The Covid Pandemic has shown that remote work is an entirely viable option in the modern business world. More and more people have learned that working from basically anywhere is not only possible, but preferable. It doesn’t matter if you’re working remotely by your own volition, or because of Covid – finding the right tools is non-negotiable.
In this article, we deal with the most important tools you need in order to work away from the office. Whether you’re running your own business, supervising a remote team, or you are simply a person making ends meet at home, the tools below will definitely help you make work easier, better, and more efficient.
Slack
Let’s start with the basics – Slack. Communication is vital if you’re to do your job correctly. Since face-to-face conversations are off the table, you need to look elsewhere. Slack is a great option.
Right off the bat, people notice just how user-friendly Slack is. Creating channels for multiple people is pretty intuitive, as are its direct messaging and thread creation features. It also has an option where you can set a reminder for yourself, in regard to a specific message or note.
Furthermore, you can integrate slack with Dropbox, G Suite, as well as Adobe Creative Cloud. It has very strong mobile and desktop versions that sync seamlessly.
Finally, you can create and add your own custom emojis.
Zapier
Zapier is all about automation and integration. Do you feel you’re overwhelmed with boring, menial tasks? Do you like the feeling of knowing stuff is being done consistently and thoroughly in the background? Then check out this app.
Here is how Zapier works. You take two apps that you want to connect, Slack and Mailchimp, for example. With no coding whatsoever, just following Zapiers user-friendly interface, you can connect the two. For example, whenever you get new subscribers through Mailchimp, you’re going to get a direct message through Slack. Or you can connect Gmail and Google Docs, and have a new Doc created whenever you get a new email, based on specific terms.
Trello
Trello is a fantastic task management app that is based on the Kanban visual management system. It makes it much easier for you to track multiple employees and projects with one glance at your screen.
It works by having managers create cards, each of them representing a task or a project. You can rearrange them at will, delegating and assigning tasks easily. This allows for the easy tracking of entire work processes, giving you the opportunity to know exactly how a task is progressing.
It’s very effective, very simple, and very straightforward.
Plutio
Next on our list is Plutio. This handy little app basically has everything you need in one place – it’s like the Swiss army knife of management tools. It has:
- Invoicing options
- Inbox function
- Its own wiki
- Project and task management features
- Time tracking functionality
So, let’s go through a quick workday. Using this business management software, you can create an invoice, with saved and preset payment methods (bank accounts, PayPal, Payoneer). You send an invoice to a client, in whichever currency you want. Then, you can check up on them through its email inbox feature.
Next, if needed, you can access the wiki you set up through Plutio, and gather some extra info on your client. You check the tasks and assignments you gave your employees through its task management interface, you use Plutio’s time management feature and see if anybody is behind with their hours.
Zoom
If there is one app that has earned its keep during Covid, it’s Zoom. As we’ve mentioned, remote work requires a lot of communication, and while we’ve mentioned that face to face is out of the question, we may have spoken too soon.
Zoom provides you with fantastic video calling. It’s very lightweight, and it can be connected to Google Calendar with just a couple of clicks of a button. While its free plan only gives you 40 minutes per call, this can serve as a reminder to not drag out a meeting too long. And of course, you can always start a new one once the time limit is up.
Finally, Zoom has a great video recording feature, letting you review a meeting as much as you want once it’s done. Any employee that’s MIA from a call will appreciate it a lot as well.
Dropbox
Keeping your data safe is very important, no matter the industry you are in. Keeping everything in one place, being sure it’s not going to get lost, all the while knowing you can access it from anywhere is golden. Dropbox is the right way to go.
Serving as a kind of online library, Dropbox can help you save documents, videos, photos, and basically any type of file you might need. Just drag and drop, and it gets uploaded to the cloud. Then, just log in on your phone, iPad, or computer, and everything is there, safe and sound.
Just remember that the free version of Dropbox gives you 2 GB of storage, but its upgrades are pretty affordable.
Asana
Another remote work management software, Asana is a veteran. Running since 2008, it’s a task-oriented system that lets you oversee projects and tasks easily and quickly.
In action, it looks something like this. You create a single project and assign it to your team. Then, within the said project, you create a task. Each task is assigned to a specific person, every subsequent one dependent on the forearm. Once an employee has completed a task, the next person in line gets a notification, signifying they can now start working.
In a way, Asana gives you both free reign and micromanaging options at the same time. At any given point you can check how a project is progressing, and know exactly who has done what. Or, you can simply follow everything, and get involved only when a speed bump has happened.
It is very user-friendly, with a clean and clear interface. You can also integrate it with Microsoft Teams, Slack, Clockwise, and much more.
Conclusion
The article above has presented you with some useful tools that can make remote work easier. It’s useful for those who find it difficult mustering motivation and productivity away from the office. That little extra boost in efficiency might just be the thing you need. These same tools are fantastic for those who want to make the most out of their work hours outside a traditional company setting. Whichever category you fall into, this article will definitely be useful.
Author bio
Travis Dillard is a business consultant and an organizational psychologist based in Arlington, Texas. Passionate about marketing, social networks, and business in general. In his spare time, he writes a lot about new business strategies and digital marketing for DigitalStrategyOne.
