Whether learning from home or working from home, you’re likely dealing with a hundred million things simultaneously. From setting boundaries with your family, to pets, to catching that meeting on time all while remembering to drink the rapidly cooling coffee you brewed so lovingly.

With all these distractions, it’s easy to find it hard to stay focused and productive. The best part is that you’re not alone. The learning curve to working from home is not a simple line. However, there are some work from home tools that can help tame the learning curve.

Take a minute to picture this.

Your alarm clock goes off in a loud shrill beside you. Eyes heavy, you ignore it until it steadily gets louder and louder. Annoyed, you roll over and finally shut it off with a resigned sigh. You stretch, get dressed, brew that life-giving bean juice, and sit down at your desk. You boot up your computer and get ready to tackle your to-do list for the day. Your eyes narrow in suspicion and your heart flips in your chest as you realize you can’t find the file you’re looking for. A few clicks later and your internet is being uncooperative. What a great start to the day.

Is any part of that familiar, or sound typical?

With the flexibility and convenience working from home provides, working remotely has become a preferred option for many people. You need the right tools and apps to help you be productive, organized, and efficient.

In this blog, we’ve compiled the ultimate list of work from home tools and apps to help you stay focused and organized. Whether you’re starting out as a freelancer, running your own business, or are a remote employee, this ultimate guide to work from home tools and apps to make your life smoother.

We’ll cover project management, video conferencing apps, time-tracking software, and a few more. To level up your work from home game, read on to discover the best tools and apps that will help you get the job done.

Setting Up Your Work from Home Tools and Apps

One of the biggest benefits of using work from home tools and apps is staying connected with team members and clients. When you work remotely, communication is critical. You need the right tools to keep in touch with colleagues.

Setting up your work from home tools can be overwhelming. With a few steps, you can get up and running fast. Start with these quick tips to get started:

• Start with the essentials. Choose what work from home tools are essential for your work. Decide on communication tools, project management tools, and productivity tools.
• Customize your tools. Take time to customize the tools to your liking. Set up notifications how you like them, create some templates, and add any integrations that would be helpful.
• Test your tools. Take some time to try them out before jumping headlong into them. This will help you see if the tool is right for your needs.
• Get help. If you’re struggling with testing your tools, ask for help. Contact the tool’s support team, reach out to team members, or check out online resources.

Working from home means you can work from anywhere. You could work from your home office, a coffee shop, or while traveling. This flexibility will help you find a work-life balance that works for you.

Without further ado, let’s dig into some work from home tools to help improve your workflow.

Project Management Tools

ProofHub. ProofHob is a project management tool that offers seamless interaction with clients and coworkers. Filled with plenty of features, ProofHub is an all-in-one software tool for efficiently managing remote teams or clients.

Cost. 14-day free trial and two pricing tiers, one Essential bundle at $45 a month and an Ultimate bundle at $89 a month.

Nuclino. A fast, intuitive, and easy-to-learn project management tool. Famed for its easy-to-use editor and real-time collaboration, Nuclino has little to no learning curve and is perfect for teams of all sizes.

Cost. Nuclino offers three pricing tiers. They offer a free version, a standard version at $7 per user per month, and a premium version at $14 per user per month.

Troop Messenger. Looking for a project management tool where you can chat, meet, call, and collaborate all in one? This might be the project management tool for you. Troop Messenger is constantly growing, with frequent updates and access to new features as soon as they’re released.

Cost. Troop Messenger offers three pricing tiers. They offer a premium tier at $2.50 per member per month, an enterprise tier at $5 per member per month, and a superior tier at $9 per member per month.

Bit.ai. One of the best platforms to collaborate across teams, Bit.ai is the “next generation” of project management tools. If you need robust internal communication, integrations, the ability to embed documents on a website, and much more, Bit.ai is worth checking out.

Cost. Bit.ai offers three pricing tiers. They offer a free plan for free per member per month, a pro plan at $8 per member per month, and a business plan at $15 per member per month.

Communication Tools

Slack. Slack is a popular communication tool that allows you to chat with your team members and clients in real-time. With Slack, you can create different channels for different projects, share files, and even make voice and video calls. Slack is available on desktop and mobile, making it an easy way to stay connected while on the go.

Cost. Slack offers four pricing tiers. They offer a free plan; a pro plan at $7.25/month; a business plan at $12.50/month; and an enterprise plan.

Zoom. Zoom is a video tool that allows you to host meetings with your team members and clients. You can screen share, record meetings, and host webinars with Zoom. Zoom is available on desktop and mobile, making it easy to connect with people from anywhere.

Cost. Zoom offers five pricing tiers. They offer a free plan; a pro plan at $200/yr per user; a business plan at $270/yr per user; a business plus plan at $315/yr per user; and finally, an enterprise plan.

Microsoft Teams. Microsoft Teams is a communication tool used for chat, calls, video, webinars, scheduling, and more.  You can screen share, record meetings, have custom backgrounds, and more. Teams is available on desktop and mobile for your convenience.

Cost. Teams has different pricing tiers based on whether you want to use it for personal use or business. Both have a free pricing tier, and the home plans range from $8-$10/month. Business plans vary from $5.10 per user per month to $16.00 per user per month. Teams is also available as a subscription with Office 365.

Productivity Tools

Google Docs. Google Docs is a document collaboration tool that allows you to create and edit documents with your team or clients. With Google Docs, you can share files, leave comments, and even work offline. Google Docs is available on desktop and mobile.

Cost. Google Docs is free to use.

Asana.  Asana is an active project management tool that helps you to manage tasks and projects in a streamlined way. With Asana, you can create tasks, assign them to team members, and set deadlines. Asana is available on both desktop and mobile.

Cost. Asana has three pricing tiers. They offer a free plan for up to 15 people; a premium plan for $10.99/per user per month; and a business plan that is $24.99/per user, per month.

RescueTime. RescueTime is a time-tracking tool that helps you understand how you’re spending your time while working from home. You can track the time you spend of different tasks, set goals, and even block distracting websites.

Cost. RescueTime you can access for free, although you can upgrade to RescueTime Premium for $12/month or $78/year.

Time Management Tools

Focus@Will. Focus@Will is a music service providing music designed to help you focus and be more productive. You can choose from a variety of music genres and customize some music how you like. Focus@Will is available on desktop and mobile.

Cost. Focus@Will has two different pricing tiers based on whether you want to use it for personal use or as a workplace. For Individuals, costs are $7.49/month, $52.49/yr for a yearly plan, and for a two-year plan, it’s $119.00.  Workplace plans depend on the number of people and cost about $2.75 per month per user.

Pomodoro Timer.  The Pomodoro Technique is a time management timer that involves working for a set amount of time and taking breaks between. The tool helps you implement this technique by setting a timer for your work session and breaks. The timer is available on both desktop and mobile.

Cost. Free!

Forest. Forest is a time management app that helps you stay focused by encouraging you to put down your phone. With the app, you plant a virtual tree and set a timer for each working session. If you pick up your phone during this time, your tree dies. Forest is available on mobile devices, and offers a Chrome extension.

Cost. Forest is a paid app for $5.49.

Cybersecurity Tools

LastPass. LastPass is a password app that helps you create and store passwords for all your accounts. You need to remember one master password to get into the app, and the tool will do the rest. LastPass is available on desktop and mobile devices.

Cost. LastPass has both personal and business plans. Personal plans range from free to $5.50 per month. Business plans go for $5.50/per user, per month, and $8.20/per user, per month.

ExpressVPN. ExpressVPN is a virtual private network (VPN) that helps you stay anonymous and secure while browsing the internet. You can encrypt your internet connection and protect your sensitive data from hackers and cybercriminals. It is available on desktop and mobile.

Cost. ExpressVPN has three different pricing tiers, ranging from $9.99/month to $12.95/month.

Bitdefender.  Bitdefender is an antivirus software that helps you keep your computer protected from malware and other security threats. You can scan your computer for viruses, block malicious websites, and protect your online transactions. Bitdefender is available on both desktop and mobile.

Cost. Bitdefender has pricing tiers for both personal and business. For personal accounts, prices range from $99.99/yr to $159.99/yr. They do have discounts for first-time buyers. For the business tier, you’ll need to contact them.

Health and Wellness Apps

Headspace. Headspace is a meditation app that helps you reduce stress and improve your health. You can choose from a variety of guided meditations and set reminders to meditate throughout the day. Headspace is available on desktop and mobile.

Cost. Upon signing up you’ll get 7 days free if you purchase the monthly plan at $17.99/month. If you purchase the annual plan, you’ll receive 14 days free with a plan of $89.99/yr.

MyFitnessPal. MyFitnessPal is a nutrition and fitness app that helps you track your diet and exercise. You can log your meals, track your workouts, and connect with friends. It is available on desktop and mobile.

Cost. MyFitnessPal has two pricing tiers. They offer a free tier and a premium membership at $9.99/month or $49.99/yr.

Yoga with Adriene. Yoga with Adriene is a yoga app that provides guided yoga classes for all levels. You can choose from a variety of classes and create your own custom sequences. It is available on desktop and mobile.

Cost. Adriene has a YouTube channel that is entirely free to watch. She has some downloadable collections where you can pay what you like on her website and some courses for sale ranging from $19.99 to $49.99.

Tips for Maximizing Work From Home Tools and Apps

Once you’ve set up your work from home tools and apps, it’s important to use them effectively to get the most out of them. Here are some tips for maximizing the use of your new work from home tools:

• Create a routine. Set a schedule for using your new tools, and stick to it! Routine is everything.
• Learn keyboard shortcuts. These can help you save more time.
• Take breaks. This is important to avoid burnout. Adriene’s videos would be perfect for a short break!
• Use integrations. Some of these tools and many others offer integrations with other apps and services. Take advantage of these to optimize your workflow.

Conclusion

Working from home can be a great way to increase your flexibility and productivity, and there are plenty of tools to help you throughout your journey. By using all the types of tools we’ve discussed in this article, you can stay connected, organized, and efficient when working remotely.

Take some time to set up your work from home tools and apps and use them to level up your work from home game.

What tools from this list will you use? There are plenty of others out there, so go take a look!

If you’re looking for more ways to improve your productivity at home, keep an eye on our blog and follow CanScribe on Facebook, Linkedin, or Instagram for more.