7 Google Chrome Extensions that Boost Freelancers Productivity

The Google Chrome Webstore houses tons of useful Chrome extensions for various activities like gaming, sports, web design, freelancing and more. These extensions are very useful as they help freelancers, solopreneurs and other small business owners work more efficiently, have fun and stay productive. They help to keep all your productivity tools handy, so you can easily access them when needed.

Unlike other on-premise software, extensions do not require elaborate installation rituals and processes, neither do they take-up sufficient ROM space. They’re like lite versions of your popular software.

So, What are Google Chrome  Extensions?

Google Chrome extensions help to customize user browsing experience. They can be installed on to Chrome to modify browser appearance, functionality, and behavior. They enable users to personalize their browsing experience by tweaking Chrome a little here and a little there.

Google Chrome extensions can perform functions like:

• ad blocking
• optimizing memory usage for more efficiency,
• password management,
• voice and screen recording, e.t.c.

They are built on frameworks such as HTML, JavaScript, and CSS which gives them versatility. They are functional across devices, hence can be run from mobile as well as PC to provide seamless operation.

How to Install Google Chrome Extensions

Whether you’re geeky or not, installing Google Chrome extensions is easy, simple and straightforward.

Following are simple steps to install chrome extensions:

1.   Open Chrome Web Store on your device (either your phone or your PC). You can also search for the Google Chrome Webstore on Google
2.    Search for and select the extension you want.
You can also search by Features like
            -Runs offline
            -By Google
            – Free
            -Available for Android
            -Works with Google Drive

3.    Click on “Add to Chrome.”

Some extensions require certain data or permissions to install or run smoothly. You also have the choice to allow or disallow an extension from making changes to your browser.

To (de)activate the extension, click the menu icon to the right of the address bar as shown below.

Hover over “More tools”, a drop-down menu will appear to your left. Click on “Extensions”. Here you can (de)activate or remove an extension.

7 Top Google Chrome Extensions for Freelancers

1. Noisli Extension

With Noisli, you can block out annoying noises. It works as a kind of active noise reduction/cancellation, which allows you reduce or minimize unwanted sound by the introduction or addition of a second sound, thus allowing you to create the right working environment as a freelancer.

Some monotonous white noises help us stay focused. Noisli has a host of noises to choose from and an option to customize your own. With Noisli you can choose your own noise, time it, and adjust the volume, all from within your web browser.

2. ColorZilla Extension

If you’re a freelance graphic designer, this Chrome extension might just become your bestie. ColorZilla is a well-designed eyedropper tool that reads colors in hexadecimal and RGB formats. With it, you can easily and legally extract color data from any website, and that without having to open another application.

Now available for Chrome, ColorZilla is one of the most popular Firefox developer extensions. You can join over 5 million other people who have downloaded it and are using it to improve their work.

3. Boomerang for Gmail Extension

Being a digital nomad comes with its benefits, but constantly being on the move makes it occasionally difficult to keep pace with emails. The Boomerang extension solves this challenge by allowing users to schedule emails for a future date.

This is very handy for when you are on the move, e-mailing someone in another time zone, or catching up on emails late at night. Boomerang also allows users to schedule emails to self. This can be used as alarms or reminders for important tasks, meetings, deadlines, follow-ups, etc. It also sends prompts that nudge you to respond to emails.

4.  Web Developer Extension

Developers will love the Web Developer Chrome extension. It adds a toolbar button to your Chrome browser which contains or displays various web developer tools you can use, all in one place.

With this Web Developer extension, you can quickly and easily view responsive layouts, disable styles, and outline elements.

5.  Taco Extension

Do not let the name fool you, this beautiful Chrome extension is a powerful hub for productivity. On any given day most of us use up to 20 different apps and tools from Trello to Salesforce, you just name it.

Taco collects and assembles all your incoming tasks and notifications from various apps into a single place, giving you a bird’s eye view of all you need to do at any point in time, so you don’t miss important tasks or notifications.

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6. Save to Pocket Extension

When you create a Pocket account, you can save stuff for later, say an article you love but can’t read immediately. Whatever you save here can be synced and made available across all your devices. This cross-platform extension allows freelancers, nomads or busy persons to keep up with essential information by saving it for later.

This extension is great for freelancers, writers, designers, entrepreneurs and business owners, it reduces multitasking so they can focus on the task at hand.

7. StayFocusd

Being a freelancer requires discipline, and there are gazillion digital distractions when working on the web. We’ve all been there, intend to take a break and spend five minutes on Facebook to catch up, another five minutes to say hi on WhatsApp, but two hours later you’re on Twitter or ranting about politics in some faraway forum.

Fortunately, StayFocusd helps us stay focused by blocking out websites that distract us. Its customized settings allow you to block access to entire sites, specific pages or certain content types such as images and videos.

Bonus Tool: Markup Hero

Markup Hero revolutionizes the way you capture, annotate, and share screenshots and images. 

With Markup Hero, you can customize your images with arrows, shapes, text, and even emojis. Capture entire webpages with scrolling screenshots and easily sign .pdf files.

Are you a designer wrestling with intricate design concepts? Or an educator struggling to explain complex theories? Perhaps a developer needing to visualize code structures? No matter your profession, Markup Hero is your virtual whiteboard, enhancing the way you communicate visually, collaborate, and receive feedback. 

Conclusion

These extensions are easy to install, easy to use and will help you get more done in your freelance business.

Which (of these) extensions do you use as a freelancer? Let us know in the comments section.