The COVID-19 pandemic has led to confusion and isolation for our global workforce, as companies have had to turn completely to remote working.
But technology makes it easier to work remotely. Understanding how to implement tech tools to enhance productivity while working remotely is crucial for any company.
In this article, you’ll find 15 tech tips and hacks to make remote working productive and fun.
Looking for general work from home tips? Read this article.
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1. Try Slack to Communicate With Teams
Tools like Slack are becoming the preferred tool to communicate with teams that are in the office together, as well as remote. Slack has a treasure of bots and apps, and integrations, that can be used to make daily efforts in the workplace easier. In this article, you’ll find a list of Slack tips and tricks.
2. Use Virtual Meeting Tools
Choose which meeting tool you will use. A few of the big ones with video chat functionality include Zoom, Google Hangouts, and Skype. The virtual meeting tools allow users to start or join meetings virtually online. These tools will help people not feel so isolated and connected to colleagues.
Here’s the complete list of remote work tools to collaborate with your team.
3. Recreate the Office Environment On Slack
Slack can help you to “Live” the office environment. When you’re in doubt, ask your question in the group channel. And asking in private chats is like whispering in someone’s ears (as you do in office). 🙂
Use the emojis to show your emotions. Do a Slack call when you need to talk to your teammates. Play quizzes and games in Slack to be relaxed.
4. Track and Manage Projects in Real-time
Project-management tools are something that you should be looking to be using. These tools solve the problem of virtual teams to help organize documents and tasks, to make it easier for the teams.
Asana is a tool that enables users to easily work with teams and track and manage projects. For those just looking to get started, consider something like Basecamp or Trello.
5. Share Files Easily
If you use Google Drive and Slack, you can integrate them to automatically import any files when you share them. When you share a drive link, Slack Bot will automatically ask you if you want to integrate. You can also get Slack notifications of comments and changes to the document.
6. Share Your Calendar
Integrate your Google calendar with Slack to make your schedule more visible. It will let your coworkers know when you’re meeting or not available (if they can’t find you online). Turn on Calendar notifications to receive Slack messages when your next calendar event is about to start.
7. Manage Your (and Your Team’s) To-do List
How you manage your tasks depends entirely on the YOU. Are you looking for a simple interface, or are you hoping to color-code and categorize hundreds of tasks at once? Is this a to-do list for yourself or your entire team?
There are a number of to-do list tools out there, such as Trello, Asana, TickTick, Google Keep, and more. These tools make it easier for a remote team to plan their work by using online to-do lists.
8. Track Your (and Your Team’s) Time
Tracking your time (or your team’s time) is one of the best ways to improve productivity when working remotely. Time tracking can help you best understand where your time goes.
Tools like Toggl, TimeDoctor, and RescueTime, track and monitor how much time you or your remote team spends on a specific task or app. It will keep your remote workforce productive.
9. Block Distractions
Tools like SelfControl and Serene cut out distractions and help you stay focused and complete the work faster.
SelfControl is a free and open-source application for macOS that lets you temporarily block the distracting websites, Twitter, Instagram, or any other.
Serene also shields you from distractions by blocking distracting apps & websites. Serene can also silence your phone, control Philips Hue lights, update your Slack status, and more.
10. Zoom’s Outer Space Background
Take a trip to space with Zoom’s outer space virtual background. Just click on the small caret next to the camera icon and you’ll see the option to enable one of its virtual backgrounds.
You can also upload as many backgrounds as you’d like, and switch them whenever you please. It helps to hide any background clutter when working remotely and makes your Zoom meetings more beautiful and fun.
11. Mute Background Noise During Calls
Are you having trouble with your audio in your team meeting calls? Try Krisp app to mute background noise during your video calls. Have noise-free meetings with your team members by giving them more flexibility and happiness.
12. Brainstorming
It’s hard to hold a brainstorming session without a board to note down thoughts, so in a remote environment, an online whiteboard is a solution.
PinInTo.me is a simple and free tool that allows you and your team to collaborate and create their own notes and drag and drop them across the virtual corkboard. Share and brainstorm ideas.
13. Take Time for ‘Water Cooler” Chat
While working from home, you won’t have the same opportunity for chitchat with your colleagues, but it is so important to retain. If your company is using the Slack tool, then add a “water cooler” channel to encourage this element of communication across the team.
Make time every day to text with colleagues, check-in personally, share stories, ask how they are doing.
Donut is a Slack app that regularly pairs up team members who don’t know each other well.
Read this article on team-building activities for remote teams.
14. Check Out the Time zones of Fellow Remote Employees
Do you have people in your team from different time zones? It’s tough to know who’s working and who’s asleep when you work with a distributed team across the globe. Tools like Every Time Zone and Worldtimebuddy lets you compare multiple time zones, plan conference calls, and web meetings for business.
15. Use Screen Sharing Tools
Screen sharing tools enable you to share your screen so that your teammates can see exactly what you are doing. Tools like Teamviewer and Join.me even allow people to control another computer remotely.
Got some tech tips for remote workers? We’d love to hear from you in the comment section below.
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