To make your workflow easier and become more productive, you can use some or all the tools presented below. I’ve been using them for quite a while now and I can confirm that it’s worth trying them out to make your work more efficient.

StayFocused

StayFocused is an extension for Chrome that allows you to focus on your work and cut down the time spend on browsing through irrelevant or addictive websites (e.g. Facebook, Instagram, gaming sites). You can set the time when the selected websites will be blocked or specify how many minutes per day you’ll be allowed to use the websites. It’s a perfect solution if you tend to be a procrastinator or are easily distracted by social media. An equivalent extension for Firefox is called LechBlock and functions in a similar way.

With StayFocused you can block any site you want

Fences

Fences is a great application that categorises your desktop icons for a more professional and organised look. The icons are visible only if you hover the mouse over the icons or if you double click on the screen. You can also create multiple pages for your icons to place more elements on the screen. Thus, your working place stays clear, you know where to look for the required shortcuts and you’ll see the icons only if you really want it.

Signals

Signals by HubSpot is a Chrome extension that sends you a notification every time your e-mail is opened and lets you find out how many times recipients viewed your e-mails. The great feature of this extension is that others won’t know that your
e-mails are tracked, so you’re totally anonymous. Signals is a perfect solution to track your marketing efforts, follow up with your customers and stay informed about the results of your communication. It works great with Gmail, Hubspot or Outlook for Windows.

Track option added to every e-mail you send with installed Signals

Boomerang

With Boomerang for Gmail you’ll be able to schedule an e-mail to be sent at
a specific time. All you need to do is to write a message and then click “Send Later”. Other features include a reminder to follow up if you didn’t receive an answer to your e-mail and a function to hide a message until you need it again.   

                                                                                       Boomerang option added to every e-mail you send

f.lux

f.lux automatically adapts the colour and brightness of your screen to the time
of day and ambient light to reduce eye strain and make you sleep better. The software will be especially helpful if you’re staying up late in front of your computer or working for many hours in a row. You just have to enter your location to enable automatic changes and that’s it. The software will take care of the rest. You can disable f.lux anytime to watch movies, see true colours, etc.

                                      f.lux adjusts your screen to the ambient light

Do you have experience working with these tools? Or maybe you use other software that you would like to recommend? Share it below!

Dorota Pawlak

Dorota helps digital brands infuse their content with a local touch. She is a localization consultant, translator specialized in IT, prompt engineer, and a book author. Dorota teaches online courses on localization, writes for her blog and a Medium publication. She also runs a Small Biz AI, a Substack newsletter for freelancers and small business owners ready to discover handy AI tools.