Taking Gmail, Google Docs, and other web apps out of your tab

For many teachers in Google schools, living in tabs in Google Chrome is a way of life. However, it can often lead to disorganization and inefficiency as we have to navigate between endless tabs to get to the right application. There is a way to bring some order to this chaos by installing Google apps such as Gmail and Docs as stand-alone applications on your desktop.

The advantages of using stand-alone applications

There are several key advantages to using stand-alone applications. They offer a clear, uncluttered user interface. They also allow users to more quickly navigate to the app they want to use. I normally have around 150-200 tabs open for some reason, so I use tab search a lot. This helps me quickly find the tab I need, but having webapps that I’m using constantly as a separate app disconnected from my browser is even faster.

Other advantages

There are a couple of other advantages to installing these as apps.

• Notifications - Each of these apps has its own controls for notifications, giving you more control over them.
• Separate windows - This is huge for macOS users. When bringing up the app switcher, apps will show up separately from Chrome. No more command tabbing to Chrome and then navigating to the correct tab.
• Ease of access - You can easily pin these apps to your taskbar or dock, so they're just a click away.

Conclusion

Installing web apps as applications is a great first step to bringing order to your tabs. By installing your Google Workspace apps as stand-alone desktop applications, you can save time, reduce clutter, and focus more on your tasks, leading to a more organized and efficient work experience.