Hello again faithful readers! It’s time for another Cool Tools post, where I talk about the various hacks I use to keep myself productive. This time, the tool is a Google Chrome app called Omnibox Timer!
Have you ever sat down to work, or read, only to get sucked into Facebook, or Twitter, or scrolling your Insta?
Yeah, me too.
Well, a few weeks ago, I got fed up with the time loss and went on a crusade to find a tool that would help me limit the social media time suck. I discovered that there are tons of different tools out there, ranging from an owl who automatically closes your session on after a preset time limit is reached, to the simplest of the bunch: Omnibox Timer.
Seeing as how I like simplicity and flexibility, and I’m not lacking in the discipline to start the timer, I decided to give Omnibox Timer a try.
First off, it’s super easy:
In Chrome, the address bar is called the “Omnibox” because you can use it for Google searches, URLs, and activating apps–like the timer!
So all I have to do is open a tab, type ‘tm’ and a space into the Omnibox (address bar) and then the number of minutes I want the timer to run. I can even add a message to pop up when the timer goes off.
Then, when the minutes are up, Omnibox Timer sends a desktop notification to my screen. It’s quiet and unassuming, but it gets the job done without making me feel like I’m being punished. (I really hate that feeling.)
For me, that’s all I need: a reminder of how much time has passed. Otherwise, I’ll get sucked into reading articles and think 10 minutes has passed–when it’s actually been 30. And, frankly, that twenty minutes can be the difference between getting to write or not.
So give it a try and tell me what you think! Or, if you have a time management tool you love already, tell me about it! I always love to find a cool new tool!
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