How I optimized my browser for business
Who knew that your browser could be customised so much that it would be a total game changer. You can have plugins that change the entire settings. You can bookmark virtually anything you will ever need so you never lose or forget things. And you can organise it all in your own way.
I personally use google chrome. This is not the safest option (or the most private) but it does mean that I can have the same set up on all my devices. (laptop and desktop)
By customising my browser I feel like I am much more efficient than before. It really helped me keep track of the internet.
My extensions
Extensions are something you can add to google Chrome. Extensions add features, shortcuts and other options to your browser. Just go to the menu in the top right corner (three little dots above each other) > more tools > extensions. There you can find all the available extensions you can add.
This is the list of extensions I currently use;
Ad blocker – controversial but effective. I turn it off on any page that makes revenue from ads that are not invasive. But flickering adds in the corner of my eye are too distracting.
Grammarly – I love this extension. It is a spelling and Grammar checker for your browser. I wrote all about it in this guest post over at Mostly Blogging.
Buffer – Makes it really easy to schedule content from across the web to share on twitter and goolge+ for example.
Pinterest – The button that makes it able to pin anything from across the web. Very useful for when you are trying to make your Pinterest a resource for others because new content is always great.
Hootsuite – Just like Buffer, The extension that makes me able to share anything on my social media.
StayFocusd – A great productivity tool that allows me to block sites when I need to get things done.
New tab
Another thing you can customise it the new tab page/home page. This is a great way to make it more useful for you!
Momentum is a lovely extension that makes my new tab pages beautiful, calming and useful. I have seen this in a lot of beautiful office pictures.
Instead of the google chrome “most visit” – tabs it makes you tab in a personal dashboard.
On the new tab screen, it gives you all kind of options like;
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Favourite links
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Search
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The weather
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How many to do’s you have finished
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Digital clock
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Personal greeting (which I love)
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The main goal for a day which you can set yourself
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Inspiration background with a beautiful picture
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The inspirational quote which is different every time
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Todo list
But all of it is made so that it does not look overly full.
It makes for beautiful pictures of your laptop. Personally, it makes me feel more organised and less stressed. Even just the clean feel of the whole design. I really recommend this one.
The other one which I have considered is Be Limitless which has more features like tracking time on sites.
My bookmarks
I have not really organised them so much as that I stylised them. For every bookmark, I have only the favicon in my bookmark bar. This way it is less crowdy while I can still find everything.
You can simply do this by left clicking on the bookmark you want to edit. Then choose edit in the drop-down menu. Then you can just simply delete the name and it will leave the favicon.
I think this is great for, for example, social media which icons you will recognise anyway.
I also have 4 maps in my bookmarks;
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Business; here I put anything business related. Useful sites, products and offers in one place.
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Nameless; anything fun, fun heath or beauty related including shops and products like a wishlist (that I never buy anything from)
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Drawing; My map full of links to tutorials reference material any site with useful tips and favourite artists.
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Reader; All my favourite blogs in categories like art, business etc.
For this, I was mostly inspired by a guy that I met in university that had the most extensive and complete bookmark system ever and who had literally turned his browser in a library. He had maps and sub-maps and anything that he deemed interesting he bookmarked. I don’t bookmark everything I read but I do think this was a great system. Kind of similar to Pinterest or Pocket.
Further bookmarks are my sites and stats. I have all my social media links grouped together so I can access them quickly and check them one by one.
- I also have some separate sites like the quiet place project wich is a great site to vent.
- Google translate is also important to me as I need to translate from English to Dutch and back. If English is not your first language I have written an entire post about it here.
Overall I think that organising my browser was a very good decision. I feel more in control of my internet business now than I did before.
My favourite is the momentum extension because it makes my new tabs so beautiful. When things are more beautiful I feel more at home and productive because it makes me happy.
I would love to do a similar post on how I organised my desktop and prettified it. Let me know if you would be interested in that.
Also, What is your favourite extension that I did or didn’t mention and do you have any tips on this?
I would love to hear from you.
