The best productivity tools to use when working from home

By Andjela | Jun 30 2022

In recent years, the remote working practice seems to have become the new normal for most people. The one term that is an imminent threat to the concept of remote work, is productivity. Video calling to project management, all these tasks need reliable productivity tools. What are the best productivity tools to use when working from home? Examine the next article to discover!

To boost your income, you must learn about the best productivity tools to use when working from home.

The importance of productivity tools

The resulting tools and apps exist to solve the daily challenges of many digital nomads in this day and age. These latter marks point out the common issues that remote workers theoretically experience:

  • Difficulty in prioritizing work
  • Time zone variations
  • Developing poor health practices
  • Communication issues
  • The occurrence of burnout syndrome
  • Technology hold-ups and lags

How to avoid having productivity issues? How to keep up a work-life balance, or stay healthy while working remotely? This is exactly where advanced productivity tools come into place!

Types of productivity tools

Each productivity tool holds its purpose. Various types of productivity tools are worth pointing out in regards to this matter:

  • Project management. Tools for administrators, teams, and individuals to prepare and arrange their tasks.
  • Scheduling meetings. Avoid all the unnecessary confusion while planning team-building and video calls.
  • Time tracking. These particular apps exist to assist keep track of how much time is consumed on different tasks.
  • Team communication. Messaging and email tools exist to ensure remote communication goes without any roadblocks.
  • Focusing apps. To keep you focused on the current task, assist you with getting more done and wind down promptly.
  • Screen sharing. Screen sharing apps are the ones that make it effortless to share a screen on your device to get the work done.
  • Remote-access apps. Remote-access apps help you access and manage other devices. Also, they assist in providing technical support and completing assignments along the way.

Project management tools

With project management apps, you can track your team’s progress, assignments, and deadlines. The project management apps will surely increase your team’s productivity!

Trello

This app is user-friendly, and it works like a virtual writing board with post-it notes. Trello is excellent for adjusting your schedule and tasks. Also, it is simple to use and entirely free. You can create various boards to use for complex tasks. Trello allows you to assign cards to team members, set target dates, and attach files, as well. One of its impressive traits is the card aging switch on. This feature prompts Trello cards to disappear whether there are no signs of use. Trello is available to iOS and Android users.

Asana

Assuming you like Trello but wish it had more methods to reflect on your tasks, then look into Asana. Asana is an easy-to-use task management tool that we utilize for handling projects. Once you create your project, it is visible in board view, list view, timeline view, and calendar view.

Additionally, Asana lets you assign target dates, comment on assignments, and attach files. Last but not least, teams with up to 15 members can use Asana for free. Anything above that requires a plan that ranges from $10.99 per month.

Podio

This is a prominent app for average and large-sized teams managing projects. The unique trait of Podio is that there are extra integrations such as CRM and social networks. There are four separate plans: Free, Basic ($9 per month), Plus ($14 per month), and Premium ($24 per month).

Notion

Are you a blogger or a writer? This app is an excellent choice for writers and bloggers. You can use it for writing reports, taking notes, and forming spreadsheets. This tool blends your daily work apps into one. Notion consists of pages and databases. You can attach content such as text, links, photos, etc on each page. Note that Notion is available for Android, iOS, Mac, and Windows.

Monday.com

Monday.com has an accessible interface and valuable project visualizing tools. This project management software is adjustable. Also, it offers a simple way to arrange your tasks. Alike Trello, there are scheme templates in which you can build your boards. There are lots of display choices such as the map view and the calendar view. The starting price is $8 per month per user.

Scheduling meetings tools

Scheduling meetings can be pretty time-consuming. Yet, these scheduling apps help you with arranging all your meetings. Also, they take part in improving your productivity.

Doodle

Doodle app is unique because it assists groups of individuals in finding a perfect time to meet. It unites with your calendar and enables you to send a survey to all invited. You can see which time works best for everyone once the voting finishes. You can also run polls for food choices whether you’re scheduling a lunch meeting for instance.

Calendly

This modern scheduling platform sticks out for its neat, easy-to-use interface. If you prefer a clear design, Calendly is the way to go. Calendly will schedule all your meetings professionally and efficiently! It too has powerful automation and integrations for people and teams alike. Using this tool for 14 days is entirely free. Their basic plan is free while their most powerful plan is just $12 a month.

Assistant.to

If you regularly work with Gmail, Assistant.to is a smooth and easy resolution. Once you open an email, you click on the Assistant.to symbol and pick a time slot. Assistant.to sets the times right into the email so the receiver can promptly select a time that works for them.

Rallly

Rallly makes cooperating with team members quick and easy! Alike Doodle, Rallly is essential for scheduling conferences and events with many people. You can create a survey and everyone votes. It’s that quick and simple. Unlike Doodle, it lacks some of the features, but it’s completely free.

Time tracking tools

A time tracking app is a crucial time management tool. It can assist you and your team in becoming more systematic, productive, and fulfilled.

Toggl Track

Toggl Track is one of the most acquainted time tracking apps out there. It stands out with its unusual design and integrity. This app runs on all platforms. Besides, Toggl allows a useful browser extension. Thus, you can track time in other tools like Asana, Trello, and more, but this app isn’t an extension. Also, Idle detection identifies when you aren’t utilizing your computer.

Timely

Timely is the time tracker that tracks your time automatically. This app helps you to load the forms on your timesheet. Also, it remembers your inputs. The best quality of Timely is the task planning hallmark. You can handle the assignments (drag and drop) on the Gant charts in an aesthetically pleasing way. This helps with efficient project timeline planning.

Harvest

Harvest is an app that offers what most professional time trackers need. Apart from time tracking, it is used for invoicing in a form that will meet most freelancers and teams. If you are searching for a time tracker with billing and invoicing features, Harvest is a great fit. Harvest also offers reminders for submitting timesheets and PayPal and Stripe incorporation.

Replicon

Replicon is an enterprise-orientated time tracking app. It is a time management tool that assists with your time and attendance altogether. It also stands out in time, source, and absence management. With this app, you can also create complex reports. Yet, it will primarily benefit your HR and finance committees.

Team communication tools

The base of every successful business is communication. Also, it is one of the most significant skills for working professionals. The following team communication apps advance pre-eminent tools for companies.

Slack

Slack is one of the most popular team communication apps. It allows you to create channels for subjects, outlines, or teams. Yet, Slack is solely for team communication. Thus, it lacks more extensive productivity hallmarks. On the flip side, this makes for effortless chat functionality and usability. Slack has a free plan with limited traits and a full version for $6.67 per user per month for small businesses. For larger businesses, this rises to $12.50 per person per month.

Teams

Microsoft Teams focuses on chatting, video calls, calendar, teams, and primary file sharing. Microsoft Teams has a free plan with limited features. The other plans are:

  • The basic plan for $5.00 per user per month and
  • The standard plan for $12.50 per user per month

Chanty

Chanty is a chat app that presents chat, audio, and video calls and screen sharing. Also, it permits some light project management and can turn messages into assignments. Chanty can integrate with Trello, Dropbox, and Google Drive. It is available on iOS, Android, Windows, and macOS.

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Screen sharing tools

Screen sharing software can be used for anything. From webinar presentations to sales calls to a quick chat with a co-worker.

Zoom

Zoom is one of the best video conferencing apps for team meetings, sales, and webinars. It is reliable and secure. Also, it can maintain a video connection by setting quality subject to bandwidth. Zoom users can host screen-sharing meetings from apps for desktop or mobile. On mobile, members can take control of the display mechanisms to share documents.

Screenleap

Screenleap allows you to get a stable URL. Thus, anyone with the link can use it to join the session when you’re sharing the screen. This tool is also excellent for including in the calendar event information. There is also an option to share your screen via a six-digit share code.