Working from home can be a great way to get work done, but it can also be challenging to get the same level of productivity that you would in an office setting. Remote working tools can help make this process easier.
These tools offer many benefits including flexibility, productivity, and reduced stress. They can help you and your employees collaborate more effectively, be up-to-date on current projects, and even make you feel like you never left the office!
Best Tools For Remote Working
As a business owner, you will have to manage your remote teams slightly differently from when they were in the office to increase employee productivity. And as an employee, finding the best tools that can help complete all tasks you were handling in-office would be the priority.
Luckily enough, in today’s online working environment, there are thousands of tools to choose from.
Not all of them are perfect, but they have their uses and it’s always recommended to have a suite of tools at your disposal.
So, let’s break these tools down into categories that you would typically require for a remote job. (All the tools mentioned below can be used for free, but will require paid accounts for team collaboration)
Communication Remote Working Tools
Teams that are working remotely often find that they lack the communication tools they need to succeed. These tools can be a useful part of any team’s arsenal and can help keep everyone on track.
Communication can be difficult when working remotely, but it goes without saying that it’s important to try to overcome these barriers. These tools can be enormously helpful in facilitating remote working with teams. They make it easier for team members to keep in touch and share information.
Additionally, communication tools can help prevent misunderstandings and ensure that all team members are on the same page.
1. Slack
Slack is a messaging app for teams that aims to simplify communication and maximize efficiency. It is available on almost every platform and is easily accessible to users.
Slack has quickly become the preferred collaboration software for many businesses and organizations. It is a communication platform that offers real-time messaging, archiving, and to-do lists.
Slack also integrates with a variety of other software to make communication and collaboration even more streamlined and efficient. All of these features are important to businesses and organizations, but one of the most important benefits of Slack is that it is highly customizable.
From an employee’s perspective, Slack offers message history, the ability to see which of your colleagues are online, set reminders based on messages, and even call another employee through Huddle.
As an employer, you have better control over how your employees communicate. You can get insights into the activeness of each employee, limit users to certain channels, and even have some customizability over pricing.
2. Zoom
Zoom is a video conferencing and collaboration app that lets you connect with people from anywhere in the world. With Zoom, you can easily keep in touch with co-workers, clients, and clients across different time zones. Zoom also offers a number of benefits for remote workers, such as the ability to see presentations and notes in real-time, and participate in meetings without ever leaving your desk.
Any Zoom meetings can also be recorded and automatically transcribed (with a paid account of course) for quality checks or future referrals. These meetings can be accessed from any device and even through the web browser if the person doesn’t have the app downloaded. This versatility benefits both clients and employees.
And think about it. Zoom became increasingly popular over recent years as remote working skyrocketed all around the world. They have created a communication tool that works well, and their success is a hallmark of a great base product.
Collaboration & Remote Team Working Tools
Teams that work remotely often find that they need collaboration tools to help them work more effectively together. Especially in situations where multiple people are working on different parts of a project at different times, having the ability to share and revise documents quickly and easily is essential. With collaboration tools, remote teams can not only avoid overlap in work but also ensure that everyone is on the same page.
These tools free employees up to focus on their work instead of on distractions. In addition, remote teams can access the expertise of other employees, which can help them to be more successful.
3. Trello
Trello is a great tool for managing projects and it offers many benefits that make it a great choice as remote working software. These benefits include the ability to easily see what is happening on different projects, the ability to easily track progress, and the ability to easily share information between team members.
This software is based on the Kanban board and so is effective at data visualization. Managers can create “cards” to assign work to employees. You can use it to delegate tasks to various employees, track the progress percentage for each card, collect and store data, and organize the work processes in a manageable manner.
Trello has also updated its feature list to include new “Power Ups” such as adding voting abilities to cards, creating Gantt charts, and designing roadmaps on the cards themselves.
4. Asana
Asana is a collaborative project management tool that has a lot of benefits for both employees and companies. It allows users to share tasks and plans easily, keeps files organized, and allows teams to communicate and collaborate easily.
It allows you to divide projects into sections and sub-lists, and it includes insights into how much of the project has already been completed. Multiple people can collaborate on a single project with varying editing permissions to ensure accountability. Employees can even create their own lists of tasks that can be shared with specific people of their choosing.
Additionally, Asana also has the capability to be integrated with other applications which can help you create a full collaboration suite similar to other remote working platforms.
5. Basecamp
Basecamp is a project management software that helps businesses stay organized and communicate efficiently. The software is web-based, which makes it accessible from anywhere with an internet connection. Basecamp also offers a mobile app, which allows users to access their accounts and manage their projects on the go.
By keeping all project-related information and communication in one place, Basecamp saves time and reduces frustration for everyone involved. It also facilitates collaboration between team members, which is essential for the success of any project.
Basecamp is known for its simple interface and a wide variety of collaboration tools such as automated check-ins with employees, large group chats, and the ability to set specific permissions to boards and chats.
Task Management Tools
A remote worker’s success depends on effective task management tools. These are some of the best tools for remote working that help keep you organized and on track, which can lead to decreased hours worked and improved productivity. Ineffective task management can lead to missed deadlines and lost opportunities, which can have a destructive effect on your career.
As an employer, having a system in place that promotes the use of task management apps, will help avoid overlap in tasks, increase productivity, and stay on top of deadlines.
6. Todoist
While there are many productivity-boosting tools on the market, none offer the comprehensive suite of features that Todoist does. This tool can help you manage your tasks both in the short and long term, freeing up your time to focus more on the more important jobs. With its variety of features, Todoist is a great choice for simple task management.
One of the main features of this tool is that it is available on any platform which you don’t see often with task management apps. You can add new tasks to specific projects, set due dates, add custom labels (paid accounts), and even collaborate to a certain degree.
If you’re used to a Kanban board, Todoist allows you to view your current tasks using that system. And if your company is using other remote working tools, you can integrate Todoist with those apps and import tasks directly from those tools as well.
7. Google Tasks
Google Tasks is a free online productivity tool that can be used for personal and professional purposes. Google Tasks allows users to create and manage to-do lists, set deadlines, and even share lists with others. The tool can be accessed from any device with an internet connection, making it a convenient and effective way to stay organized. While there are many productivity tools available, Google Tasks stands out due to its simplicity and ease of use.
This tool allows you to create to-do lists and organize your tasks by project. You can access Google Tasks from Gmail, Google Calendar, or the Google Tasks mobile app. You can also create tasks directly from the work emails you receive in Gmail. The Google Suite is one of the best remote work platforms available for online collaboration, and if you’re already a Google-stan, then this tool will fit you like a glove.
Best Remote Working Tools For Creativity
Along with collaboration and team working, you will also need a few tools to help you with brainstorming, design, and creativity. Not everyone is able to use powerful software such as Photoshop for design, so the better option would be to go with other remote working software that is simpler and more intuitive to use.
These creativity tools can be used for all the minor tasks required for your work such as video editing, backlink building, GIF screen capture, mind mapping, and copywriting.
8. Canva
Canva is a free, online design platform that is used by millions of people around the world. Canva’s easy-to-use tools and templates make design simple and straightforward. The platform offers a wide variety of features, such as the ability to upload your own photos and images, a library of millions of free photos and illustrations, and a wide variety of fonts and text effects. With Canva, anyone can create beautiful designs, no matter their level of design experience.
It utilizes an easy-to-use, drag-and-drop design tool. You can create designs for Web or print: including for any blog graphics or presentations. And you can do it even if you don’t consider yourself a designer. With a paid account, Canva can act as a design-based remote working software as users can collaborate on the same design remotely.
9. MindMeister
A mind mapping tool can be very helpful for creating document outlines, organizing thoughts and ideas, and communicating information. It can help you find solutions more quickly, track progress, and connect different parts of your work together.
MindMeister is a popular software program that allows users to create and edit mind maps. It utilizes a modern interface that automatically aligns your mind map to be visually presentable in a professional environment. It even offers collaboration features where you can add a specified number of team members to your mind map to make edits or comments. This gives you the freedom to work on both individual mindmaps or brainstorms with your team to come up with new ideas.
10. Stormboard
Stormboard is an online whiteboard application that provides you with a digital canvas that can be used for brainstorming, jotting down ideas, and collaborating with your team in real-time. This type of tool is especially useful in design environments where multiple factors will need to come together to form one cohesive idea. It’s easier to visualize the project on a whiteboard rather than on multiple sheets of paper.
Just think about how you would go about these projects in the office. Almost every team meeting will have a whiteboard in the meeting room to write down ideas. And this is what Stormboard aims to achieve. It uses a “sticky note” format to create a visual board. Anyone working on the project is able to add new cards, insert images and videos, vote on each “sticky note”, and even communicate via chat on the board itself.
Additionally, Stormboard is able to integrate with other remote working software, so you are able to import projects directly into the whiteboard and continue working from there.
Focus Remote Working Tools
For many years, the traditional office space has been the primary work setting for most people. It’s a place where we can go to focus on our work and be productive. But with the rise of remote work, people are facing challenges when it comes to staying focused and being productive.
Many people who work remotely find that they need to use focus tools to stay on task. This is because working remotely can be very distracting, especially with family around.
11. RescueTime
RescueTime is a free software application that helps you to understand how you spend your time on the computer. It runs in the background and automatically tracks the time you spend on different websites and applications.
RescueTime then generates detailed reports that show you how you spend your time so that you can make changes to be more productive. RescueTime also has a premium version that offers additional features, such as real-time notifications and the ability to set goals
But, the best feature this software offers is the ability to block distractions. You can assign specific apps and websites to be blocked based on the insights you get from the time tracking feature. This way, you can set a “focus time” on a daily basis so that you’re more productive during those times.
12. SelfControl
This is an application that would be worthwhile for people who find it difficult to set their own focus times. You can use other tools to block websites or set focus hours, but if you don’t follow your own rules, it negates the effectiveness of those tools.
SelfControl is a free Mac-based application that has a simple interface with three features – Set a block duration, make edits to the blocklist, and start the block period. The key differentiator with SelfControl is that once you click the start button, there’s no way to undo the block on your system. All the apps and websites you’ve included will be completely inaccessible for the duration you set. Even deleting the app or restarting your Mac will not change the block settings. You will simply have to wait out the time.
That is why this remote working tool is not intended for everybody. It should be used to force your productivity, and in reality, it can be extremely effective. So use this tool at your discretion. For Windows users, SelfRestraint is another option you can use with the same basic features.
Conclusion
Apart from these tools, you can also engage in team building activities such as virtual events, gossip over video calls, enrolling in advanced online courses while working remotely, and more. There are various online course platforms available that can help provide the courses and are inexpensive too.
Remote working has many benefits for an individual, the company, and the greater workforce. For individuals, remote work often allows for more flexibility and personal growth. For companies, it can lead to a more productive workforce that is more engaged and satisfied with their work. And this type of work environment is not impossible to achieve.
Instead of using remote work platforms, simply assigning specific remote working tools that employees can use will go a long way in building that work environment. Not all tools may be to your specific requirements, so try out different tools until you find what works for you!