Did you know that, on average, a person spends almost 7 hours each day consuming digital content? For many people, most of those hours are spent on the web using a web browser like Google Chrome to browse websites.
One of the biggest downsides to working on the web is all of the distractions that exist online. Thankfully there are plenty of useful Google Chrome productivity extensions out there to help you stay on task.
In this article, we’ll breakdown 7 of the best, most useful Chrome extensions available today. We’ll tell you what they do, and how they can help you be more productive, so you can decide if a plugin is worth trying out or not.
1. Ad Blocker
No matter what it is you use your computer for, odds are you’re constantly browsing websites that have annoying pop-up ads on them. From ads on blogs and traditional websites to ads on sites like YouTube and Spotify, this can be quite annoying to deal with, to say the least.
The good news? Installing any of the top-rated ad blocker chrome extensions will help you get rid of annoying pop-up ads for good in only a few seconds.
Once you’ve activated an ad blocker plugin-in on Chrome, be prepared for some sites to ask you to deactivate the plugin before browsing their site. You can install an undetectable adblock plugin to combat this issue, allowing you to browse the web in complete and total peace.
2. Grammarly
There’s nothing worse than sending a message on Slack, or an email to a colleague, only to notice a spelling or grammatical error after you’ve hit send. While there are tons of spell-check programs and tools out there, most of them do the bare minimum, which means some mistakes can slip through the cracks.
That’s where Grammarly comes into play. Grammarly is a beefed-up spell-checker that will ensure that you don’t miss any typos or grammatical errors ever again.
Once you’ve installed the plugin, it’ll work anywhere and everywhere that you’re typing on Chrome. That means that you won’t have to worry about typos when communicating with people for work ever again, which of course is a good thing.
3. Instapaper
Do you come across articles or website pages that you’d like to read but don’t have the time to at the current moment? If you do, odds are you add them to your bookmarks or forget about them completely, both of which are not the best way to keep track of stuff you want to read later.
Thankfully the folks behind Instapaper understand your pain and have come up with an awesome, easy-to-use solution.
With Instapaper, you’ll be able to save all kinds of articles and websites in a neat fashion so you can read them later. They’ll strip away everything but the text, creating a custom newspaper-like experience that is catered to you and your likes and interests.
4. Microsoft Office
Big fan of Microsoft Office? Want to get quick access to their biggest programs and features? Install the Microsoft Office Google Chrome extension today.
If you’ve ever used Office before, you know what to expect from this extension. It’s a stripped-down version of the apps that you already know and love, which can be great for quick projects, allowing you to work smarter and faster via Chrome.
5. One Tab
One of the best things about Google Chrome is the ability to run multiple tabs at once at high speeds. But if you’re running more than 3 or 4 tabs, you can expect your computer to slow down greatly, which isn’t a problem you can afford to deal with.
After installing One Tab, you’ll be able to turn all of your tabs into One Tab that displays everything like a simple HTML-style website. That way you can have dozens of tabs open, without slowing down your computer, allowing you to work as fast as you need to.
6. Pause
Find yourself spending too much time on social media websites instead of working? Want to force yourself to focus harder and make it easier to avoid distractions? Give the Pause Google Chrome extension a try and see if it helps you out.
Within Pause, you can add websites that will “pause” before you’re allowed to use them. This 5-second pause forces you to think about whether or not you should be using this website or doing something more productive with your time.
7. Zoom
If you’ve spent any time working from home in 2020, you’ve most likely logged into a Zoom meeting once or twice. Odds are, Zoom isn’t going anywhere anytime soon, which means the Zoom Google Chrome extension is an absolute must-have.
Within the Zoom Google Chrome extension, you’ll able to change settings and access useful information from within your browser. You’ll also be able to answer calls and even make calls, allowing you to work without the Zoom app opened on your computer.
The best part? Like all extensions on this list, installing the Zoom Chrome extension is easy and free. So, nothing is stopping you from at least trying everything that we mentioned in this article.
Looking for More Google Chrome Productivity Extensions?
If you’re looking for Google Chrome productivity extensions, as long as you stick with the plugins on this list, you should be good to go. With that in mind, there are plenty of other useful plugins out there, so don’t be afraid to try some of the highly rated ones to see if they work well for you or not.
Looking for more tech tips and tricks? Check back with our blog often for all things tech-related in 2021.