Stop Tab-Switching: Unify Jira, GitHub, GitLab Tasks

TL;DR: Constantly switching between Jira, GitHub, and GitLab tabs kills developer productivity. It is time to Stop Tab-Switching. Use Super Productivity to centralize all your tasks into one unified list, reduce context switching, and boost your deep work focus.

It’s 10:00 AM. You open Jira to check your sprint tickets. Then you tab over to GitHub to review a pending PR. A Slack notification pops up – someone tagged you in a GitLab issue. You switch tabs again to reply. By the time you actually open your IDE, you’ve forgotten what you were supposed to be coding.

This is “Browser Tab Roulette,” and it’s the silent killer of developer productivity.

Every time you switch tools to check for updates, you pay a “context switching tax.” Research suggests it can take up to 23 minutes to regain deep focus after an interruption. If you’re checking three different platforms ten times a day, the math is brutal: you’re spending more time managing work than doing it.

The solution isn’t just “more discipline”–it’s a Unified Inbox. By centralizing your streams, you can reclaim the Deep Work state essential for complex problem solving.

The Power of a Unified Task List

A Unified Inbox aggregates tasks from all your sources – issue trackers, code repositories, and email – into a single, prioritized view. Instead of visiting three websites to see what’s on your plate, you look at one list.

This is one of the core problems Super Productivity was built to solve. It acts as a local-first bridge between your external tools and your daily workflow, allowing you to:

1. See everything in one place: Your Jira tickets sit next to your GitHub PRs and your manual “refactor tests” tasks.
2. Plan without visiting the source: Drag a ticket from the backlog to “Today” without getting distracted by the comments section or the infinite scroll of a Kanban board.
3. Track time automatically: Start working on a Jira ticket in Super Productivity, and it automatically logs the worklog back to Jira.

Step-by-Step: Connecting Your Tools

Super Productivity supports direct integrations with Jira, GitHub, and GitLab (along with others like OpenProject and Gitea). Here is how to set up your command center.

1. Connecting Jira

If your team lives in Jira, you know the pain of slow loading times and complex navigation.

1. Go to Settings > Integrations > Jira.
2. Enter your Host (e.g., company.atlassian.net) and Username.
3. Generate an API Token in your Atlassian Security settings and paste it into the Password/API Token field.
4. Crucial Step: Enable Auto-Import. This allows you to define JQL queries (like assignee = currentUser() AND status != Done) so tasks appear in your backlog automatically.

Result: Your assigned Jira tickets now appear in your backlog. You can start a timer on them immediately without opening the browser.

2. Connecting GitHub & GitLab

For developers, code review is work. Don’t let PRs slip through the cracks.

1. Go to Settings > Integrations > GitHub (or GitLab).
2. Create a Personal Access Token (PAT) with repo permissions.
3. Paste the token into Super Productivity.
4. Configure a custom search query.
   • GitHub Example: is:pr is:open review-requested:@me (Fetches PRs waiting for your review).
   • GitLab Example: Assignee to me, Scope: created-by-me or assigned-to-me.

Result: Pull Requests assigned to you appear as tasks. You can timebox your code reviews just like any other development task.

The “Plan-Execute-Track” Workflow

Once your integrations are active, your workflow changes from “reacting to notifications” to “executing a plan.” This shift is subtle but profound for your mental health.

Step 1: The Morning Sweep

Start your day by checking the Backlog in Super Productivity. You’ll see new items from Jira and GitHub.

• Drag the ones you intend to finish today into the Today column.
• Estimate the time for each (e.g., “Fix Bug #123” - 1h).
• Leave the rest in the backlog. Out of sight, out of mind.

This separation is critical. Your “Today” list becomes a contract with yourself, protected from the noise of the backlog.

Step 2: Deep Work Execution

Click the Play button on your first task. This isn’t just a timer; it’s a psychological trigger. The app minimizes to the tray.

• If you get distracted, the app nudges you: “You’ve been idle. Are you still working on X?”
• If you need to switch tasks, pause the current one and start the next. The time tracking handles the switch instantly.

Step 3: Sync and Forget

When you finish a task, mark it as done in Super Productivity. The app can automatically:

• Transition the Jira issue to “Done”.
• Post a worklog (time spent) to the ticket so your PM is happy.
• Move the GitHub issue status (if configured).

You never had to open the browser tab to update the status manually.

Pro Tip: Advanced Filtering

You don’t just have to import assigned tasks. You can set up multiple importers for different contexts.

• The “Urgent” Filter: Import Jira tickets with priority = High.
• The “Mentions” Filter: Import GitHub issues where mentions:@me.

Why Not Just Use a Browser Plugin?

Many developers try to solve this with browser extensions or “New Tab” dashboards. While better than nothing, they have a fatal flaw: The Browser is the Distraction.

When you open your browser to check your tasks, you are one click away from Reddit, Hacker News, or your email. By moving your task list out of the browser and into a dedicated desktop app, you create a physical separation between “Planning” and “Browsing.”

Furthermore, browser plugins often struggle with offline access. Super Productivity stores your data locally. If you are on a train with spotty Wi-Fi, you can still view your backlog, track time, and mark tasks as done. The app queues the sync requests and sends them when you are back online.

Enterprise Context: Handling Multiple Instances

If you are a contractor or work in a large enterprise, you might have accounts on multiple Jira instances (e.g., one for the client, one for your agency).

Super Productivity handles this gracefully via Projects. You can configure:

• Project A: Connects to client-a.atlassian.net.
• Project B: Connects to agency.atlassian.net.
• Project C: Connects to your personal GitHub.

You can view these projects individually to keep contexts separate, or use the “Day View” to see an aggregate list of everything you need to do today across all clients. This prevents the “double booking” problem where you agree to a deadline on Project A because you forgot about the critical bug on Project B.

Conclusion

Your brain is for solving complex logic puzzles, not for remembering which tab holds that critical bug report. By unifying your streams into one river, you reduce anxiety and protect your flow state.