In this article, I will discuss some practical solutions for getting around using search engines.

Build a library

Having your own curated collection of useful resources is a fast and easy way to bypass search engines. For a given topic (e.g. gardening), you can find out what the most useful resources are and build a comprehensive knowledge store whether in PDFs, physical books, or some other medium (even website bookmarks).

You can make a kind of annotated index reminding you of what all the resources are, who recommended them to you, and so on and so forth.

You can also use tools like youtube-dl to archive useful videos.

Search through someone else

Don't ask Siri or "Ok Google" it, instead ask a person you are in contact with to help you look into a topic. Not only can this help you strengthen your relationship with others (and show an eagerness to learn and listen), you can enjoy human comprehension of what you're asking instead of screaming at a voice-activated "Artificial Intelligence".

Consider not searching at all

Looking for a new restaurant to try? Maybe just walk down the street and try somewhere out. Got a question to look up? Maybe your library (see section one) has an answer. If you never flip through your reference materials, how can you gain familiarity with them and use them effectively?

Remember that for anything you're trying to "learn off the Internet", there have been people who have learned that thing without the Internet (for tech stuff like programing, people have learned similar arts, such as operating machines from manuals).

We have a reflex to turn to search engines when faced with unknowns. Do the search engines themselves sometimes create these problems?

Approach tools with purpose

You may have met someone who spends hours upon hours reading Wikipedia or going down some other rabbit hole. Is this a good use of time? This is for each individual to evaluate—there are times where it is important to do deep research dives into various topics. There are also times to recognize when "enough is enough".

Being pro-active about using tools rather "reactive" or "reflex driven" is one way to use them more effectively. For instance, you might tell yourself,

"Today, I'm only allowed 5 Google queries".

Imposing a restriction like the one above forces you to carefully search and use your computer with more intention. You can even record what you did and write a blog post on it... lol.

Another heuristic you can ask yourself is, "would it be more useful for me to do jumping jacks/push-ups/etc than what I am doing now?"

If you are not ending many days of the week physically exhausted but your sucking at Google's artificial teets for much of the week, perhaps it is time to leave infantile ways behind and cultivate a strength you can show. You'll probably sleep better too.