How to sanely use multiple Google accounts

In a perfect world, we would each have a single Google account. Everything we ever needed would be housed conveniently behind a single impenetrable login. But we live in an imperfect world. One which requires many of us to have 2, 3, or dozens of Google accounts. It can be hard to keep things straight. Over the past few years I’ve had a handful of accounts that I use on a regular basis (mostly for work). There are two main ways I’ve found to keep things tidy.

Option 1: separate Chrome windows

If you use Chrome, you can log in to the browser itself with a Google account. This will automatically log you in to all Google apps (Gmail, Google Drive, Google Calendar, etc.) with that account. You can then log in to additional Google accounts using the account menu in the top right corner of the browser. When you switch to another account, it’ll open a new Chrome window in which you’re logged in to all Google apps with that account. In this way, your Google accounts are isolated into separate browser windows.

The account menu in Chrome.

Option 2: Wavebox or something similar.

I used option 1 for a couple years and it worked out alright. But then, through a series of fortunate events I discovered Wavebox, and — I know everyone likes to say this — but it kind of changed my life. It’s mostly touted as a way to minimize distractions and reduce stress, but it turns out it’s an excellent way to effortlessly manage multiple Google accounts, or multiple accounts of any kind. If you’re someone who works for multiple companies or has multiple work email accounts, this is a must-have tool. It’s essentially a browser (it’s actually built on Chrome), but it allows you to create multiple profiles. Each profile is a workspace where you can log in to the apps — any website is considered an app — you use the most and keep them pinned within that profile. Your profiles are listed on the left side of the screen so you can easily jump back and forth between them without the need to switch between browser windows. Plus, you’re always logged in to the apps you’ve pinned so you can effortlessly work with all the tools you use the most without having to constantly pull them up in a browser and log in.

Wavebox is just one option here. Shift and Station two other popular ones and I’m sure there are others.

Wavebox lets you create multiple workspaces within the same browser window. Each workspace contains the apps and websites you use the most in that context.

How do you juggle multiple accounts? Comment below with your tips!