The three-group method for browser tabs

The three-group method sorts every browser tab into one of three groups, Work, Learning and Social, each with its own colour. Three groups are enough to answer the only question that matters when you look at a tab, "is this what I should be doing right now?", while being few enough to keep up without effort. You can add more later, but most people never need to.

Why three

Tab systems usually fail in one of two ways. With no groups, everything blurs together. With too many ("Client A", "Client B", "Recipes", "Finance", "Shopping"...), sorting becomes a job in itself and you stop doing it.

Three groups map to the three things a browser is actually used for:

• Work: what you're paid or committed to do. Email, documents, project tools.
• Learning: what you're reading on purpose. Articles, courses, documentation, research.
• Social: what you do for fun or connection. Feeds, chats, video, news.

The point isn't that Social is bad. It's that it should be a choice, not something you drift into because it's sitting next to your report.

Setting it up in Chrome

1. Right-click a work tab and choose Add tab to new group. Name it "Work" and pick blue.
2. Do the same for "Learning" (green) and "Social" (pink).
3. Drag or right-click your other tabs into the right group.
4. Collapse Social and Learning while you work by clicking their labels.

The edge cases

Some sites refuse to fit one box. A few rules of thumb:

• Sort by what you're doing, not the site. A YouTube tutorial for your job is Learning; YouTube's home page is Social.
• Messaging for work is Work. If your team chat is where work happens, it belongs there, and you can pin it so it never gets parked.
• When in doubt, it's Social. If you're unsure whether a tab helps, that's usually your answer.

When to add a fourth group

Add a group when one project needs its own space for weeks, such as a thesis, a big client or a house move. Give it its own colour (purple works well) and remove it when the project ends.

Doing it automatically

Keeping three groups by hand works for a day or two, then new tabs start piling up outside them. TabHue is built on exactly this method: it starts with Social, Work and Learning and sorts every new tab into the right coloured group as you open it. University and school websites join Learning automatically. Move a tab by hand once and TabHue remembers your choice, even after Chrome restarts. With Pro you can add as many categories as you like, each with its own list of sites. See Categories and website rules.

Once your groups exist, Focus mode can park Social in one click; read about parking distracting tabs.

Frequently asked questions

Can I rename the three groups?

Of course. "Work" might be "Studio" or "Uni" for you. What matters is the split between what you're doing, what you're learning and what distracts you.

What about shopping, banking and admin tabs?

Put them in Work if they're tasks you need to finish, or close them as soon as you're done. They rarely need a permanent group.

Do I need separate windows for each group?

No. Groups in one window are easier to manage. Separate windows help only if you work on very different things at different times, like two jobs.