When you work for yourself, often, time is literally money. While the typical office worker can sometimes waste time while on the clock and still get paid, when you’re not productive you don’t get a paycheck.

With that in mind, what role should clocks play in your home office? As your deadlines loom, is it more helpful or harmful to have constant reminders of the hours ticking away? Experts say that in today’s gadget-filled age, it’s nearly impossible to get away from the time – but those gadgets can be helpful in making sure time doesn’t get away from you, either.

K.J. McCorry, president of Colorado-based Officiency, Inc., a professional organizing company, says clocks can be very helpful -- especially if there are timers on them -- to help at-home workers move to different activities when need be. This can be particularly useful when one gets caught up in time-consuming activities, such as e-mail. According to a survey conducted last year by productivity training company Organized Audrey LLC, 39% of office workers said they feel lost and even frustrated when it comes to organizing and managing e-mail.

“What we’re finding in the electronic age … the e-mail and where it takes you could take up your whole day,” McCorry said.

And with clocks on nearly every home-office device these days – the computer screen, incoming e-mail messages, cell-phones, etc. -- it’s hard to escape the time. So the trick is to use them to your advantage, experts agree.

“The key thing would be if the clock had an alarm or reminder function on it, which a lot of productivity consultants recommend,” said McCorry, the author of “Organize Your Work Day in No Time.”

Productivity expert Peggy Duncan said she can’t imagine not having any clocks in her home office. Not only do clocks help you remember things you have to do, but they are particularly helpful for those who work from home, she stressed.

Clocks are “very important for someone who doesn’t work in an outside office because it’s easy to lose track and have no idea what day it is ... especially when you’re doing something you love,” Duncan said.

Duncan primarily uses the clock on her computer, which displays the date, day and time. She says electronic reminder tools are great to have on computer and other clocks to make sure you don’t miss a window when you are supposed to move to another task – like hold a conference call, client meeting, or any other work activity.

Duncan also uses a talking alarm clock (via a free download) that helps her remember critical things that absolutely have to be done at a certain time (e.g., the start of a Webinar). She also uses the clock and alarm on her iPhone for reminders, particularly for her morning wake-up alarm.

However, there may be such a thing as having too many electronic reminders. For example, having a reminder tool turned on in Outlook on your computer should be sufficient to remind you to do something; you may not need an alarm on your phone, alarm clock or other time-keepers to also go off.

“Sixty-two reminders is not helpful. You want to be very cautious of not overdoing it,” warned McCorry.