Unless you’re still using Safari.
It’s been a tough year to stay productive, and it can be difficult to stay focused on your work at the best of times. Using the internet at work can be particularly distracting – social media, online shopping and the news are all at your fingertips. These five extensions for Google Chrome (sorry, Safari fans) will help streamline your workflow, keep you focused and hopefully increase your productivity.
A lot of us are (still) working from home, and that might not be changing for the foreseeable future. Plenty of people will have had a chance to grab a second monitor from work, but if you’re operating on one screen when you wouldn’t normally, Dualless is a lifesaver. You can split your browser window in two and pick the ratio you’d like to use – instead of incessantly switching between tabs. It’s also set up in two clicks, so there’s no more clicking and dragging to resize your screen, giving you more time to focus on your work.
Most “productive people” swear by to-do lists. They’re a great way to prioritise and plan tasks throughout the day, and give you a great sense of what’s ahead. Todoist is a to-do list within your browser perfect for anyone with a complex list of tasks throughout the day. Ditching the pen and paper and keeping your tasks on hand where you work is a great way to keep productivity up – checking a physical to do list (or one on your phone) can easily lead to distractions.
The Pomodoro technique is a popular productivity-boosting method where you work in 25 minute blocks with a five minute break at the end of each block. After every fourth block (or 2 hours), you take a break for around 15 minutes. This extension builds a Pomodoro timer into your browser and notifies you of your breaks, as well as tracking your progress. If you don’t have a kitchen timer, there’s a good chance you’re be tracking the Pomodoro technique (if you’re already using it) with your phone timer, which could interrupt your workflow.
This extension gives you tips for mindfulness and productivity each time you open a new tab. Things such as exercise and diet tips are common, as well as music and state of mind. Each page has a link to a peer-reviewed academic study where the information came from, as well as a button to share with friends – but don’t let those distract you.
Online platforms such as Google Drive have become more important than ever in 2020, as we’re no longer to share files in person with physical copies. This extension is all in the name – it allows you to save web content directly to Google Drive where you can share it with your team. You can also save documents, images, audio and video with a click or two and tidy up messy links in your Drive.
