it

YTSort is made by the team that publishes this site. It is one option for this job. The other options below are general methods, not specific products.

A paper list or sticky note works well when the list is short. You write each length and add the numbers yourself. A spreadsheet does the same job with a column for the length. Facts about specific spreadsheet apps are not provided here, so check their own pages for limits and cost before choosing one.

YTSort reorders a YouTube playlist you own by video length, shortest or longest first. ^[1] It shows the total, average, shortest and longest video duration for the playlist. ^[1] It can sort only the videos within a length range and move the rest to the end. ^[1] It shows the before and after order so you can check it first. ^[1] After sorting, it reads the playlist back from YouTube and re-applies any moves that did not stick. ^[1] YTSort is free, and every install option includes the same features. ^[1] You can get it as a bookmark, a browser script, or a Chrome Web Store extension. ^[1] The extension needs Chrome or Edge. The script version works in any browser, including Firefox, with Tampermonkey, Violentmonkey or Greasemonkey installed. ^[1]

Common mistakes to avoid

Planning more lectures than the time allows. A plan that runs past your free time usually gets cut off halfway. Keep the total under what you have.

Ignoring lectures that depend on each other. Shortest first can separate a lecture from the one it builds on. Keep dependent lectures together.

Skipping the read-through. A quick look at the plan catches lectures that ended up in an odd spot.

Forgetting the leftovers. Lectures that did not fit need a day on the calendar, or they may never get watched.

Working on a playlist you do not own. Reordering only works on a playlist that belongs to your account. ^[1] For someone else's list, copy the lectures into your own playlist or keep a written list.

Watching without notes. Short lectures pass quickly, so brief notes help you keep track of what you covered.

Frequently asked questions

How do you plan which lectures fit today in a YouTube playlist?

Write down each lecture with its length, note today's free time in minutes, then add lengths in order until the next lecture would go past that time. Keep dependent lectures in their original order and move the rest to another day. A paper list or a spreadsheet can do this job, and so can a browser tool built for playlists, as long as you check its details first.

Can YTSort show how long a playlist takes before you pick lectures?

Yes. YTSort shows the total, average, shortest and longest video duration for the playlist. ^[1] It also shows the before and after order so you can check the sorted list before anything is applied. ^[1] Looking at the total time first makes it easier to choose lectures that match the free time you have today.

Can YTSort sort only the lectures that fit a length range?

Yes. YTSort can sort only the videos within a length range and move the rest to the end. ^[1] It sorts the full playlist, not just the videos loaded on screen, so the filter applies to every lecture in the list. ^[1] For other tools, check their own pages for what they support before you choose.

Is YTSort free to use?

Yes. YTSort is free, and every install option includes the same features. ^[1] It is free, open-source software under the GPL-2.0-only licence. ^[1] The browser you use decides which install option works for you, and the platform details are covered in the next question.

Which browsers work with YTSort?

The extension needs Chrome or Edge. ^[1] The script version works in any browser, including Firefox, once Tampermonkey, Violentmonkey or Greasemonkey is installed. ^[1] You can also start YTSort from a bookmark. ^[1]

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)