No matter how hard we try to stay focused on the task at hand when attempting to get work done on our computers, the temptation is just too strong not to have a tab open for Facebook. We tell ourselves it's a fair enough trade — 10 solid minutes of work, and we will be rewarded with five minutes of Facebook browsing.

This seems like a manageable system until our laser focus on the project we are working on gets disrupted by a Facebook message. There's no way we can just ignore it, and before long, are in a full-on conversation.

Now, users can still accomplish things when online, whether they're writing work emails or finishing up those final papers for the semester, and still remain on Facebook Messenger at the same time, thanks to this Chrome extension.

The Chrome app called Ghost for Chat allows the user to stay on Facebook, yet be invisible so that friends don't start messaging away because they see the green dot next to their name.

Users can remain active on Facebook when they have the free time, and then go into ghost mode when it's time to be productive. Once the plug-in is installed, the user will see the Ghost for Chat icon — which looks like a blue Pac-Man character — located on the right of the address bar. Click on the ghost to access a drop-down menu to toggle ghost mode on.

This feature disables the chat in Facebook from showing that the user is online and removes the time stamp that displays when the user was last logged in.

There is also an "Unseen Message" feature that enables the user to still send messages and get replies without the recipient seeing that they have been read.

Not only does Ghost of Chat increase productivity by blocking chats when we have Facebook open, but it also gives us privacy since nosy friends won't know exactly when we were online and if we still are when we don't want to be bothered. 

This productivity plug-in for Chrome seems too good to be true — rest assured that it isn't, but it does come at a price. Ghost for Chat costs $1.99 a month, or $19.99 a year. Those interested can download the extension from the Chrome Web store.

Source: Product Hunt