This article has been syndicated to Her Campus from Diary of a Debutante, an InfluenceHer Collective member. Read the full post here.
If you work from home, you understand the slew of potential distractions we encounter on a daily basis. In addition to the inevitable interruptions created by family, significant others, and sporadic, seemingly “urgent” chores that pop up out of nowhere, the internet can be a messy place for staying on task… if you don’t have the right quick productivity hacks in place. Here are twelve quick productivity hacks to instantly triple your work output.
1. Enable StayFocusd
My boyfriend Kyle turned me on to Stayfocusd. He’s also a writer who spends pretty much his entire day researching topics on the internet. So, similarly to bloggers and digital influencers, quick productivity hacks that force him to stay on task are the name of his game. StayFocusd is a Chrome browser extension that allows you to set a “time budget” for websites you’d like to avoid visiting multiple times throughout the day. For example, my settings only allow me to spend a combined total of thirty minutes on Twitter and Facebook per day. You can add whatever other time-sucking websites (the news, Pinterest, shopping sites) to your own personal block list.
As obnoxious as StayFocusd can be, it’s brutally effective when it comes to time management. Oh, and if you run out of time but want to stalk just one more Facebook page, you aren’t able to revise your time budget or block list same-day. Changes to existing browsing settings are only applied for the following day to avoid spur-of-the-moment lapses in judgement.
2. Install F.B. Purity
Let’s be honest– even if you have incredible self-discipline, you probably log on to Facebook at least once a day. F.B. Purity is another browser extension that cleans up and customizes your Facebook feed. It essentially lets you filter out the junk you don’t want to see. This includes removing annoying, irrelevant stories, including ads, sponsored content, and random game spam, from your newsfeed.
In order to use this extension, simply download the right version for your web browser and then open Facebook. F.B Purity will prompt you to select what content to block and what content to show. In essence, it’s a great compromise for anyone who’s not quite ready to give up social media altogether but is hoping to minimize their time and maximize their efficiency on it.
3. Disable Desktop Notifications
It’s difficult to avoid social media when you’re given a personalized desktop notification every time something remotely interesting happens. The same goes for your email. Even if answering emails is a critical part of your professional responsibilities, set designated times throughout the day to check and answer messages. This will allow you to stop being a slave to your inbox and start getting other important tasks done efficiently.
4. Sign Up for Last Pass
You can’t remember your password, so you send yourself an email to re-set your password. Then, you enter in your new password– but it can’t be that password because it’s already been your password. It’s the same song and dance every time. Do yourself a huge favor and download LastPass to save time figuring out what all 7338305 of your passwords are. It’s completely free, and it pre-fills online forms and remembers your usernames/passwords for you so that you can focus on the more important things, like actual work.
Read the full post here.