You may not realize this yet, but working from home has some serious perks! All of the work you do for the day is on your computer and phone. There’s no need to wait in traffic, and you can even come to work in your pajamas if you’re not doing a video conference.
If working from home is a new thing for you, we have some great ideas on the right tools needed to ensure your work day is productive and not so distracting (even if there are distractions all around you!). Here are the best online tools you can add to your toolkit if you work from home as your regular job, or if you’re transitioning to this form of employment.
1. Google Calendar
You don’t really have to work from home to use this tool, but for anyone who wants to get reminded about upcoming activities and need to schedule meetings in advance, Google Calendar is great. You can use this with ease if you have a Google account. Simply click on the date you want to schedule, send invites to those you want to have a meeting with, and you’ll be reminded the day of that there’s going to be a meeting. It’s very easy to use and it’s a must to help everyone know what needs to be done.
Google Calendar can be used on a basic level for $7.80/month. Premium features in business accounts such as unlimited storage are available for $15.60 a month. Check out the video below if you want to see how reminders in Google Calendar work!
2. Trello or Asana
For more complicated projects or if you need to delegate tasks to everyone at work, using either Trello or Asana is an excellent choice. Trello uses a white board design to let you know what’s being worked on, when something is in progress, and who needs to work on what.
Trello is free to use with unlimited boards, however premium features for businesses will cost $10 a month. Here’s how Trello works:
If you’re not a fan of the stick note formatting that Trello offers, there’s Asana. Asana is designed to help all teams stay focused on their daily and even monthly tasks and projects, all for the sake of growing the business. It’s a handy team management tool that’s also easy to use.
For any team who’s just getting started with team management online, the basic Asana program is free to use. However, the business accounts for Asana cost either $10.99 for a premium account or $24.99 for all of the features in premium and then some per month. Here’s how Asana works:
Both of them have a free version for you to try out.
3. Zoom and Skype
Sometimes meetings at work need to happen so everyone is on the same page. You can receive tasks and discuss what the next project will be without having to go all the way to an office building. To achieve this, you can use Zoom and/or Skype.
Skype is a good option if you need to host group conversations as well as one-on-one meetings. You can communicate with free phone calls, video calls, chat, screen sharing and you can even do regular calls at a discounted price—this is a great option for international calls, as it’s much more affordable than using a regular land line. Here’s a quick look at how to use Skype:
Those who use Zoom can not only do the audio and video calls like Skype, but you can also record sessions, share each other’s screens, and collaborate with everyone on the team without having to leave your home. Check to see how it works!
The great thing about Skype is that it’s completely free. Zoom is free for a 1-2-1 call. With group calls you have a time limit of 40 minutes per call, but you can buy one of their packages that start at $20 a month. There’s also a $27 monthly package that will allow you to do webinars.
Both Skype and Zoom can be used across multiple platforms including Android, iOs, Windows, and Mac.
4. Google Drive
For businesses that deal with a lot of content such as blog posts and white papers, Google Drive is a safe and secure option for file storage. You can synchronize these files across multiple devices and share them with your coworkers or employees.
All files contained within Google Drive can be opened, edited, and shared with each other. Your ability to store files will go beyond your hard drive’s limits, which is a must if you have a ton of files on your computer!
Again, having a Google account is a must in order to use this Cloud storage service. All you have to do is to create a Gmail or make you company’s email be hosted by Google, using their G Suite Services. As mentioned before, prices range from $7.80 for a basic account, to $15.60 for a business account, to $34 for their premium account (the Enterprise). Check out how Google Drive can help your business!
5. Pomodoro Tracker
For those who need help with alleviating their anxiety from time passing, the Pomodoro Tracker is your friend. Some people get anxious from “the ticking clock”, especially when there is a deadline involved. This anxiety leads to ineffective work and study habits, which then lead to severe procrastination.
The Pomodoro Tracker helps with all of that. Its timer is designed to tell you when it’s time to get up from the computer and take a quick 3 or 5 minute break, and the more you use it, the longer the breaks become, until you’ve completed the task at hand! Enjoy your free time once the timer has gone off and you’re on your break—that’s what it’s there for!
Pomodoro Tracker is free to use on their website. Give it a go yourself!
6. Drink Water Reminder
A lot of people find it easy to forget about their need to hydrate; it’s too easy for that to happen when you’re staring at a computer screen for the entire work shift. That’s why apps like the Drink Water Reminder were created!
With this reminder you won’t have to skip on drinking much-needed water throughout your work day. You can tell it how often you want to drink water, what time you wake up, and what time you go to bed, and you’ll receive custom reminders to stay hydrated!
The Drink Water Reminder is free to use on iOs.
7. MindMeister
For people who love to brainstorm and want to take that to a whole new level, there’s MindMeister. This program allows you to create virtual mind maps that you can share with your employees. It’s a great way to organize thoughts that seem disorganized at first, and initiate any planning processes for projects and assignments.
If you want to get the most out of this tool, it will cost $12.49 USD per month. A basic account is available, but only allows you to create 3 mind maps and no more. Take a look to see how it works:
You’re ready to rock at working from home! If you need more recommendations or are looking for a digital marketing agency to assist you online, give us a call.
Creative Commons Attribution: Permission is granted to repost this article in its entirety with credit to KIAI Agency Inc. and a clickable link back to this page.
