A couple of weeks ago I shared my top tips on how to be productive when working from home (see post here). Today, I’m sharing a couple of apps that I have come to rely on that have become part and parcel of how I work. These apps have aided in my productivity when working remotely. And I’m excited to share them with you all today! They range in cost from free to paid and in my opinion, are all must haves. So here we go – ready, set, download!
- WebEx – video conferencing. This is our team’s primary mode of communication. We route all our calls and schedule meetings via this app. One of my favorite features is the ability to screen share. I’m a visual learner, so being able to view someone’s screen as they explain new processes is a godsend, especially when we cannot be in the same location. Having this tool truly feels like we are in one conference room and not multiple remote locations. You can download this app across all you devices so that even when away from your laptop, you can still attend and participate in meetings.
- JIRA – project management. Our team uses JIRA for project management across all teams. This app is great for larger teams that require task tracking across teams. I highly recommend this app for project managers looking for a way to manage tasks across various types of team members from QA teams to business analysts, this tool is one that I highly recommend.
- Slack – team messaging. This has been the lifeblood of our internal communication. Slack unlike other messaging apps does a great job at not only facilitating instant messaging, it also allows for sharing of different types of media via the chats. Additionally, archiving of chats and media shared across all devices is part and parcel of how the app works, which isn’t always the case … I’m looking at you Jabber.
- Tsheets – time tracking. This app helps track time by task and project (depending on how you set it up). In all honesty, this app is both my best friend and Achilles heel. When I’m diligent, it works perfectly but when I slip up, urgh catching up on time tracking becomes such a bear. This is one of my fave apps though … it just needs a diligent user (get it together Binja)!
- Serene – task tracking. This app allows you to set timers on how long you expect a task to take. I love it because it allows you to focus on a specific task with complete concentration for a set amount of time then pivot. I’m such a fan because it has drastically improves my productivity especially when executing different types of tasks across projects.
- Amazon Alexa – reminders. Alexa and I are legit BFFs when I’m working from home. I will put together a whole post on how I use the routines feature in Alexa to help me stay on task when working from home. Additionally, I use Alexa to remind me when to eat, stretch and just take a break after working for long stretched of time.
Do y’all use any of the apps mentioned? Let me know if you download and try any of these apps and how your working from home experience is going. I’m cheering all of us #wfh folks on! We can do this y’all … stay home and be safe.
