Get More Done While Working From Home: 3 Free Tools That Will Help

If you’ve worked from home before, then you know that it is much harder to be productive without a boss breathing down your neck. Most WAH jobs pay based on productivity, so losing your focus means losing money. Unlike an office job, you don’t get paid to take bathroom breaks, answer phone calls from your child, or slip into the occasional daydream session.

 

Focusing isn’t one of my personal strengths, so I won’t attempt to give any advice on how to increase your productivity using mental methods. However, there are a few tried-and-true tools that I highly recommend to anyone who needs a little extra push during the work day. These can come in handy on days where you get too distracted by email/facebook/Twitter/Pinterest, or times when you’d rather organize your closet and give the dog a bath instead of working.

 

StayFocusd:

When you leave the public workplace behind, you also leave behind social interaction. This makes it alluring to read emails, look at funny pictures, and watch videos posted on facebook or Twitter.

 

The solution is simple: block time-wasting sites.

Although there are many different tools out there that will block websites, my favorite is StayFocusd.

This Chrome browser extension helps you set limits for yourself. Simply input how many hours you want to allot per day for socialization, enter the websites you wish to block, tweak a few other settings, and you’re done.

If Chrome isn’t your browser of choice, you can use one of the following popular focus add-ons for other browsers:

• Leechblock (Firefox)
• SelfControl (Safari)

 

Focus Booster:

Focus Booster has been around for a while, so it may or may not be new to you. This is a very basic countdown timer that helps you split up your working sessions into 25-minute increments. This is especially helpful if you need help setting small goals.

If you’re an iPhone or Android user, you can also find similar apps in your app stores. Popular productivity apps include:

• iPhone:

Pomodoro Time Management

 

• Android:

Pomodroido

 

All of these tools use the popular Pomodoro Technique, which is a 20-year old method that has been shown to increase productivity and focus.

 

Spotify:

Although Spotify in itself isn’t a program designed to boost productivity, I still think using it is a neat way to enrich your work environment.

With just a quick download, you can get access to almost any artist or song you can think of. Having your favorite song playing while you work can provide the right atmosphere you need to get more work done.

If you find songs with lyrics distracting, use the basic search function to look up a good meditation or instrumental album to provide background noise. I’ve found that headphones paired with a good instrumental album helps me block out distractions while I’m working.

 

Learning how to hit your stride while working at home can take some practice and patience, so don’t be afraid to try out new methods and tools to see what works for you!

 

This has been a Guest Blog Post Brought to you by:

Megan Thacker is a writer and blogger who has worked from home for four years. She runs several blogs, including Nerd-Jobs.com, which is dedicated to helping geeks and nerds find fun jobs.

 

Editor’s (or Miranda…but Editor sounds important) Note:  Megan’s site- Nerd-Jobs.com is a lot of fun to browse- she even includes telecommute or work at home jobs that many ‘nerds’ like myself or you gaming geeks, gadget gear heads  and so on will love! I have found several great leads from her site so be sure to check it out! Share some love and leave her a comment!

 

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