How to sort documentary playlists by duration for history buffs in 2026

A plain guide for history buffs to sort documentary playlists by duration, with steps, tools to try and mistakes to avoid.

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.

Find the length of each documentary, put the playlist in order from shortest to longest (or the other way round), and start with the one that fits your evening. You can do it by hand on paper, in a spreadsheet, or with a tool that reorders the playlist for you.

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

Sorting documentaries by length 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 collection, copy the documentaries into your own playlist first or work from a written list.
The length of each documentary. YouTube shows it on each thumbnail. You need it to rank the films.
A reason for the order you want. It might be to fit an evening, to start with short episodes before a long feature, or to save the deep dives for a free weekend. Know which, because it decides what you do with the long films.
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 an evening's viewing. Sorting while a documentary is already playing tends to break your attention.

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 documentaries before choosing a way to order them.
List every documentary with its length. Write the title and the time shown on the thumbnail. Do not sort yet.
Mark documentaries that belong together. Some channels split one subject across several parts. If part two follows part one, keep those two together whatever their lengths.
Rank the rest by duration. Put the shortest at the top for a short sitting, or the longest first if you want the main feature before the extras.
Decide what happens to the very long films. You can leave them at the end or schedule them for a longer free evening.
Check the order before you commit. Read the new list once from top to bottom and look for a series that now sits 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 documentary and move down the list.
Keep notes as you go. A line or two per film helps, especially when several cover the same period.
Review after the first few evenings. If the order is not helping, change it.

With a tool, one extra check pays off: after the reorder, look at the playlist on YouTube itself rather than only at the tool's own list, so you see what viewers see.

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 away from your desk. 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]

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

Splitting a series. If a documentary runs across several parts, a pure sort by length can separate them. Keep dependent parts together.

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

Forgetting the long films. Moving them to the end is fine, but give them an evening 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 documentaries into your own playlist or keep a written list.

Watching without notes. A fast run of short films blurs together, so a line per film helps you remember which covered which period.

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

Frequently asked questions

How to put the shortest documentaries first in a YouTube playlist?

List each documentary with its length, rank them from shortest to longest, then apply that order to the playlist by hand. Keep any multi-part series together so part two does not end up far from part one. A tool can apply the order for you if you would rather not move each video yourself, but the listing step is the same either way.

How to sort a YouTube playlist from shortest to longest?

List each video with its length, rank them from shortest to longest, then apply that order by hand in the playlist. Check each tool's current details before choosing how to sort. For a collection you own, the order you set is the order you and anyone else opening the playlist will see, so read the list once before you start watching.

Can a playlist order be checked before it is applied?

YTSort reorders a playlist you own by video length, shortest or longest first. ^[1] With a paper list or spreadsheet, you see the order as you write it, so read it through once before you start watching. Either way, a glance down the list catches a series that got split across the order.

Which browsers work with YTSort?

The browser extension needs Chrome or Edge. The script version 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] Check your own browser version against the tool's own instructions before installing.

Should history buffs always watch the shortest documentaries first?

Not always. If a documentary runs across several parts, keep the parts in order. Shortest first can suit an evening when time is short. For a long collection, review the order after a few sittings and change it if it is not helping. Naming the subject of each film in the title of your own copy of the playlist also makes the order easier to scan.

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)