Want to become a freelancer and work remotely in 2020? For many, escaping the loop of traditional 9-5 is a dream come true. There are flexible hours, less stress, no commuting, and best of all, you get to be your own boss. 

But it’s not always rainbows and butterflies.

Whether you work from home or a cafe around the corner, it’s much easier to get distracted and fall into the habit of procrastination when there’s nobody looking over your shoulder. 

To help you stay on track, we’ve compiled a list of three distraction-free apps that will help you find inner peace and focus on your work. 

First Things First: What Is Zenware?

According to Techopedia, the term zenware refers to “the complexity of software as judged by the user by analyzing the user interface (UI). Software that is simple to use often has a non-cluttered user interface that allows the user to accomplish navigation tasks with minimal number of clicks and distractions.”

In other words, zenware apps are designed to maximize productivity by removing distractions like clunky UIs or over-the-top features.

Plain and simple.

Taskade (Minimalist Project Management Platform)

Project-management platforms are one of the reasons remote work is even a thing today. 

Just imagine sending your team snail mail every time you introduce incremental changes to a project. You’d need to lick a hundred post stamps just to make sure everybody’s on the same page.

Doesn’t sound like fun, does it?

But the problem with PM tools is that many of them are not user-friendly. They have steep learning-curves and pack plenty of superficial features that only get in the way. 

Luckily, with Taskade, you get just the functionality you and your remote team need.

The app lets you organize work in an intuitive way, with projects, workspaces and subspaces available to every member of your team at the same time. 

Thanks to the minimalist approach and essential functionality, Taskade’s UI is not cramped and helps see the full picture of the project you’re working on. 

The app is available on Windows, Linux and Mac or as web-browser extensions. You can also take it wherever you go thanks to Taskade mobile apps available on Google Play and Apple App Store.

Toggl (Time-Tracking for Freelancers and Remote Teams)

Regardless if you’re a self-employed freelancer, digital nomad or member of a distributed team, time is your most valuable asset. 

Thanks to Toggl, you can easily track and record your work hours to see how and your team spend time across projects, clients or particular tasks. All you have to do is press the “Start” button and enter a short description of what you’re working on. 

Toggl’s UI is extremely intuitive and user-friendly so you don’t have to waste time trying to find the information you’re looking for. To maximize productivity and reduce distractions, you can set a Pomodoro timer for uninterrupted work sessions. 

Your data syncs across all popular operating systems, including Mac, Windows and Linux. You can also download Toggl for iOS and Android or use it as a simple web browser extension. 

iA Writer (Distraction-Free Text Editor)

Have you ever tried to write something in Microsft Word only to get pulled into the limbo of font types, colors or highlights? 

If so, then we know how you feel and have an alternative. 

iA Writer is a distraction-free text editor that gives you a blank page (a rare thing these days) and a handful of essential settings to work with. While the app is by no means underpowered, all additional options are hidden from view so they don’t break your creative flow. 

Thanks to iCloud and Dropbox integration, iA writer is a perfect alternative for remote teams who are fed up with clunky and sluggish text editors.

You can write on Windows, Mac or on mobile and everything syncs with the cloud. 

Conclusion

Ready to reinvent your work without distractions? Tools like Taskade, Toggl and iA writer will help you remove friction and focus on the work that really matters