5 Tools That Make Working From Home Easier
No one ever said that making money from home would be easy. In fact, it is going to be quite the challenge. Not only are you out on your own – making your own choices, and being responsible only for yourself – but there are always going to be distractions that try to get in the way. You also will not have the support of co-workers, or the other benefits that come from working in an office. Don’t let this discourage you though. While working from home may be tough, there are a few simple tools that can make your life a little easier.
Evernote
Chances are, you are going to need to take some notes at some point. If you don’t have an organized system for taking notes, you may find that your desk quickly becomes cluttered with papers, or your computer’s desktop has countless files all with different notes in them. This makes finding what you need difficult, and can slow down your work day.
Evernote is a great solution, and one that many people trust as their sole note-taking source. Evernote is perfect because it makes taking notes on your computer, smartphone or tablet easy, and it syncs all of the notes between devices. You can also tag your notes, making it easier to search through them when you need something later. Evernote offers a wide range of features, all for free, but you can unlock more by paying for a yearly subscription. Depending on your note-taking needs, this could be beneficial to you.
Chrome Extension: StayFocusd
The Internet is a great resource for not only helping you to find work, but to get it done. However, it is also a source of major distractions. It is all too easy to sit around for an hour browsing the web, reading news articles, or checking social media accounts, all when you are supposed to be getting work done. If you want to limit yourself to a certain amount of time you’re allowed to spend on these sites, then the Google Chrome extension StayFocusd is for you.
With this extension installed in your Google Chrome web browser, it will track how much time you are spending on selected websites. Once you reach your limit, the website becomes blocked. The extension comes with plenty of customization settings, such as which sites to block, when to block them, and how to get them unblocked. The extension is free, so if you’re having some trouble focusing due to web browsing, give it a shot.
Music For Programming
The idea of listening to music while you work is not a new concept, but sometimes this can be more distracting than you realize. If the music has words in it, you may find that you are stopping to listen to the music frequently, rather than working. You want music that will not distract you, but is still nice to listen to while you work. Some people prefer to put on Classical music like Bach or Chopin, while others prefer something like Smooth Jazz.
If you don’t know what you’d like, or don’t have any of that music available to you, consider visit MusicForProgramming.net. The site provides free music that you can listen to while you are writing computer code, but it will work just as well for any other task. There are different tracks that you can choose from, with each one aiming to be unobtrusive yet pleasant.
Cloud Storage
Many people working from home have a single computer that they do everything from. It could be a desktop computer in the office, or a laptop that you move around the home. Everything you need is on there – from documents and pictures to spreadsheets and income statements. If something were to happen to your computer, it would be a major setback.
One option is to physically backup all of the files onto a hard drive or USB stick. While this is a good idea – and you should do it – you can also back up important files through cloud storage services. Sites like Dropbox or Google Drive give users a free amount of storage, allowing you to upload files onto their servers. This means that if your computer fails, you can still access the files from another device. Not only does this protect your important documents, but it allows you the freedom to use other devices by giving you access to the things you need.
Dollarbird
Lastly, when you work for yourself, you need to be responsible for all of your expenses and income. Since this can vary wildly from month to month, it is important to track it as best as you can. If you’re like me, finance and numbers are not really my thing, so assistance I welcome assistance. Enter in Dollarbird, which is a mobile app that allows you to track both your expenses and your incomes. It has plenty of options, making it suitable for most people, and is easy to use. And since it is on your smart phone, you can track everything while on the go, and never be in the dark about your financial situation.
Make Use Of The Tools Available To You
There are a lot of tools out there designed to help people working from home. By making use of the tools, you can make your job a whole lot easier. Getting used to them takes a little bit of time, but once you turn them into a habit and begin to rely on them, you’ll wonder how you ever got by without them. If you’re struggling with a certain aspect of working from home, take a look around, and there’s a good chance a tool already exists that will help you.