11 Google Chrome Apps and Features to
Help You Get More Done with Less Effort
In today’s fast-paced and never-ending busy
world, we are overwhelmed by tasks that need to be completed by tight
deadlines. With so much technology it is difficult to find the right tools to
help boost our efficiency. And, many tools get obsolete so its essential to
stay up-to-date to know when you will have to make adjustments to these
tools. Independently of where you work, there’s a good chance that you
have to be working on a PC or a laptop.
Do you are feel like you do not have enough
time, or cannot accomplish much as of late? It is recommended to take a step
back and look at the big picture. Also, you want to explore new and innovative
ways to improve productivity.
In this article, I outline 11 features and
apps within the Chrome browser that can help you do just that.
Minimizing
Tabs
Let’s face it we all have more than a dozen
tabs opened on our computers. One neat trick to still keep most of them open is
to turn them into pinned tabs. On Google Chrome you can right-click the tab and
select “Pin Tab” option. This turns the tab into an icon enabling you to
continue multitasking.
Pinning a tab anchors the tabs on the left of
your toolbar; a great benefit of the “Pin Tab” feature is that you can’t close
these tabs accidentally since the “X” disappears after pinning them.
Incognito
Mode
Google Chrome is a very easy-to-use and
intuitive. But, Google does collect our browsing data; so to remedy this, you
can use Incognito Mode. This feature does not keep your browsing or download
history. You can enable or access it in three different ways:
1. Press
Ctrl/Command+shift+N
2. Select
File Menu and choose New Incognito Window
3. Download
extension New Incognito Window
This feature is very handy if you’d rather
not have your browsing history stored and utilized for future advertisement or
suggested pages.
Save
Webpages as PDF Files
Have you ever browsed interesting or
important information and then forgot to bookmark or save it in “favorites”,
making it impossible to find again? Chances are you have done this on a number
of occasions.
Thankfully, there is an easy solution. You
can save webpages as PDF files. On your keyboard, press control/command+p and
you will be able to save webpages as PDFs.
Open
Recently-closed Tabs
Ever had dozens of tabs opened and all of a
sudden your browser shuts down? It has probably happened to all of us. You can
easily recover all of your tabs using two approaches. Don’t panic if this
happens because there is a workaround and solution for it.
One is by pressing Ctrl/CMD+Shift+T.
The other approach is to click on the three
vertical dots on your browser and hover over “History”.
Solve
Mathematical Problems
Google’s Chrome browser doesn’t just search
for relevant and updated information. It is also capable of performing some
mathematical problems. Within the omnibox (Chrome’s address or URL bar), you
can perform mathematical exercises.
For example, if you are struggling with
percentages you can search 20 percent of x amount and it will instantly provide
a result. Pretty handy, right?!
Play
Media Files
Are you frequently met with difficulties when
playing or watch a video files? Well, once again Chrome comes to the rescue.
You can can listen or play videos from all sorts of movie or music files (mp3,
mp4, .mov, .mkv, .ogv, .webm, .wav, etc.) by simply dragging the file into the
search bar.
In addition, you can view images, PDF files
and Microsoft Office files, too.
Navigate
Swiftly Between Tabs
With all of those tabs opened comes great
navigation responsibilities. Rather than clicking through every tab, you can
use shortcut keys like Ctrl+Tab to navigate all of the different tabs. Also,
you are able to navigate to the first tab by pressing Ctrl-1, Ctrl-2, and so
on. If you want to switch to the very last tab, press Ctrl-9.
Stay
Focus(e)d
Computers nowadays have awesome capabilities.
Sometimes we like to get work done, but let’s
face it, we’re all human. We sometimes procrastinate by visiting a website we
really like, or maybe take a break with watching a flick on Netflix, a video on
YouTube or browsing Facebook.
With Chrome’s StayFocusd extension, you can truly stay focused and get
more done in less time.
This extension naturally helps you stay more
productive by limiting the amount of time you spend on websites. You can set
the time and it will automatically block those sites after a certain period.
Grammarly
for Editing
Grammarly is a must
have, and it’s really a complete powerhouse. Grammarly helps you check your
grammar and spelling for everything you write online.
You can use it professionally or as a
student, which will make the editing process much easier and more efficient.
Furthermore, it can automatically check for typos when you send an email, type
a Tweet, or post a Facebook comment. It’s like having your own personal
copyeditor!
Loom
There are times that words in an email or
written text in a chat app will just not convey the right meaning.
There is a saying that a picture is worth a
thousand words. Well, the same is true of videos.
With Loom,
you can capture, narrate and immediately share video recordings of your screen,
which will help coworkers understand issues you are facing, or to easily convey
an explanation on screen. Plus, with video you will be able to easily walk
people through a process, and you can use it to create simple how-to videos.
Chrome
Calendar Extension
No matter what your level of responsibility
is at your job, Google Calendar is
another essential resource to have at your fingertips.
Specifically, you can have this extension
added as an icon in the toolbar of your browser, which I highly recommend. Once
you add the extension to your browser, you can check for upcoming events with a
single click without leaving your current page.
Final
Thoughts
Google Chrome has definitely evolved from its
inception. As you can see you have a very powerful tool that comes as a free
installation and is loaded with dozens of capabilities. The above listed Chrome
apps can resolve some of the most common obstacles to your time management
and productivity.
Anthony Carranza
https://www.lifehack.org/804337/11-google-chrome-apps
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