Work Hackery: 3 Sites and Extensions to Help You Focus and Get Things Done

As a student, I'm one of many who face that terrible problem of procrastination. Sometimes despite my best efforts, I sit on my laptop with my books open and agenda out, but nothing gets done. Luckily, I've poked around and discovered some great tools that help with creating a better work-flow and help me stay focused.

1. WorkFlowy

I didn't really understand what this was, or how it could help me, until I started using it. WorkFlowy is essentially an awesome list-maker, making it super easy to create multi-level lists and then organize, tag, or move everything around.

Like me when I first came across it, you might not really understand just how helpful this can be. When I started, I realized it was a great way for me to organize my writing process, dividing the paper or writing I had to do into ideas, brainstorming, and sources. I used it to begin outlining a story, and had a bullet which broke down into characters, settings, and plot. Each of those easily breaks down further, and it's super easy to navigate throughout all of your different lists.

Again, I highly recommend signing up and giving this a try, even if this doesn't sound helpful. Check out this brief intro video, which gives a better preview of how it works and will hopefully help convince you that it is as awesome as I think it is:

2. HabitRPG

For both gamers and non-gamers alike, I think it's safe to say it's always fun to get rewarded for doing something. Have you ever been to a site that gives you rewards or badges for doing different activities on it? Even if it was all virtual, you probably tried to get some of these rewards and enjoyed it at least a little.

Well, HabitRPG makes your to-do list and any habit building/breaking and turns it into a game!

By adding what you have to do (or any habits you want to build), you can begin to earn points and level up your character! Nothing like a bit of gaming to make your work go by a little faster!

3. Clearly

Evernote's Clearly is a browser extension which helps to clear away the "extra" parts of sites to help you focus on the content on the web page. The extension is great at clearing away distracting layouts and sidebars to help you focus on the article at hand.

I find this extension great when I'm on a site trying to read to learn something, but may be distracted by links to other articles on the same site. If you're letting yourself read something while you're "on a break", it can help prevent you from getting distracted and clicking from link-to-link and wasting more time than you meant to.


These three tools personally help me get through my to-do list and get stuff done. Have you tried any of these, and if so, what do you think of them? Do you have any tricks of the trade to help you focus on your work?