The internet (and chrome’s tab feature) is an invitation to a lack of focus and endless youtube distractions. Fortunately, the great range of chrome extension for improving one’s productivity may help curb those indulgences and get you focused. Win the Day is a chrome extension that capitalizes on some basic goal setting theories and integrates them directly into your browser (read: WORKSPACE).
Like most google extensions, this Win The Day extension is a super easy set up – it does support Google Account functionality (and the Facebook!), so it can sync across those devices (integration across devices is AWESOME and is a key feature for most of us).
The user interface is easy to navigate, and has all those things that make inspirational planners fun – a picturesque background, inspirational quotes on the top, and an easy to navigate experience. In terms of functionality, let’s break down the good and the not so good.
The Good:
Easy to use – interface tracks your goal and reminds you every day you use it – that’s an essential part of goal setting psychology. The more you see it, the more likely it stays on your mind.
Daily countdown – you easily see how many days you have left – it’s easy to tell when you are running out of time.
You can set daily targets – breaking down complex goals into daily steps. This helps keep you focused on your goal.
Three daily targets is a good use of psychology in this case. For most big ticket goals – more than three tasks per day is unreasonable for professionals.
Focus Mode – If social media is a constant distraction, the use of focus mode will effectively block your access to the web site. By default, it blocks Facebook, twitter, YouTube, and Pinterest – but you can add your own sites as well. This IS extremely useful, and to me is the gold part of the extension.
Not so Good:
Only One Goal – Not that single focus is a bad thing but most of us don’t have one goal in a single category, let alone across the board. Because you only focus on one goal at a time, this limits its application. Most of us have work, professional, personal, and family goals. Frankly put, one goal at a time is a nice idea – but doesn’t match the realness of life for anyone, especially entrepreneurs.
Habit Tracking – This feature is simple to use, but lacks the robustness of most habit tracking apps. It also sets things up in a weekly timeline, but for many of us, we are building daily and monthly habits as well. Compared to the excellence of focus mode, this feature wasn’t pulling it.
The interface – Well, If you like nice stock photography, it’s not too bad. Thankfully, the layering effect keeps the focus on the content, and its design is pleasing for a bright screen on the desktop, but it feels both a little juvenile and cheesy.
This is a great tool for those who need some “inspiration” in their browsing career. For focus mode alone, this extension is a great add-in for those who use Chrome as a workspace and want to create a “focus burst” workflow. If you’re trying to reach a big ticket goal, this is a great tool, and has applications whether you’re a parent, a student, a business owner, or a consultant. Now Get crackin’ on those goals and Get #SMART on your goal setting with a refresher.
