The Best Tools, Apps and Software for Staying Productive and Creating a Healthy Work-Life Balance

The transformation of work life has meant that for a lot of us, we have grown accustomed to the hybrid style of working from both the office and from the comfort of our own homes.

The flexibility and freedom that working from home has granted us, has unknowingly led to the blurring of boundaries when it comes to work and rest. We participate in both these activities in the same environment, often with little to no rigid and distinguished time structures separating them.

With these blurring boundaries, has meant that staying productive at your time of rest has become harder, and requires more effort. And often results in your workday being prolonged, as you are working past your set hours to finish the tasks that you did not get to during the day.

What this leads to, is little to no designated rest time and added anxiety over time wasted.

In today’s blog post we will be breaking down 5 of the best tools, apps and software that keeps your life on track as you work from home and ensures that your work-life balance leaves your refreshed and restored to tackle the following day’s set of tasks.

Be Focused

This tool is a game changer for those of us who find it hard to stay focused for longer periods of time. As many of our working tasks for the day require our highest level of concentration, with absolutely no distractions - Be Focused is a pomodoro timer app that allows you to set as many intervals as you need (which can be adjusted according to your focus levels) with added breaks in between to keep you on track to completing your to do list.

Evernote

This is an exceptional note-taking app that allows you to share information between teammates/colleagues with great ease. The format of these notes are endless with audio files, video clips, images, web clips, and even web pages. And the best part is that you are able to access these files on any device. Making this the perfect tool for a hybrid work life where we are constantly switching between devices depending on whether we are at home or in the office.

Clociky

One of the best time tracking software you will ever need! This is especially helpful for Virtual Assistants, or any freelancers that charge an hourly rate. With the help of this tool, you will not have to waste extra hours, trying to calculate the amount of time you spent on your client’s work and makes creating invoices a piece of cake.

Asana

A cult classic when it comes to project management and productivity tools. This is a god send when it comes to working on multiple projects with different teams, as it allows you to assign roles, set meetings, deadlines and acts altogether as a central convening point. It is also worth noting that it also includes a number of integrations such as Google Drive and Drop Box.

Rescue Time

This is a cool and innovative tool, that completely annihilates the anxieties of time management. As this tool analyses and provides a report of the time you spend completing certain tasks. With this extra knowledge, it will allow for even greater and more accurate time planning. So, when it comes to setting tasks, you can assign the exact time it will take for you. Knowing this will ease your mind as you know when your workday should be over, and time for relaxation can begin.

This innovative tool can be regarded as a perfect example of a product of digital transformation. Where the problem of time management and anxieties that working from home brought has been diffused with a simplified solution.

Want to learn more about digital transformation? Check out our blog post “Why as a Virtual Assistant You Need to be Tech Savvy” and the Assistants In Mind Podcast Episode 2 to hear an even more in-depth explanation of how the awareness of this transformation can help with the longevity of your career.