Google Chrome, Firefox, Edge … today we can find a large number of web browsers to choose the one we like the most. All, in the end, serve the same purpose: surf the Internet. However, some have functions and characteristics that may be more or less useful depending on the use that we are going to give them. And, although we generally all use a browser for everything (personal, work, social networks, etc.), dividing activities and getting used to using several different browsers can help us to be more organized and work better.
With the rise of teleworking, we have all come to unite, more than necessary, the personal with the professional. However, the right to digital disconnection, especially when working from home, is extremely important, something we must always be concerned about. And that, to be honest, we rarely do.
If we are already used to working in one way, with specific programs, it can be difficult to change it. But if we open our minds and give a new way of working a chance, surely we can not only feel more comfortable being more organized, but even be more productive.
How various browsers help us to work better
If we use the same browser for personal leisure and for work, it is most likely that we have it full of extensions, bookmarks and pinned websites. And the first thing we will achieve with that is that, if we are in leisure time, we are tempted to open work-related websites. And the same the other way around. This without taking into account that our history will be mixed and chaotic, being difficult to return to a website that we have visited previously.
An example with which we could improve our productivity is by configuring a browser exclusively to work. For example, we can start using the new Microsoft Edge for this purpose. In it we will exclusively save the websites and services that are related to our work , and the access passwords to said websites and services. But nothing else. Neither social networks (unless we work with them) nor other leisure websites. Nothing.
We can even configure Edge so that, as soon as we open it, log in to Teams (or Slack), open the task manager that we use (such as Microsoft To-Do) and the Excel or Sheets with which we are going to work. And the mail, yes, only the corporate one.
As for the extensions, we can install only those that will be useful for our work. Nothing to install Augmented Steam or The Camelizer in the working browser, since we will not need it.
Edge aside, then we can have our Google Chrome for personal use . In it we can already configure everything that we are going to use or need when we are not working. And install the extensions we need to make browsing as comfortable as possible, like the previous two.
We can even have more browsers (Firefox, Opera, etc.) for other tasks, such as visiting social networks , or reading news in different media. In addition, the maintenance (temporary, cookies, etc.) of the browsers is also much easier. Not to mention privacy , since if, for example, we use a browser for social networks, we will prevent these from tracking all our activity, both personal and work, and we can feel more private.
Other ways to organize the way you work
Don’t you want to install different browsers? No problem. There are many other ways to improve the way we work. For example, we can use the Chrome or Firefox profiles and create a profile for each of these activities, switching between one and the other depending on what we are going to do. The problem is that getting to the profiles is somewhat more complicated than getting used to using different browsers.
And another way to separate certain activities is to resort to programs like Franz (or its improved fork, Ferdi). These programs, written in Electron, allow us to add several services within the same window, such as Gmail, To-Do or Slack. In this way, we will have the services separated from the rest of the browser, preventing these from being closed by mistake.
