5 tools that make working from home a breeze

It’s trying times we face; Coronavirus has made working from home the new norm for many businesses. Suddenly we’re in a world where face-to-face interactions with our pals from the office are non-existent and our standard routine of commute, work, commute has been turned on its head. There are positives though. I’m sure many of us are grateful to get a break from the daily commute, avoid office distractions and most importantly can snack like there’s no tomorrow without the fear of being judged! Nevertheless, it can be a far cry from what we’re used to, so we’ve put together a list of 5 must have tools to make working from home a breeze.

Google Sheets

Everyone loves a spreadsheet, right? Of course, the answers yes (silly question really). Well with Google Sheets you can all get involved with that sweet spreadsheet fun. In all seriousness, it’s a great tool when you need to collaborate on an important piece of work. Best of all, this collaboration tool is free, so no need to try and justify another company expenditure (happy days). All you need to do is share the doc with a teammate and they can make edits also. The sheets are also saved in your Google Drive, so no need to worry about your work mysteriously disappearing.

Slack

If you rated instant messages apps in terms of coolness, Slack would be a front runner. The intuitive design and ability to quickly send individual or group messages makes communicating with colleagues super simple. It’s a great platform for those more informal chats, acting as a well needed respite from the formality that comes with traditional email. If you’ve just seen a hilarious meme, then slack is the place to share. Having a platform where humour is welcomed is essential, especially with what’s going on now. Use it as a platform to regularly check in with colleagues and keep team spirits up!

Slack offer various plans to satisfy your instant messaging needs and they have a free version. If it’s something your wanting the whole company to use, you can look at the standard, plus and enterprise packages.

Monday

A nifty tool when it comes to tracking progress in various projects is Monday. This tool allows you to set up boards (very nice to look at boards) that update your colleagues on what’s being worked on, how long it will take, priority etc. You can designate boards to different teams or different categories of work, really the world is your oyster with this tool. It’s fantastic for when you’re working from home because you can easily find updates of where things are at, without having to pester colleagues for continuous updates.

This brilliant project management tool offers numerous packages, ranging from basic all the way up to Enterprise. If utilised well, the tool is worth the monthly cost!

Doodle

Organising a suitable meeting time when everyone is free can be an almighty pain and time waster. This is only heightened when everyone is working from home with volumes of meetings increasing and unusual work schedules. Doodle is a calendar management platform, that makes scheduling a meeting efficient and painless. You can integrate it with your current calendar app, making the process more seamless. If that wasn’t enough the platform allows you to create a poll. You can make sure everyone’s voice is heard when making important decisions. Everyone likes to feel included!

If you’re interested in this calendar management tool and feel it could make working from home a breeze, then they offer a 14-day free trial on all their packages.

PowWowNow

You thought we’d have enough dignity to put a list of working from home tools together and not include ourselves? Well, you were wrong. That saying, “save the best for last” could apply here (wink, wink, nudge, nudge). Our video call platform is the closest you can get to a face-to-face meeting, without being face-to-face. The best ideas come from meaningful interactions, something supplied by our meeting solution. As well as HD video, you get screen share, online chat and recording, all you need to have super productive meetings.

You also don’t need to use it exclusively for work, you can have virtual breakfasts/lunches, virtual house tours, pet introductions, use your imagination! Just make sure when the webcam comes on your presentable, no need to shock your colleagues with your work from home get up.

Oh, and did we mention you can sign up for a 60-day free trial, no credit card required? Give it a whirl for you’re next meeting or virtual catch up.

Work from home winning

We completely get that this way of working isn’t for everyone but as it is being forced on many of us, consider these tools. They’ll make working from home a breeze or at least a lot more manageable.