The Best Chrome Extensions to Boost Your Digital Productivity

Google Chrome itself is becoming a desktop environment as we continue to use more cloud software, just look at ChromeOS. We all work from our laptops. As individuals who work remotely, we make a living by typing on, talking at, or otherwise manipulating the 1s and 0s of our computers, and subsequently sending this information to one, or many other people. By and large, we are information workers. Some of you perhaps, lucky or not, are able to make a living solely by speaking with people over the phone (can you please let us in on your secret recipe?).

Oftentimes, many of us don’t give our computer environments the consideration they deserve. Not only do our livelihoods depend these magical devices, our species is spending a startling proportion of our time with them

For many of us, a large part of our screen time is spent in the Google Chrome web browser, (or the Chromium web browser for the free-open-source-software fans). Maybe you begin your day by opening a fresh, crisp, new Chrome window, or maybe, like me, you begin in of one of far too many open tabs: email, and Google sheets, and Google docs, and Slack, in both a browser tab and a separate application window, and Facebook, and that random photo that you’ve now forgotten why you looked it up in the first place, and that email thread from your mom that you sent to your work email so that you could draft a response, and…

For those of you that work in Chrome on the regular, or any other web browser for that matter, please remember that it is your digital office space. It is meant to be a sanctuary for your digital focus, an oasis for your productivity. Please treat it as such. Set it up in a way that makes you want to use it, where building your dreams in any other web browser becomes a pointless exercise in mundanity.

Trust me when I tell you it will happen, because it happened to me, and all with the help what I consider the best Chrome extensions:

The Motion Chrome Extension

Motion is the ultimate companion in your daily battle against procrastination. It is an extension to lean on when times are tough and you can’t think of how you could possibly get that tiny little to-do done with all these social feeds blaring in your face. It’s the simplicity of the extension that really puts it in a league of its own. No learning curve, no “hey, check out these cool features!”; just a simple, beautiful little extension that gently reminds you to stop getting in your own way, and just get it done already.

I know there are others. I’ve tried Rescuetime, I’ve tried Webtime Tracker, I’ve listened to the siren song of productivity prophets far and wide. None comes close to the simple elegance of Motion.

Oh, how I love elegant solutions. All the others I’ve tried have their respective learning curves, each with its own particular flavour of confusion or frustration, but not Motion. Motion is there for me when I need it most, minding it’s business when I’m minding mine, and gently reminding me how much longer I can watch that completely irrelevant Youtube video, when I need a break. It warns me when I try to meander too far from my work and allows me to easily see how I spend my time in clean, succinct reports:

This is only the beginning of Motion. We hear there is a paid plan in the works with lots more super cool features. What more could we ask for?

The CLUT Chrome Extension – Cycle Last Used Tab

For those of you that don’t know, you can cycle through your chrome tabs using Ctrl and any of the numbers 1 through 9.

Ctrl + 1 through 8 will point you to each of your first eight tabs
Ctrl + 9 will point you to the last tab in a browser window.
If you, like me, have 20-odd browser tabs open (as of this writing I have 56 open, and yes, I know this is a problem), these functions, while useful, will serve you no purpose. You will be lucky if numbers 1 through 8 get through your pinned tabs, while 0 points you to your most recent distraction. Enter CLUT. Are you familiar with the Alt(Cmd)-Tab shortcut?

It’s that wonderful shortcut that brings you back to the last thing you were working on. Chrome to Slack and back in a flash! CLUT is the Alt(Cmd)-Tab replica for Chrome. Not only will it get you back to Slack in a flash, there are additional functions for skimming through your tabs:

Alt + W: Quick switch
Use for rapid switching to the last tab (by pressing once) or to the second to last used tab (by pressing rapidly twice).

Alt + S: Normal switch
Use when you want to look for a tab recently used but when you would want to go in a slower pace

Alt + Shift + S: Normal switch (in opposite direction)

And you can even change the shortcut keys if you want! (I very much recommend that you do not change it to Alt(Cmd)-Tab)

The LastPass Chrome Extension

LastPass may have saved me my sanity. I manage somewhere around 250 passwords. Some are my personal passwords, some are for friends and family, and others still are passwords that I continue to manage for previous clients. It is an amazing service. I don’t think I could work in the cloud effectively without it. My old system consisted of roughly 10 variations of 10 of different ‘master’ passwords, depending on the necessary level of security:

password, Password, Password2020, P4ssw0rd2020, P4$w0rd2020!, etc…

I was resetting a different password at least once a week. It was incredibly frustrating, so I tried LastPass and the rest is history. I have to admit that I am still frustrated by the mobile app (though not enough by any means that I plan to stop using it), but the LastPass desktop Chrome extension is a UX masterpiece. If that’s not enough, all your passwords can look like this:

!82de8JEa^&N5qGfil%@o7dIXR

And you will never get them wrong.

This newfound password security will give you the peace of mind that you might find enjoying a glass of wine….overlooking a French vineyard…at sunset. Niiiiice.

Cheers,
JRD

We’ll be posting a more in depth rundown of LastPass here shortly, along with some other fun software to help you make the most of your new work-from-home life. Stay tuned.

You did it, you took the plunge to go full-time freelance or become an entrepreneur. After countless late nights, questioning whether you were ready and dealing with challenging clients, you took the leap. At first, it was amazing! You had all this free time, could work from home in your PJs, and do your laundry during the day. Over time though, this wears on you and you realize you’re working all the time and not taking advantage of the flexibility you created for yourself.

Sound familiar? For many freelancers and entrepreneurs, this is the case. When getting started you often need to just buckle down in one place and dedicate your time to landing clients. But overtime you settle into a routine and hopefully have recurring clients. Once you feel settled in your business, it’s the perfect time to start planning to work while traveling.

When we say that we don’t mean that you’ll be sitting on the beach typing or living out of a suitcase always in transit. No, the most productive way to work and travel is to spend time in a new place. To get to know that place and develop a routine but most importantly be inspired by the new environment you’re in. Ideally a month or more, so you feel settled, comfortable and productive. That’s why we’re sharing how to start traveling as an entrepreneur and why you should get out of your house.

Choose your travel dates
The first step is choosing a date that you want to start traveling on. Ideally, don’t plan it at the same time as you’re onboarding a new client as you want a day or two to travel and settle in. It’s important you choose a realistic date you can commit to and it’s okay if it feels a bit nerve-racking. We always recommend giving yourself at least a month in a new place to get settled and feel connected to a place. This also helps you feel more comfortable and productive. It also gives you the opportunity to build new connections in that place.
Do the prep work
Some freelancers like to tell their clients if they’re going out of the country or timezone. This is entirely up to you but make sure you outline what this process will look like for you. Ensure you download all necessary tools, like these tools for freelancers to make sure you are set up for success.
Remember why you started
When you first started freelancing what was your #1 goal? Was it to be your own boss? Work from anywhere? Travel more? Spend more time with friends or family? Whatever it is, you need to do those things. Life is too short to get stuck in a hamster wheel, especially once you started for different reasons. So if you want to travel, then make it happen and stop making excuses.
Schedule in downtime
You might want to explore and see everything when you get to a new place but pace yourself. If you try to cram every touristy thing in you’ll likely end up feeling burnt out and unable to work. Take your time exploring and schedule in downtime, for relaxation. While traveling as an entrepreneur it’s easy to get caught up in still working nonstop then filling your free time with exploring your new city. To stay balanced and not burnout, give yourself breaks and make ‘me-time’.
Meeting new people can change your life
If that isn’t reason enough to get out of the house, we don’t know what is. By traveling, or even just joining a coworking space, you can meet people that impact your life. Whether its a new business partner, connection, sale or friend, connecting with new people is essential. It doesn’t have to feel like stuffy networking.
New environments create new inspiration
It’s true, new places help you find new inspiration. They help your brain expand, and help you feel more creative and inspired. When visiting a new city or area, you’re often flooded with new and exciting sights and colors. These help you tap into new inspiration and ideas that you otherwise wouldn’t have had sitting at home. So if you’re feeling like you’re lacking inspiration, traveling may be just the fix.
International cities give you a global perspective
If you’re looking to take your business to the next level, going international might just help. By visiting other cities and seeing how business is done there, you might find new opportunities for your own business. Often gaining that new perspective is essential to helping you come up with new ideas for your business. Plus, you’ll get exposure to businesses and ideas that you wouldn’t have gotten while sitting at home or in your local coffee shop. By traveling as an entrepreneur you’ll gain so much new knowledge.
Travel is FUN!
Let’s think back to the reason you started your business in the first place. Hopefully, more flexibility and time for fun were part of those reasons. And travel is fun! It is an adventure and can be hectic but it’s an amazing learning experience. You have put so much work, time and effort into your business. You need to enjoy the fruits of your labor, explore and have some fun.
Solo travel helps you gain more independence
Maybe you are feeling just a bit too comfortable in your life and business. Perhaps a bit stale or unfulfilled? In search of something more? Traveling somewhere new can help you find that. Instead of waiting for someone to finally go traveling with you and making excuses, go solo! Solo travel is amazing, we shared all the benefits of it here. It also requires you to make all your decisions, become more independent and push yourself out of your comfort zone. It’s a perfect way to help you grow. This growth can translate into your business too.

As you can see, there are so many reasons to take your business on the road. That’s why we shared these tips for how to start traveling as an entrepreneur. If you really want to grow, learn, have fun and take advantage of the flexibility you’ve created then travel. After all, we know you didn’t start your business to sit in your house working for 16 hours a day ;).

Please note: We know not everyone has the flexibility to do this, and it is intended for those whose businesses do not have a physical presence nor have dependents to take care of at home.

Ready to finally take your work on the road? We can help with everything from where to stay, to where to work, to where to eat. Learn more here.

Tag: work from home