How would you like it if you can increase your focus, save time and get more organized with the help of your browser? The progress in web technologies have made it possible to craft amazing Google Chrome Extensions! Lots of developers are trying to make extensions that enhance user experience, while using Google Chrome. Therefore, after weeks of research we decided to compile an exclusive, one of a kind list of 15 productivity Chrome extensions that will boost your productivity! (The free ones!)
1. Grammarly
What is it? It is a writing assistant and helps to minimize typos and grammatical errors when you write. How does it help? It corrects any mistake you make while typing. It could be emails, social media, documents. It also enhances your writing by suggesting better words or phrases. The tool also gives you explanations for all your mistakes. What is more that it provides a report of your progress on your writing skills! Field Notes I have been personally using it for 2 years now and I find it a very user friendly and intuitive tool. The developers have clearly put some efforts to make the tool personal and adapt to every individual’s writing skills.
2. Adblock
What is it? As the name suggests it is an advertisement blocker, which blocks ads all over the web. How does it help? It blocks all the annoying popups that you get when you visit various webpages! So you won’t click on spammy advertisements or will be retargeted by sites you visit. What’s more that it doesn’t store your private information or tracks your online behavior! Field Notes This extension has been with me for a few years now. It continues to improve and over time it has added Youtube ad blocking and Google Ad blocking as well. It has 40 million downloads and great reviews!
3. Readism
What is it? It is nifty little tool that helps to estimate how long it will take to read a web-page. How does it help? Blogs these days, have an estimate of how long it will take for you to read an article. Something like this –
Via : Cuelogic Readism does the same for web-pages, so that you know how much time you are going to spend on the particular page. It is an amazing google chrome extension for productivity. Field Notes The extension is very light and (64Kbs), so it doesn’t slow down your page load speeds. I have found it to be accurate almost all the time.
4. Forest
What is it? It is a productivity extension that helps you focus by counting down time and blacklisting sites which will kill your productivity. How does it help? While there are many count-down extensions available, Forest stands out because it grows an animated tree while it counts down the minutes you need to be focused. If you visit the blocked sites in the time being, the tree dies and the mission fails! Field Notes It is extremely intuitive and the UI is amazing. People want to focus because it gives them a chance to grow an entire forest in a day! To be honest most people hate to see a tree die (even if it is virtual!)
5. Pushbullet
What is it? It helps you sync. Simple & Effective. It keeps your mobile and personal computer perfectly synced. How does it help? With Pushbullet, you can view all your mobile notifications on desktop, share files from desktop to your phone and even forward calls to your PC. There are no complications to use it and if you are always juggling between your PC and mobile, this might be the perfect extension for you. Field Notes 7 million users are successfully using it. Most of them have good things to say about it. It is real time and seamless.
6. Rescue Time
What is it? It is what its name is. It rescues time! It keeps a track of every website you visit and the time you spend on it. How does it help? Think of it like a gym instructor, but for your time. It follows you around on the websites you visit. Makes a note and tells you where you are junking your time. It will also help you block off certain access. Field Notes Who doesn’t listen to a gym instructor? When you see all the data, you do feel a little guilty and even if it is sub-consciously, you try to minimize your time wastage.
7. Last Pass
What is it? It is a password manager. For Social Media, Shopping Sites & other websites. It is secure and is voted the best password manager by PCMag. How does it help? How many passwords you need to remember these days? Also, chances are that you always need to click on that time consuming “Forgot Password” button every time you visit a time after a while. LastPass takes away all of that and stores all your information safely & securely. It also supports mobile! Field Notes If you use anymore that 10 passwords. USE IT. With last keep I can keep complex passwords and still not worry.
8. Panda 5
What is it? It is a google chrome extension helps you find news that is relevant and content that you are interested in. How does it help? Panda 5 collates various news sources and websites whose content that you would like to read often. It places all the sources nicely into your new tab and keeps updating them in the background, so you are abreast with all the latest content. Field Notes People who love to read and subscribe to multiple sources. Panda 5 is a great productivity booster for them. Now you don’t have to go to your inbox and read multiple mails from various sources. Panda 5 can be your go to extension.
9. One Tab
What is it? One Tab collates all your open tabs and consolidates it into a single tab in the form of a list, saving you loads of memory. How does it help? Working with many tabs all at once? Your processor and speed is getting slow? One Tab the answer to your woes. It neatly collates all your tabs and puts them into a singular tab as links. So you have access to them and save loads of memory. Field Notes This is an amazing google chrome extension to increase productivity as it does not let too many tabs slow you down. It frees up more than 90% memory that are taken by these tabs, reducing clutter at the same time.
10. Pixel Block
What is it? Pixel Block is a Chrome Extension that blocks access to senders who want to track your behaviour regarding their email. How does it help? A lot of emails today, come standard with tracking technology so that the sender knows that you have read their email. However, Pixel Block gives the power back to you by blocking attempts to send report of your activity to the sender. Field Notes When somebody sends me an email, I am extremely uncomfortable whenever I see a tracking code with the email. What’s more is that it does not store any of my data and is completely secure.
11. Noisli
What is it? It is a sound mixer that creates ambient sounds to help you better your productivity. How does it help? When you are working and need to focus, plug in your earphones, switch on Noisli and create a near perfect environment. This Google Chrome extension allows you to mix sounds to create natural virtual surroundings. Field Notes It is a must have for those who like solitude, quiet and nature. These natural sounds seem almost real and indeed helps you get your mind in order.
12. Evernote Web Clipper
What is it? Evernote Web Clipper is an extension to the Evernote app and can be used to clip and save almost anything, online. How does it help? This tool replaces the old age Bookmarks tool and does one better with features like highlight text, sync to device, search for saved clips and even edit them! You can visit any website page, if you find it worth keeping you can clip it to Evernote and always have it available across devices. Field Notes If you take notes anywhere on any digital device, Evernote is the best tool that you will ever find. The team keeps on adding brilliant features and the interface is easy to use and navigate.
13. Ghostery
What is it? It is a Google Chrome extension to understand which websites re-target you and follow you around. How does it help? How annoyed do you get when you visit a website, look for something and immediately get spammed with ads on every other website, related to that product? This ends with Ghostery. This cool Google Chrome extension boosts your productivity by blocking ads on websites that retarget you and even keeps keeps you updated with reports on how many trackers each website use to follow you around. Field Notes You agree to cookie policies on thousands of websites. This gives them the right to follow you around the entire web. Ghostery ends this, but it may hamper user experience on certain websites and I had personally needed to switch it off sometimes so that the page loads correctly.
14. Google Calendar
What is it? It is the official Chrome extension for the Google Calendar. How does it help? Everyone probably uses the Google Calendar to sync up important meetings and remind you of important dates. Instead of opening up an extra tab to view it, use this extension that sits as an icon on the top right, reminding you of everything that you need help with to plan your day. Field Notes It has the same features that you would see in your Google Calendar. The difference is that it is extremely convenient to access it and view notifications with this extension.
15. Full Page Screen Capture
What is it? As the name suggest it helps you to capture screenshots on your PC. How does it help? No it is not just an extension for print scree button on your keyboard. This tool actually helps you to take a screenshot of an entire page, without scrolling. It means that you don’t have to take 3-4 screenshots for a single page that won’t fit into the screen. This tool automatically scrolls down in the background, and takes a screenshot of the entire web-page. Field Notes It was a revelation when I first used it. I had to use screenshots for a long web page and had to take multiple screenshot and then edit them together. This tool does away with all that at with shortcut keys let you take a picture for the web-page and download it as a pdf or an image!
The Bottom Line
These Google Chrome extensions have proven to be productivity enhancers by various magazines, reviewers and most importantly – users. Whether you’d want it for personal or professional use, this list is probably all you need to be more organized and productive. Depending on your usage of the internet and the web, you can choose the one best suited to you and install them to make more of your time – everyday! Featured photo credit: Unsplash via unsplash.com
