Very typical Monday morning, you are having a meeting with some colleagues on a new project from your kitchen counter. Kids are having video classes in the living room while your spouse is busy at another meeting in the study. The meeting ends you close your laptop and start scrolling through messages into a loop of procrastination while you run on low motivation.
Work from home has become a new norm but it hasn’t been easy for most of us. We are having meetings and attending conferences from the safety of our homes. According to the Clutch survey, 66% of the U.S. workers are currently working from home from 17% before the pandemic.
When asked if they would prefer working from home even after the pandemic, 39% of workers said that they would rather work in an office, while 40% said that they would rather work remotely. About 21% have no preference.
There are also several advantages of remote working which are encouraging more and more companies to permanently adopt this model. According to Gartner CFO Survey, 74% intend to shift employees to remote work permanently while nearly three in four CFOs plan to shift at least 5% of on-site employees to permanently remote positions post-COVID-19.
Remote working is providing several opportunities for both employees and companies. However, it is there are several issues which employees are facing.
Source
These problems affect the productivity as employees more and more time procrastinating.
So, here is a list of apps for working from home that can help you decrease your time procrastinating while increasing productivity.1. App to help you eliminate distractions
Freedom:
This is your first step in fighting procrastination. Social media notifications are one of the leading causes of distractions as these apps and websites are scientifically designed to keep you hooked. They can cost your ability to focus, productivity, and general well-being. Freedom blocks websites and apps to give you more control over your time and attention. The features of the app include:
Advanced scheduling for blocking
Customizable blocking options
Ability to sync your settings across devices
Option to save and annotate your session history
Unlimited Sessions & Devices
Freedom Pause Extension for breaking browsing habits
Freedom Insight Extension for time tracking
Freedom Limit Extension for Daily limits
This app provides both free trial and then paid subscription on Chrome, Firefox, Opera, Windows, Mac, Android, and iOS.
Artificial Intelligence:
Friend or Foe of Customer Service
GET WHITEPAPER
2. App to help you focus on your work
Pomodoro:
Pomodoro technique is a method for time management that was developed by Francesco Cirillo in the late 1980s. This technique breaks down work into intervals separated by short breaks. Pomodoro gives you a timer that cycle between periods of work and rests with a built-in way to manage all related tasks. The special features of this app are:
Design the todo list
Full workflow management
Ability to write, organizes, and schedule tasks
Access to work history and statistics
Generate timesheet reports
Source
The app has both free and premium versions that are available on Windows, Mac, Android, and iOS.
3. App to help you manage your time
Toggl:
Toggl is a time tracking app which helps you track how much time you’re really spending on tasks. The app was initially designed for remote workers with the idea of helping them make sure that they were billing accurately for projects. The key features of this app are:
Tracking individual and collective tasks
Pinpointing tasks that are taking more time
Issues that are slowing you
Designed team plans for businesses
Day-by-day breakdown on Toggl reports
A handy overview of time spent in the form of Charts
One-click time tracking
Works online and offline
Source
The app design also works cross-platform just about on every operating system and online to help you access it wherever and whenever you need it.
4. App to help you organize work
Google Drive:
As our personal and professional life clashes managing and keeping your document organized has become messy. Google Drive provides you with 15 GB of free storage where you can properly store and organize your files. The key features of this app are:
Auto-sync all files
Directly save from Chrome to Google Drive
Save Gmail Attachments
Convert PDFs to Docs
Easy Sharing with Others
Scan Documents
Work Offline
Upgrade to Google One from Drive
This app has both free and premium versions that are available for all devices including Windows, Mac, Android, and iOS.
Download Whitepapers Featured By Google
5. App to help you feel calm and motivated
Simple habits:
We are constantly dealing with stress with is ultimately giving rise to the more mental health problem. According to an American Psychological Association study in 2015 – stress in the U.S. continues to increase modestly, but extreme stress levels appear to be rising aggressively. Also, stress isn’t just for the aging population; but millennials are more extremely stressed than they historically were.
Simple habit helps you squeeze a little time to help you practice mindfulness and increase your concentration power. It helps you use guided meditation for stress and anxiety relief. The features of this app include:
Library of short meditation sessions
Different sessions for each stressful
5-minute mindfulness meditation plans
Different teachers and different techniques
Source
The app offers both free and premium versions that are available on any browser, Android, and iOS.
Conclusion:
In this blog, we have shared 5 apps that can help you bring more productivity while you work from home. You can find several alternatives for each tool in the market; however, it is important to follow steps as they can help you increase productivity and improve work-life balance.
Finding and eliminating the root cause of distraction.
Managing your time by equally dividing it into tasks and breaks.
Track how much time each task takes and eliminating unnecessary and repetitive tasks.
Organize your digital workplace to get a sense of control over everything.
Focus on improving your mental well-being.
These steps will help you be efficient in your day to day tasks too.
Article Originally Published at : https://techresearchonline.com/blog/productivity-apps-for-working-from-home/