Productivity tools can help you stay focused when distractions are all around. Find out which productivity Chrome extensions work best.
Top productivity Chrome extensions
Time is one of the most precious resources, and yet we often waste it every day. Social media like Facebook or LinkedIn consumes our attention, and many of us feel pulled in too many directions at once. We want to make the most of our time, but all those distractions can get in the way.
Thankfully, there are plenty of productivity tools that can help us optimize our schedules. Task managers, calendars, time trackers, and Pomodoro charts abound to help us stay focused—but with so many options, which ones should you choose? Google Chrome offers many tools that save time and minimize distractions.
Come with us as we take a look at the best Chrome extensions for productivity!
The benefits of productivity tools
Whether you struggle with keeping track of meetings, schedule blocking, or with just checking your news feed too often, there’s probably an app that can help. Productivity tools offer many benefits, including:
- Greater functionality—From easier note-taking to simpler invoice creation to understanding documents faster with text to speech (TTS) software, the best Google Chrome extensions have features that help you do more than your web browser could by itself.
- Better time management—A study by Zippia found that 89% of U.S. employees waste at least half an hour every workday on unproductive tasks. These wasted moments may come from checking social media, clicking on unnecessary pop-ups—which can also endanger security—or attending poorly managed Zoom meetings. Productivity tools can keep you on track.
- Increased efficiency—Efficiency refers to the amount of work we accomplish in a given unit of time. Some add-ons have features to help you achieve more while others filter out distractions to free up time, but both can boost your efficiency.
- Better organization—From password managers that simplify logins and secure data to calendar creators with templates to help you keep track of your day, there are Chrome extensions that boost your productivity by keeping everything in its place.
- Clearer communication—Breakdowns in communication can weigh teams down. These types of productivity tools can improve efficiency across the board by consolidating notifications, meetings, emails, and messages into a single platform.
Invoice creation, note-taking, task management, time tracking, workflow optimization, and project management are just a few things the right Chrome extension can help address. But how do you know which extensions to choose?
Best Chrome extensions
Take a brief stroll through the Google Chrome web store, and you’ll find a wide number of extensions all claiming to boost productivity. Some simply help you organize your tab pages with keyboard shortcuts and bookmarks, while others are more sophisticated, using special toolbars and API integrations.
Despite the many options, there are five main types of productivity Chrome extensions that users flock to the most. These are:
- Time trackers
- Website trackers
- List creators
- Distraction blockers
- Text translators
To help you along, here’s a top Chrome extension for each category that you may find useful in your quest for greater productivity.
Chrome extension for tracking time
Time trackers are valuable tools for employers looking to help their workers improve their productivity—especially as remote work becomes more popular.
One of the most established time tracking extensions is Clockify. Designed to help both individuals and entire teams keep track of the amount of time they spend on a project, Clockify has many valuable features. Some features include:
- Time tracking so that managers can monitor how much of their shift each employee is dedicating to each task
- Calendar feature for organizing meetings and projects
- Employee management function for requesting and approving leaves
- Invoicing tool for recording expenses and accurately billing with ease
In addition to its many functionalities, Clockify also plays well with other productivity apps. It’s compatible with the rest of your productivity stack and can easily integrate with Asana, Trello, Jira, or your Google Calendar account.
Chrome extension for tracking website visits
Instead of tracking the time you spend on each task, some productivity apps help keep you focused by monitoring the websites you visit. Some work by taking screenshots of the web pages you view while others track the amount of time spent on each site, but all provide clearer visibility into how you use the web.
The TimeYourWeb time tracker is known for its detailed breakdowns of where you go online and, its intuitive spreadsheet interface is easy to understand. Some of its features include:
- Three different styles of charts: summary, stacked, and flow
- Summaries for daily, weekly, and monthly time spent
- Calendar icon to let users view any date
TimeYourWeb works across all your open tabs and distinguishes between active and total time to let users see how much surfing is spent idle. If you want deep insights into your surfing habits and can easily follow a spreadsheet, consider TimeYourWeb. Your browsing experience will improve in no time!
Chrome extension for creating to-do lists
Often, the best way to become more productive is to start by making a list—and there are plenty of apps for that.
Todoist is one of the best Chrome extensions for creating a to-do list, and it offers many templates and features, including:
- Quick add so that you can add tasks to your list with a single click
- Kanban-style boards to help you better manage your workflow
- Priority levels to ensure that the most important tasks get done first
- Task delegation so that others can share the load
Todoist also lets you view your activity history to see which duties you’ve completed, which ones are still in progress, and which have yet to begin. That way, you’ll always stay on track.
Chrome extension for blocking distractions
If you struggle with procrastination or with staying focused, a Chrome extension that blocks out distractions may help you jump into your work sooner. Ad-blocking extensions can prevent the disruption of unwanted pop-ups, while other extensions limit your Chrome browser to acceptable sites.
If you need to reduce distractions by budgeting out your free time, Stayfocusd can help you. This extension allows you to allot a set amount of time for activities like social media or scrolling through your news feed—but once you reach your max, it will block websites that have gotten in your way. Say goodbye to procrastination with Stayfocusd!
Chrome extensions for translating text
One way to become more productive is to improve your ability to multitask, and listening to text as you perform other duties is a great way to improve multitasking.
Browser extensions with text to speech (TTS) functionalities can help you save time by converting visual text into audio files and reading them aloud. TTS extensions are highly versatile and compatible with many types of visual text, including:
They can improve productivity by helping you scan documents faster, but TTS software is helpful for a wide range of other functions. People with learning disabilities often find TTS software to be a great help in understanding text that may be more difficult to read, and those learning new languages can sharpen their listening skills by using TTS tools. TTS browser extensions are functional, accessible, and educational, and they may be some of the most productive apps around.
Speechify
If you’re looking for the best TTS plugin for Chrome, look no further than Speechify. Created by dyslexia advocate and Forbes “30 Under 30” entrepreneur Cliff Weitzman, Speechify’s TTS tool is at the top of its class. Some of Speechify’s many features include:
- Over 30 natural, human-like voices
- Compatibility with more than 15 languages
- Converting PDFs, articles, Gmail, and Google Docs with ease
- Text modification, including highlighting, annotation, note-taking, and other tools
- Up to 5X faster reading speeds
- Android and iOS compatibility
- Online and offline functionality
- Affordable pricing models
With its versatility, simplicity, and functionality, Speechify has a host of features that make text conversion a breeze in Google Chrome or any other web browser and device. Us it in real-time to instantly hear any text on a web page or document!
Chrome extension for voice dictation
While TTS conversion turns visual text into audio, sometimes the process needs to be reversed.
Voice dictation converts speech into text, which can be a huge productivity boost if you write a lot. Fewer errors, faster typing, and greater comfort are just a few benefits of voice dictation (also called voice to text or speech to text) over conventional typing—and as with TTS, dictation offers more than just productivity. Those who have difficulty typing can still use their keyboards thanks to voice dictation software, making this Chrome extension an accessibility booster, too.
One of the best voice to text Chrome extensions on is Voice In. All you need to do after installing the Voice In extension is to open a web page with a textbox in a new tab in Chrome, put the cursor in the textbox, right-click, and choose Start Recording. Then, as long as your microphone is properly set up on your phone or computer, you can speak while the program types what you are saying. Simply right-click again and select Stop Recording when done!
FAQ
How do I optimize Chrome for productivity?
- Sync all your devices together with Chrome, so you won’t lose your place when you switch to a different device.
- Conduct web searches directly within the URL bar instead of navigating to the Chrome homepage or search engines.
- Bookmark commonly used websites to quickly access them as needed.
- Minimize the number of tabs you keep open, but if you require multiple tabs, keep your toolbar uncluttered by using Chrome’s tab-grouping feature.
- If you find useful information while browsing the web, highlight the relevant text to create a shareable link that you can return to for future reference.
What are the best Chrome extensions for productivity?
Some of the best Chrome extensions for productivity include:
- Speechify
- Onenote Web Clipper
- Save to Google Drive
- Briskine
- Lastpass
- Noisli
- Rescuetime
- Onetab
- The Great Suspender
- Just Read
What are the most useful Chrome extensions for students?
Students of all ages can benefit from web browser extensions for studying, researching, learning, or doing homework. The most useful Chrome extensions for students include:
- Speechify
- Grammarly
- Save to Google Drive
- Google Dictionary
- Power Thesaurus
- Free APA and MLA Citation Generator
- Evernote
- Selection Reader
- Voice In
