Make Google Chrome faster with these easy steps
As one of the fastest browsers in the market, Google Chrome is the perfect match for quick-paced internet users of the 21st century. But like any technology that stores information, Chrome’s performance can slow down and frustrate its users. It can also affect their productivity and lower their motivation. If you’re using Chrome and finding it sluggish, don’t fret. Simply follow these troubleshooting methods to improve your browser’s speed again. Clear your browsing data Chrome stores a cached copy of a website you visit, so it can load the page faster when you visit it again. It also keeps a database of your browsing history and cookies for the same purpose. As you visit more and more websites, these pieces of data accumulate in Chrome and can slow the browser down. Thankfully, the solution to this is easy: clear your cache. To do this, simply access your browsing history by entering chrome://history on your address bar. From the left panel, select Clear browsing data. Choose which data will be deleted by clicking on the checkboxes of all items you want to delete, like cached images or cookies. You can also select the time range that will be affected by the deletion. You can delete your history for the past hour, the last 24 hours, the last 7 days, the last 4 weeks, or from the beginning of time. Once you’ve selected the files you want to delete and their corresponding time range, click Clear data. Disable extensions Extensions are downloadable programs from the Chrome Web Store that you can add to your browser to give it more functionality and a personalized touch. For example, you can add an extension that blocks ads, one that shortens URLs, or one that shows you your most important tasks of the day. While these extensions are useful, they can slow Chrome down when there are too many installed at once. Most extensions will show on Chrome’s address bar, and you can quickly uninstall them by right-clicking on their icons and selecting Remove from Chrome. You can also manage all extensions by typing chrome://extensions on your browser and hitting Enter. From there, you’ll find a list of all the extensions you have (even those you don’t remember installing). Simply scroll through the list and click Remove to delete the extensions you don’t need. Remove ads and malware Sometimes, Chrome slows down because of malware or adware extensions. Extra toolbars, recurring pop-up ads, and web pages redirecting to other addresses are clear indications of these. Google once had a downloadable app developed for Chrome that scans and removes unwanted programs called the Clean Up Tool. In 2018, Google discontinued that app and made malware scanning even easier. Just go to chrome://settings/cleanup on your browser, and click on Find to find and remove harmful software on your computer. A top-performing web browser benefits your business in many ways, including upping employees’ productivity and speeding up communication processes. It’s therefore critical that yours is fast and reliable. If your web browser is performing poorly or takes forever to load a page, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us so we can identify and fix the problem right away. Published with permission from TechAdvisory.org. Source.
Productivity-boosting tips for PC users
We all want to become more productive. Business gurus always emphasize the importance of time management and taking breaks to avoid burnout. But aside from motivating yourself to work more efficiently, there are plenty of tools that increase your daily output. If you use a computer all day, check out these productivity-boosting tips. Monitor productivity levels Start by tracking how much work you complete on an average day. There are useful apps for this such as Google Chrome Extensions like RescueTime, which record your most frequently visited sites and track how much time you spend away from your computer. Running the app will provide you with a productivity rating and a detailed log of how you spend your time at work. If you discover you’re wasting a huge portion of your time on social networking and other productivity killers, you’re more likely to make conscious adjustments on how you manage your time. Get rid of clutter You can also decrease distractions and increasing output by deleting old files, uninstalling unused programs, and organizing documents into appropriately labeled folders. This makes files easier to find and improves your computer’s performance. As for the clutter in your email inbox, Gmail and Outlook both have features that filter out unimportant messages. Simply enable Priority Inbox on Gmail or Clutter on Outlook to get a clean, spam-free inbox. Block time-wasting sites Visiting non-work-related websites hinders productivity. A quick five-minute break to check your Facebook feed may not seem like much, but a few of those per day add up to a lot of time. If you and your employees have trouble staying away from social media sites like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, it’s a good idea to block access to them using URL filters. Alternatively, you can use apps like StayFocusd or Strict Workflow. These allow you to set a limit on how long and how many times users can visit non-work-related sites. Stay on track with to-do lists To-do lists help you break down large projects into manageable, bite-sized tasks. Crossing things off the list is surprisingly satisfying since it gives you and your employees a sense of accomplishment and total visibility of your progress. You can choose from a wide variety of digital to-do lists like Google Tasks or Trello. These platforms allow you to set deadlines for small tasks and write clear instructions for each. What’s more, they’re incredibly easy to use and are great for keeping track of your workflow. Use keyboard shortcuts Mastering keyboard shortcuts will make it easier to perform simple functions. There are more than a hundred useful shortcuts, but some that you should always keep in mind are: Ctrl + C, Ctrl + V, Ctrl + X – to copy, paste, and cut selected items Ctrl + Z – to undo changes Ctrl + T – to open a new tab on your web browser Alt + Tab – to switch between open windows Alt + F4 – to close the program For many more like these, take a look at this list of advanced shortcuts for Windows. In this digital age of short attention spans, focus is key to achieving business success. Drop us a line today if you’d like to know more about how tech can induce focus and improve overall productivity. Published with permission from TechAdvisory.org. Source.