1. Pushbullet
If you work with multiple devices or simply want to stop checking your smartphone constantly, it is worth installing Pushbullet. The extension notifies you on your desktop computer when a call comes in or someone sends you a text message. You can even reply to the latter without picking up your phone.
It is just as easy to send links and files back and forth between devices. These don't necessarily have to be your own; it also works with your colleagues' tablets or smartphones. You can also send them messages via Pushbullet, making it unnecessary to open an additional messaging app or a new email.
2. Pocket
A standard bookmark collection for all your web finds is nice, but it quickly becomes cluttered.
The Pocket button in your browser provides a remedy.
This extension makes it easy to save articles, videos, and entire websites to view later at your leisure.
Whether you do this on your smartphone while stuck in traffic or on your tablet during a train ride to your next meeting is up to you. This is particularly practical because you don't need an internet connection to view the content. Pocket works perfectly offline.
Firefox users have a slight advantage: Pocket has been included in the browser by default since version 38.0.5.
3. StayFocusd (Chrome) & LeechBlock (Firefox)
You only wanted to check Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram for a second. Soon, you find yourself hopping from one profile or hashtag to the next while the clock ticks relentlessly. Before you know it, an hour has passed that you actually wanted to spend working through your to-do list.
StayFocusd puts an end to the temptations lurking in every corner of the web and is therefore perfect for anyone who tends to relapse despite good intentions.
The extension allows you to set times and days when selected sites are blocked. This can be specific days of the week or just the next five hours.
If you want to put a stop to all distractions in Firefox for the sake of your own productivity, use LeechBlock, which works on the same principle.
4. Tab Resize (Chrome) & Tile Tabs (Firefox)
Usually, one browser tab isn't enough, and sometimes you end up with quite a few.
If you want to see them all on your screen at once, you no longer have to manually resize individual windows until they fit.
With Tab Resize or its Firefox counterpart, Tile Tabs, you can easily set up a split-screen view.
You can choose from various pre-defined layouts or define the arrangement and size of the tabs yourself, which is also possible via drag & drop. You can arrange the individual tabs horizontally, vertically, or in a grid as you like.
5. Momentum (Chrome) & Momentum (Firefox)
A personal dashboard that also serves as a motivational tool? That is Momentum, the Chrome extension that replaces the standard new tab page with a minimalist yet very elegant design.
When opening a new tab, the user is greeted with a large-format landscape photo, the time, the weather, and a motivational quote. In the bottom right corner, there is a to-do list that you can fill with your tasks for the day.
Furthermore, Momentum asks you for your main task every day, which is then displayed in large text.
A Firefox version of Momentum is now also available.
6. Contacts+ for Gmail (Chrome) & Nimble Smart Contacts (Firefox)
"Who was that again...?"
If you organize events, you certainly can't complain about having too few emails in your inbox. The art often lies in not mixing up your many contacts.
With the right browser extension, the question of who is behind an address becomes a thing of the past. The extension provides the most important information about all your contacts.
As an address book, these add-ons can also combine entries from various channels. You can import LinkedIn, Gmail, Twitter, or iPhone contacts, for example. Duplicate entries are merged, supplemented with publicly available information about the person, and synchronized with your own accounts. Currently, Contacts+ is only available for Chrome, but Firefox users can use Nimble Smart Contacts. For full access to all features, it is worth trying the 14-day trial version to decide at your leisure if the premium version will make your work easier.
