There is a continuing argument over which browser was the first to implement tabs. I believed up until just now (simple Google search) that it was Opera. In my defense over the years Opera has seemingly been constantly ahead of the competition with new features. Apparently however many claim it was Firefox or more specifically Phoenix and early version of what would become Firefox. Regardless we all use them now, and it eventually can lead to abuse…I’d say I always have at least ten tabs open at once in my browser…don’t ask about my code editor.

Occasionally when I am not trying to keep up with the latest front end development craze, I make whole hearted attempts to better myself and improve my productivity. My normal routine with tabs is simply to close all of them out every time I start work on a new task. I currently have the One Tab extension installed in Chrome, and honestly I tried it for a week or so before it became just another icon in the taskbar. It is great in theory, you simply click on the icon and it moves all your open tabs into one tab with links to them. It has a few options to export urls in a tab group or share, and will recover tabs if you close out the browser. If I speak my truth, I’m unsure why I don’t use it more.

Today a co worker (designer/project manager, likely far more organized than myself) suggested an extension called Session Buddy. I figured I’d have another go at managing the weeds. Session Buddy is another Chrome extension available in the Chrome apps store. Once installed you get another icon added to your taskbar…I probably now should investigate taskbar icon managers. At first glance the interface of Session Buddy is a bit more robust and seems pretty easy to navigate. I was able to add all my favorite work tabs quickly and even rename/save them into a “Saved Session”.

I like the “Saved Session” feature as it makes it handy to reopen a set of tabs, and I can see it being useful for organization. Each session has a set of options on the right side which includes a few sort options. I think this clean interface with the extra ability to save your sessions, might tip the scale in favor of Session Buddy over One Tab as far as making it a more usable tool over time. I’m not sure I’ll stick with this, but it’s always worth trying these small improvements to your work flow, they can add up and save you extra time. Feel free to add any suggestions you might have for tabs management or browser productivity below in comments.