6 Google Chrome Extensions That Can Boost Your Productivity
Google Chrome is the world’s most popular web browser, accounting for 69% of the total web browser market share. To put this into perspective their nearest competitor is Firefox with a market share of 7.6%.
This wide percentage margin isn’t that big of a surprise considering all the benefits Chrome has – device syncing, intuitive interface and outstanding performance. However, it’s the apps and extensions that make Google Chrome so much better than other available web browsers.
How so?
They give users the power to customise how they access the Internet and use it.
In this blog post, we will look at 6 Google Chrome extensions that can boost your productivity.
DF Tube (Distraction Free YouTube)
Many people use YouTube to educate themselves, for motivation and for background listening when they are trying to get work done. Sometimes it might be used to relax and listen to music or to kill time.
Bear in mind that the goal of YouTube is to get as many clicks and views as they can, as the more videos you watch the more money they make from ads.
After nearly every video is played, another video is already queued up. When viewing a video, you will see on the page dozens of recommended videos that the YouTube a.i. has decided have the highest chance of getting you to click and are most likely to steal more of time and attention. This is great for people killing time but bad for those trying to work and be productive.
The DF Tube extension provides the solution for this. You can hide the recommended videos, hide the custom feed and stop the automatic playing of videos when yours has finished.
Making YouTube a better companion for productivity.
Dualless
The premise of this extension is to give you a dual-monitor experience. A recent study by Jon Peddie Research found a 42% increase in productivity when using multiple displays.
In just two clicks, this Chrome extension will split the browser window into two. The ratio is adjustable based on your needs. One browser window may only appear 30 percent on the screen with the other screen taking up 70 percent.
Forest: Stay Focused, Be Present
Forest gamifies staying focused and avoiding the internet. When using the extension, you plant a seed. Over the next 30 minutes, it grows into a tree. If you leave the Forest window and visit another website your tree will wither and die. When you can visually see your tree’s growth, it can give you a sense of achievement for staying focused on your task.
This app is great if you need to spend 30 minutes working on an article, essay or anything else that doesn’t involve using the internet.
There is also a mobile app to stop you wasting time on your smartphone when you should be being productive. Read our full write up here.
Freedom (Website Blocker)
If you constantly find yourself visiting distracting websites when you should be using the internet productively then Freedom could be the solution to your woes. With Freedom you create blacklists which are websites you do not want to visit, then you set a schedule for those blacklists. If you visit any of the websites in your blacklist whilst the schedule is running, Freedom blocks you from accessing them.
Freedom also allows you to sync your sessions across all devices – desktop, Android app and iOS. This blocks access to any chosen website you may browse.
Check out our full write-up here…
StayFocusd
Similar to Freedom, but where Freedom blocks websites for a scheduled time frame e.g. 9am-5pm, StayFocusd allows you to determine how much time you want to spend on a website per day. For example, you could set it to only spend 30 minutes per day on Facebook and twitter. Then once the time has expired, you can’t visit them for the remainder of the day.
News Feed Eradicator for Facebook
Are you spending a lot of time checking out your Facebook newsfeed? Do you find time slipping away from you on the social media site? If you can’t imagine getting rid of your Facebook profile but need to spend time on more important things, check out the extension News Feed Eradicator for Facebook.
It is a simple plugin that just removes your news feed from your Facebook home screen.
Thank you for reading and hopefully you enjoyed this blog post on 6 Google Chrome Extensions That Can Boost Your Productivity.
