I’ve spent years trying and testing the main browsers; Chome, Firefox and Safari. Some time ago I made the choice to commit fully to Chrome and on reflection it was a good decision.
Aside from being the fastest of the three big guns, Chrome has some excellent add ons (tools you can add to the browser) which help with productivity.
Whilst at work, I have multiple tabs open at the same time in my Chrome browser.
I keep these tabs open all day long to increase productivity and help manage the workload more effectively.
Below is a breakdown of what I open in each browser tab, and how they could be useful for you.
Tab 1 – Gmail
First things first, I (like millions of others) open my inbox. I use Gmail as I think it’s the best email provider I’ve ever used and it has a bunch of useful features which make life easier.
One of my favourite parts of Gmail is the Canned Responses function which helps you compose email responses quickly.
To add the function, go to Settings > Labs > Canned Responses and ensure they are ‘Enabled’.
Tab 2 – Gmail
Nope, it’s not a typo! My second tab is also Gmail.
The reason I operate Gmail in two tabs is so that I can use the first one for composing emails and reading them, and the second one for searching my archives or copy and pasting information into the first Gmail tab.
This saves time and makes you more productive with your emails. All with the end goal of achieving inbox zero.
Tab 3 – Harvest
No one likes to think their time is being monitored or that they have to log each task they do on a clock, but Harvest is brilliant for much more than simply tracking your time.
Both you and your company can use Harvest to better understand where your time goes and how much is being spent (in time) on certain tasks.
Use the reports section to breakdown your work by client, staff member or specific task.
Tab 4 – DaPulse
You may be a keeper of hand written lists, or you have an inbox full of tasks waiting to be completed. If that’s the case and you need to manage multiple projects at the same time, you will love DaPulse.
It’s a super visual project management tool which will help you keep track of what’s going on for you and your team.
You could try other task and project management tools like Redbooth, Asana and Wunderlist, but for me, DaPulse is the best.
Tab 5 – Slack
Okay okay so Slack is best opened in the desktop (or mobile) app itself, but I couldn’t write this post without including this tool as it can also be used via a webpage in your browser, and it should definitely be part of your daily set up.
Slack is a messaging app for teams which helps give transparency on all your projects, allows fast team communication and reduces internal emails. It also makes communication more human which I think is essential in what can sometimes be an overly formal business world.
Tab 6 – Google Search Engine
The sixth and final tab I always have open in my browser is Google’s search engine.
This way I can quickly go and search for a website I need, or use that open tab to visit another web tool or resource.
Having these six tabs open at all times will increase your productivity and ensure you get your sh*t done.
One thing to be aware of though, is to make sure you never have too many tabs open at once. Six to ten is about right, but anymore will be a mess and clutter your brain making you less productive.
What other tools do you always have open in your browser tabs? Let us know in the comments below.
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