Work From Home: Best Tools to Boost Productivity

Haven’t we all struggled with productivity and concentration while working from home? Since 2005, companies in the US have been adopting remote working tools to help staff work remotely. Then came lockdown measures due to the Covid-19 pandemic, which made the work-from-home culture spread to other countries of the world. Today, technology for remote working has reached impressive milestones. Without being physically present at the office location, workers can access resources and turn in their real-time tasks.

However, workers tend to face one problem with this recent development is a distraction. Several workers find it hard to concentrate on office tasks while working from the comfort of their homes. In this article, we consider some best remote working tools to help people working from home become more productive despite new work challenges.

Top seven tools to boost productivity

1. Asana

When coordinating multiple employees on a project, it makes sense to have a shared platform to see what they must do. Asana is a remote working tool used for project management. With Asana, employers can fill in tasks for each employee and set deadlines to accomplish tasks. Employees can easily see what jobs are allotted to them per week and work on completing them. With Asana, a manager can measure the team's work progress as completed tasks are checked, and reports are filled by team members.

You can also use Asana to digitize notes previously written on paper, add links to documents, and password-protect documents from selected team members. Asana also has a calendar feature for planning upcoming events and tasks. Asana also allows managers to monitor employees’ progress and provide assistance as they work on projects.

2. Timenotes

Working from home has its challenges. These challenges include avoiding distractions and sticking with the work schedule. When working remotely, workers may sometimes delay before joining meetings or reporting for work. Timenotes helps to track time across all areas of work. For instance, Timenotes can take attendance for meetings and task allocation. It can track entry and exit time for each employee.

With timesheets, you can also monitor how much time some team members are spending on specific tasks. Timenotes time tracking for agencies will help managers prepare a work schedule to allow enough time for tasks. It also makes it easier to monitor productivity and make an informed decision to increase productivity. Timenotes is supported on Android, iOS, and Windows devices. With a fixed monthly plan, businesses can enjoy all the remote working features Timenotes has to offer.

3. Google Docs

Remote working meets cloud storage on Google Docs. Google Docs allows teams to create documents that every team member can work on simultaneously without obstructing one another. This is unlike previous times when an employee must finish working on a document before passing it to another. Google Docs provides a secure platform for collaborative work with efficient task management tools and is available in 53 major languages.

4. Slack

Effective communication is also required when working remotely so that employees can stay on course. Slack differs from other project management tools because it integrates with third-party apps to make communication highly effective among team members. For example, employees can chat with their supervisors when they are in doubt as to how to go about certain tasks. Slack ensures that chats are delivered in real-time so work can proceed without delays.

5. HazeOver

When working remotely, it is possible to get lost in multiple tabs and windows. As workers keep shuffling through tabs, attention begins to wane as it becomes more difficult to stay focused. HazeOver helps to overcome fuzzy-mindedness by highlighting the major tabs you are working on and hiding other tabs in the background. Once your tabs and windows are prioritized, you have few distractions. You can concentrate more and save time that could have been wasted on opening irrelevant tabs.

6. Otter

Otter makes it easier to communicate with other employees and follow-up on team members. You can easily send texts, images, and audio to members to pass vital information. Otter's AI assistant recognizes the voices of each member. It automatically organizes voice messages based on the communicator and the time voice notes were sent. Otter is a very useful tool for giving verbal and visual instructions for ongoing projects. It makes communication between teams more efficient.

7. Zoom

Often, the need to deliberate on issues presents itself. Remote workers need not be physically present to have their say or take part in meetings. Zoom offers one of the best online video conferencing services you can trust. It is easy to host or join a zoom meeting. You can choose to allow only selected individuals to join the video conference by issuing passwords. Zoom services can be accessed for free. Businesses can pay for more features at an affordable price.

Conclusion

We have listed only seven of the best remote working tools available today. There is no doubt that there are several others out there. Let us know in the comment box below about your favorite remote working tools that are not listed here.

Author’s Bio

Lori Wade is a journalist from Louisville. She is a content writer who has experience in small editions, Lori is now engaged in news and conceptual articles on the topic of business. If you are interested in an entrepreneur or lifestyle, you can find her on Twitter & LinkedIn. She has good experience and knowledge in the field.