Do you try to be really productive when doing business work only to have life get in the way multiple times throughout the day?
This happened to me yesterday and the distractions were at their worst. Distractions can cause:
- A backlog of work
- Unnecessary stress
- Hours spent playing catch-up
- Loss of focus on your goals
- …and worst of all, distractions could hurt your business
Fortunately for you, as problematic as distractions can be, there are a few ways for you to boost your productivity in situations like this.
Here are 5 Chrome Extensions to help you be more productive in business (or in life).
1. Todobook
Now, I was going to suggest a Facebook blocker of course, but like me, many of us use Facebook for business purposes.
In my case, Facebook Ads Manager is where I spend a lot of my time either doing client work or checking out what’s new in the marketing world.
Rather than completely blocking Facebook to increase your productivity, simply block the most distracting part. The infamous endless newsfeed.
This little nifty extension will definitely increase your productivity because you won’t be bombarded by the generally useless information that floods your newsfeed.
Often we find ourselves scrolling without noticing how much time we’re wasting by doing so. Those minutes add up over time.
I haven’t even mentioned the best part. Instead of the newsfeed being displayed on your Facebook account, you’re actually presented with a to-do list.
This is how Facebook should be by default (in my opinion!).
2. 1Password
Before I stress how important this application is, I am in no way to getting paid to say this.
1Password will make you more productive, especially when it comes to your business. Most businesses will often have a plethora of sites they need to log in to.
Instead of having the same password for everything, or saving your passwords in the Google Chrome Web browser (hint: not safe at all), you can have 1Password store all of your logins.
The login information will only display to you when you need to sign in to a saved site. More importantly, you can set different passwords for every account without the risk that you’ll forget one of them.
Say, for example, I want to log into my Facebook Ads account. The widget will show itself in the top-right corner of Chrome (if you enable the toolbar), and with two clicks it’ll sign me in.
This may seem like a simple program, but I guarantee you it is much more than that.
Not only does it save me so much time and increase my security (because you need a master password to access all the passwords), but it has made my productivity go up immensely across all devices.
Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that it syncs across your devices securely as well.
When I was introduced to this program by my cofounder I couldn’t believe how useful it actually became. It saves me so much time. 1Password is easily the best $60 investment I have made in a while.
I highly recommend this program to anyone who wants to increase their productivity.
3. Pocket
This simple Chrome extension packs a powerful punch for productivity.
Perhaps you’re researching your competitors to discover what marketing tactics they use. Or maybe you’re looking at how much a custom website is going to cost you. Whatever is causing your procrastination, you can save these links in Pocket.
Pocket is essentially a supercharged bookmark bar.
Throughout the workday, you’ll feel the temptation of new interesting technologies or information that’s relevant to growing your business.
While this seems good, switching gears to focus on that new information will cause you to lose momentum on whatever you’re currently working on.
Now, consider how many times a day this temptation could cause you to veer off task. Rather than giving in, save it in Pocket and check it out later.
This way you can stay productive while still learning about whatever it is you wanted to view at that particular moment. The only difference is that it’ll be later and at a more convenient time.
You can access whatever you save on Mac or Windows computers, or even on your iPhone or Android device.
4. Strict Workflow
If you’re still having trouble staying productive, you can always try a combination of the Pomodoro technique and temporarily blocking websites.
This is especially great for any ADHD entrepreneurs out there.
The Pomodoro technique, for those who don’t know already, is a time management method developed in the 1980s.
You essentially force yourself to hyperfocus for about 25-30 minutes, then take short 3 to 5-minute breaks. Think of it as productivity sprints instead of productivity marathons.
This engages your brain long enough to complete any broken down task at hand.
Strict Workflow takes care of this for you by blocking time-wasting websites and forcing you to occupy yourself. You can also alter the time lengths to see what works best for you.
I don’t often use this method but when I do, I notice a definite surge in productivity and the number of tasks I accomplish.
The main thing about this method is having the discipline to work within those time constraints (productivity and rest periods).
5. Boomerang
Of course I’m going to mention this one, how couldn’t I?
When you use Boomerang in conjunction with the four hour work week method, you can save a lot of time.
In his book, Tim Ferris explains how he only checks his email 2 or 3 times a day. Boomerang has a lot of functionality that makes it easier to manage your emails.
From scheduling emails to be sent out, to tracking the open rate of emails you’ve sent, and even blocking email notifications – Boomerang is the most efficient way of limiting how much time you spend staring at your inbox.
Conclusion
Staying productive is something we all struggle with from time to time (albeit some more than others). But with these 5 productivity boosting Chrome extensions, you can block out distractions and get your head down.
If you happen to be struggling to focus on setting up your ad campaigns, get in touch with our team and we’ll help you out. With the stresses of your paid ads out the way, you can instead be productive with the more important aspects of running your business!