Working and learning in the digital age, we find that traditional browser functions can no longer meet our needs. Distracting websites, pop-up ads, tab clutter, fragmented information, and more make us ineffective.
Chrome extensions, or add-ons, can provides users with a variety of functions and gives users a more convenient experience while surfing the Internet on Chrome. Some extensions are specifically designed to increase productivity. In this article, we will delve into some of the best Chrome extensions for productivity that considered improving work and study efficiency.
Cisdem Web Blocker
Improving productivity can be achieved in a variety of ways, including blocking ads, limiting access to distracting websites, improving teamwork, and avoiding ineffective work, etc. Below is a list of the best productivity extensions for Chrome that may be helpful for you.
-Stop ads and pop-ups from appearing while browsing on Chrome.
Advertisements are visual distractions on web pages that can distract us while working. Blocking ads and pop-ups allows us to more focus on tasks and be more productive. It also makes pages load faster. So we can access the information we need more quickly.
AdBlock is a Chrome extension designed for this. It automatically detects ads, pop-ups, and banners on the web and blocks them from appearing. After installing it, you will no longer have to worry about being distracted by annoying ads while you are focusing. And it also helps protect your privacy and make you browse safer by blocking some third-party trackers and some malicious ads.
If you just don’t want some malicious ads and are not averse to some ads that may be useful to you, you can also custom the ad blocking settings. For example, it supports allowing some non-intrusive ads or only allowing ads without third-party tracking. The Whitelist mode enables you to block all ads on browser, except those from some of your favorite websites.
-Block distracting and unwanted websites to stay focused.
For productivity, it’s necessary to limit the time we spend on time-wasting or distracting websites. Sometimes we don't even realize how much time we waste. We sit in front of the computer all day long but actually get nothing done.
Cisdem Web Blocker is one of the best Chrome extensions for productivity. When you find a website always grabs your attention while working and you cannot control yourself, you can simply add this website to the block list with one click. Then this site will be inaccessible on Chrome immediately.
Some users prefer to block certain sites only during working hours to stay productive. In this case, you can use its app version-Cisdem AppCrypt. Compared to the web version, its app version provides more advanced features. For example, the Schedule feature allows you to block sites for a set period of time. You can also set a custom schedule for certain website. Click on the site from your block list, and then click the clock icon that appears. Enable Custom Schedule. Set the time you want to stay focused.
It’s cumbersome to list all distracting websites and block them one by one. Fortunately, this productivity tool also enables you to block websites by category.
-Help you create an effective to-do list to organize your work.
Developing a to-do list is of great benefit to improving work efficiency, especially for people who multitask frequently. It can prevent important tasks from being missed, prioritize them more clearly, and keep work organized.
TickTick is a simple and useful to-do list. It allows you to create tasks, set deadlines and priorities, and will remind you when it's time to do something. This productivity extension also enables you to sync all your to-do lists across all devices. Then you are able to view and update tasks at any time no matter where you are.
It’s worth mentioning that TickTick is much more than a simple to-do list. It also provides a wealth of features, such as converting Google emails into tasks, adding webpages into tasks instantly, sharing task list for collaboration, and more.
-Track employee’s working time and improve team’s productivity.
Time tracking tool-Clockly by 500apps is one of the best productivity extensions for Chrome. It’s dedicated to improving team’s productivity by time tracking. Users can easily create work plans for different employees and different projects. It also monitors the tasks progress by automatically capturing screenshots of employee’s screen to ensure tasks are completed on time. The time-tracking reports help users better understand their time allocation and create more effective work plans.
Adequate communication is one of the important conditions to ensure team efficiency. With this productivity extension, team members can easily send messages, share files and make video calls in one place.
-A simple Pomodoro Timer extension that help you boost productivity
The Pomodoro Technique is a simple and easy time management method to improve productivity. Choose a task that needs to be completed. Set the Pomodoro time. (Typically 25 minutes) During the Pomodoro time, you must stay focus and are not allowed to do anything unrelated to the task. Then take a short break. (Typically 5 minutes is enough) Repeat the Pomodoro if necessary.
Strict Workflow is a Chrome extension that helps you use the Pomodoro method to increase focus while working and studying. After adding it to Chrome, go to its options page. You can add some distracting/inappropriate websites to the block list. During the focus time, you cannot access to any sites on the block list. When the timer ends, it will show a notification. You can turn on/off the timer's ring according to your needs.
-Provide ambient noise and focus music to help you improve focus and creativity.
Research shows that a steady, calm stream of sound, such as white noise, helps us reduce noise distractions and improve focus. The reason why this kind of music can improve focus is that there are no sudden loud sounds in the entire music, which means that it provides a relatively safe and comfortable environment for us. People in this environment are not easily disturbed by external factors and can greatly improve productivity.
Refocus is Chrome extension for productivity that provides 21 kinds of focus music for you to choose from. Including Morning Birds-help you improve concentration with relaxing sounds of chirping birds, Amazon Forest-Immerse yourself in the tranquility of the Amazon rainforest, and Underwater, Campfire, etc.
What’s more, you can use the Pomodoro technique with this extension to maximize your productivity. But it doesn’t supports blocking websites during focus time. If you really need this feature, then the previous productivity extension is more suitable for you. Or you can try Cisdem AppCrypt.
-Replace new tab page with your personal dashboard to help you stay motivated and productive.
As its name suggests, Momentum is a productivity extension for Chrome that brings positive energy to users in work and life. It replaces new tab page with a personal dashboard. On the dashboard, there is not only basic information such as local weather and time, but you can also use your favorite photos as background images, adding motivational quotes and mantras.
In addition, Momentum also has a to-do list to help users track daily tasks. Through a clear interface, you can quickly add, edit and complete tasks, keeping your work organized.
-Quickly save articles, videos, and more to reading list.
In this digital age, web browsers have become an indispensable tool for us to obtain information for work and study. Sometimes when we find a useful website/page or some interesting content but don’t have time to check it out, we temporarily put it on our reading list. But Google’s built-in Reading list has a drawback. It can only arrange tabs by time and cannot sort them in other ways.
Save to Pocket is a smart Chrome extension that makes it easy for users to manage and view their saved content at any time. When browsing the web, you can save articles, videos, etc. to Pocket by simply right clicking the link and selecting “Save to Pocket”. This simple operation provides users with a more efficient working and learning environment, allowing them to focus on current task without being distracted by other things.
In addition to convenient saving function, this productivity tool also helps users manage saved content effectively. You can add tags, description to your saved content. And it let you easily search the saved list for a specific topic you want to view.
-Translate when browsing foreign language web pages.
When browsing foreign news and articles, language barriers greatly reduce the efficiency of our information acquisition. To solve this problem, Google developed the Google Translate extension to help users easily and quickly translate web content and eliminate language barriers. After adding this extension in Chrome, you can translate the entire web page instantly without having to copy the content and jump to a translate websites. Or, highlight a section of text and right-click the page. Select “Translate section to (language)”.
Google Translate can recognize and translate almost all major languages, including but not limited to English, Spanish, German, French, Chinese, etc.
- A personalized and efficient text expansion tool.
Text Blaze is one of the best productivity extensions for Chrome, providing users with fast and efficient text expansions. It allows users to customize text templates. The text template can be a longer phrase, a few sentences or even a paragraph. Then set a shortcut to replace this template text. Next time users only need to type the shortcut. Text Blaze will automatically replace it with the corresponding complete text. This tool is especially useful for users who frequently type in the same content, such as teachers, customer support staff, or HR, etc. Using Text Blaze can greatly improve their work efficiency.
The template can be dynamic. Users can create templates containing variables to adapt them to different situations. For example, you can easily create a personalized welcome email template and let this tool automatically insert the current date. You only need to fill in the recipient's name and some other necessary information.
-A simple and easy-to-use email finder extension to help you find leads.
This productivity extension is for sales, marketing, and business development professionals, who often need to find and contacts with potential customers or partners. It helps quickly find all the email addresses related to the websites you are visiting, making it efficient to find contacts and establish business relationships.
It’s easy to use. When visiting a website, just click the Extensions icon on the upper right corner. Click Hunter. Then you can get the email addresses, confidence scores, names and sources related to the site. This greatly reduces the time we spend on searching for leads on the Internet.
Additionally, Hunter can verify the validity of found email addresses. This prevents us from doing a lot of ineffective work. If you find a contact that might be useful, click the plus icon next to that person to save the lead to your list.
-Help you easily highlight important content on websites or PDF files.
This is an interesting highlighter tool. After installing Glasp on your Chrome browser, you can easily highlight content what you think is important while reading on websites or PDF files. It allows you to highlight with multiple colors. You can see all the highlights and leave your notes, comments on the right sidebar.
Another interesting feature of this extension is that it enables you to share your highlights with beautiful images. You can share your highlights on Twitter, Facebook, and more, or download the images. People see your highlights can also add notes on them. Please note that due to technical and security reasons, not all websites can be highlighted.
When working or studying, we often use Google Chrome to search for information, communicate with others, or collaborate with teams, etc. In order to improve productivity, it’s recommended to use some Chrome extensions to help us quickly enter the work state, stay focused, and improve efficiency. These are some of the best Chrome extensions for productivity. Hope they help.
Rosa has worked in Mac software industry for more than eight years. She believes that the purpose of software is to make life better and work more productively. In addition to writing, Rosa is also an avid runner.
