Work from home productivity tools

Working from home presents completely different challenges to the standard 9-5 employment life. Since you’re no longer in a ‘professional setting’, it can be tricky to remain productive. 

Don’t worry, there’s a bunch of tools and programs you can use to help. We’ve collected some of our favourites, so you can be as productive as possible. They fit into the categories below:

• Time management
• Minimising distractions
• File sharing
• Task automation

We’ve split the tools up into categories, so it’s easier for you to find what you need.

When you run your own small business, you have to make every minute count. These time management tools will help you do exactly that.

Sometimes, the simplest solution is the best one. If you suffer from ‘time blindness’ (where time can pass quickly without you noticing it), you might benefit from using a stopwatch. 

Online or tactile stopwatches can work extremely well, because you can actually see time passing. It also helps you spot exactly how long a project takes, and if your speed is improving. 

If you need a more general overview of your time management, then you can try using Toggl. It’s a time tracker, and the free version is designed specifically for freelancers and small businesses. 

It collects data on how long each project takes you, and can alert you when something takes longer than expected. This feature is excellent for noticing when your productivity drops, and means you can start working on any bad habits.

The paid plans do have some additional benefits, but one-person teams are better off with the free version. 

Dealing with distractions is a way of life when you work from home. From delivery drivers at the door, to your phone vibrating every ten minutes, there’s a lot going on. 

These tools should keep you focused on the task at hand. 

Social media is specially designed to get you hooked, and take up hours of your time. When you’re trying to work and be productive, this can be devastating. 

One simple solution is to use your phone’s time limit feature. 

Android has the Digital Wellbeing app, while Apple has a Screen Time setting. When enabled, both of these features let you set specific time limits for certain apps. Perfect if you get caught constantly scrolling for hours on end. 

The best part? Because these come with your phone as standard, they’re free. 

If most of your distractions come from your computer rather than your phone, then check out Serene. It’s a macOS app designed specifically to shield you from distractions. 

Serene aims to be your one-stop shop for distraction prevention. It controls various aspects, from blocking certain websites and apps, to timing your breaks and providing insights. 

Use of the app does require a subscription, but at $4 (£3) per month it’s pretty reasonable. 

Sometimes, being more productive is just about cutting down on wasted time. If you and a client are emailing a file back and forth, you’re wasting a lot of time. 

Try these file sharing tools instead.

One of the easiest ways to share a file with a client is to use Google Drive. As a cloud based platform, Google Drive lets you share files with anyone on the internet for free. 

You can also set permissions for individual files, or even entire folders. For example, setting ‘Commenter’ permissions means your client can only make comments instead of directly editing the file. 

The best part about using Google? It’s completely free. There is a ‘storage limit’ if you save external files, but Google files don’t actually use this storage space. 

Essentially, you could create and store terabytes of data without it costing you a single penny. 

Microsoft’s challenger to Google Drive, OneDrive is included as part of the Microsoft 365 package or as a standalone. Unfortunately, there’s no free version — the most basic package costs £3.80 a month, rising to £9.40 a month.

The service does allow you to store, share, and password protect files, which is really useful at keeping your data safe. You can edit your files too, but this feature is exclusive to the most expensive plan. 

Sometimes, tasks are relatively simple but take too long. By the time you finish them, you’re late to complete your next task. To stop this domino effect, try automating those tasks instead.

If your finances take up the vast majority of your time, then you might want to try the Countingup app. This two-in-one business current account and accounting software is great at making money management a breeze. 

With various features like automatic expense categorisation and mobile invoice creation, you can drastically reduce the hours you spend thinking about money. 

It also has a lengthy three month free trial. Perfect if you want to test it without fully committing. 

Of course, productivity isn’t the only thing you have to worry about when working from home. It’s also pretty tricky to keep yourself motivated. 

If the work days are starting to feel too long, see if our guide ‘Work From Home Motivation Tips’ can help you.

Once you’ve been working from home for a while, you might start wondering if there’s any expenses you can claim. It turns out, there are. You can get some tax relief for different elements of your home. 
For a comprehensive breakdown of what you can claim, read ‘What expenses can I claim when working from home?’.