According to Buffer’s report, despite having the freedom to work from anywhere, 84% of the remote workers still prefer to work from home, and the next closest choice is from coworking spaces, which is mere 8%. In India, with the widespread use of COVID-19, working from home is not something that only employees are choosing for their safety, but it is also something the government believes in too. While many people want to work from home, it comes with its fair share of challenges such as hindrance in proper communication with colleagues, thereby wasting time. Besides, while working from home, getting too comfortable is also arguably the biggest challenge for the majority.
Below are mentioned some of the top apps that can help boost your productivity and work while you sit at home and wait for the pandemic to pass:
Chrome Remote Desktop
Chrome Remote Desktop allows users to access their computers from their phones, tablets, laptops or any other PCs. This app enables users to access their computers from anywhere at any time without having to worry about security risks. One just needs to typing in an access URL into the browser or download the app on the phone. This app is available on both Android and iOS.
Some of the features of remote access are remote support and screen sharing. One of the critical functions of this app is to connect devices among fellow team members. By connecting to them, one can provide their teammates access to their computers and receive remote support, allowing them to see one’s screen and control the computer.
RescueTime
RescueTime is another app that helps you keep track and monitor how you are using your working hours. It measures how much time you are spending on websites and apps (individually) and shows where you can be more productive and just how much of your time is wasted online. One bummer is that it is not available on iPhones.
FocusBooster
This app is an alternative to RescueTime. FocusBooster is streamlined and more straightforward than RescueTime. It is very useful for contract-based employees who need to track time, mainly the freelancers.
FocusBooster employs the pomodoro technique that makes sure you are working effectively. It also cuts out distractions and collates timesheets automatically based on sessions. It also shows how your time is distributed towards each client and how much money is being made every week.
Slack
Slack is probably the most famous messaging platform designed for teams, which is an ideal communication tool for remote workers. Messaging is organised by channels, and there is a separate channel for each type of content, so that team members don’t get unnecessary notifications. Team members chat outside of central topics in different threads, which prevents these messages from interfering with project-related discussions.
Toggl
We often tend to spend more time while working at home on one task, probably because we are too comfortable. Toggl is an app that tracks time and shows you how much time is being spent on a particular task. The software is designed for remote work environments, and it especially helps freelancers. Toggl is actually one of those apps, which are best suited if you are a freelancer or someone who works from home, through this app, you can make sure that you are being billed correctly and getting paid for the amount of time you are putting in on projects.
Some features include time tracking, boost profiting, reports on productivity, excellent cross-platform compatibility.
Spark
Believe it or not, emails are one of the main productivity killers. We receive many unrelated emails and sometimes email notifications can interrupt your work. Spark is an intelligent email client that has automated the process of collecting and categorising emails from every account. It also allows one to prioritise the emails that matter most and filter the ones that don’t (one can also snooze them).
Some features include snoozing unwanted mails, receiving notifications from important emails, mail assigning, private team commenting, sharing drafts, scheduling emails, reminders for followup emails.
Zapier
Zapier is an automation tool that helps one save time on repetitive tasks. Zapier lets you create ‘zaps,’ which automate tasks for you, and these zaps help automate repetitive tasks like manually uploading files to Google drive and assist you in avoiding constant switching between different apps.
Zapier exchanges data between applications like Gmail and Google Drive so that email attachments are automatically uploaded for remote access. One can integrate apps, automate tasks, create Zaps, and build custom automation.
Zoom
Zoom offers a complete suite of video conferencing and communication tools for businesses. Their flagship product Zoom Meetings and Chat offers video calls for core teams. Some key features include video meetings, voice calls, webinars, etc.
Basecamp 3
Basecamp 3 is a project management app that has message boards, to-do lists, schedules, docs, real-time group chat, file storage, and automatic check-in questions. Users can add third-party tools like time trackers and others, which will depend on the projects they are working on.
Daywise
We all know about the apps, which block distractions while one is working, but what about helping you with taking time off after that hard work by completely stopping work-related notifications? The best way to do this is to unplug from all the work-related apps once you’re finished. Daywise helps you do this by automating the schedule of blocking and unblocking notifications of work and non-work applications. If you are finished with work around 7 pm, you can turn off all the work-related notifications, which will then be automatically allowed to notify you during working hours.
Some key features include choosing contacts that can contact you any time, scheduling notifications of various apps, phone usage reports, and more.
