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All the Necessary Tech Tools You Need When Working From Home
April 16, 2020
Career
Now that the world is in a health crisis and many employers are transitioning to remote work to help their employees stay healthy and safe, more people are experiencing those everyday troubles of working from home. For those who have been working this way for a while, the change is basically nonexistent, whereas workers who have yet to get accustomed to the change will encounter productivity issues, they’ll find it difficult to keep their families away during work hours, and not to mention the many communication hindrances that are possible during this time.
Luckily, tech is at your service to keep stress at a minimum, help you organize your time and your workload, communicate more efficiently with your colleagues, supervisors, and clients, and different digital tools also help you stay productive. Every job calls for different tools and productivity-enhancing efforts, so here are a few that are considered universal for most occupations and that can help you stay on track with your work even though you’re working from home.
Chat for ongoing interaction
If there’s anything that technology cannot make up for completely, that would be the actual presence of your company culture, that relationship people develop when working with the same business for a while. To provide some semblance of belonging, especially in such a stressful situation, you can install a chat tool the likes of Slack that has just enough features to be work-friendly and to help people connect with each other easily.
Ongoing interaction among employees is never just work-related, and enabling that kind of interaction when employees aren’t at the office is a key prerequisite to reserving company culture and boosting employee engagement remotely until this period passes.
Task and project management simplified
For people working in teams, task assignment, tracking, and deadline monitoring can mean the difference between staying productive and losing a client. This is why using task management tools such as Taskworld is the best possible way to keep a close eye on any project changes, always know what tasks you have to cover, and get regular notifications to avoid missing a deadline.
It’s vital to go for a tool that has a sleek layout and that’s easy to navigate so that you can avoid wasting time on unneeded delays. Add to that, larger teams will benefit from using built-in performance reports to see how well they’re doing, so you can make any additional changes to be even more productive while you’re working from home.
A cloud platform for collaboration
Chances are that your employer already has access to a unified cloud platform where you can store and work on different files that belong to the company. If your job consists of any kind of creative collaboration that requires you to brainstorm, exchange ideas in real-time, and similar processes, this is a good moment to master working on the cloud.
However, even if your business doesn’t already have that kind of a platform, you can use Google Drive or Dropbox, or a similar provider that has a free tier for collaboration, where you can store your files and work seamlessly, in real-time with your colleagues. This is a great option for exchanging feedback and working on a single document while you chat and make changes without any delay. Plus, you can always control who has access to each document and who has editing privileges, to make sure everyone can collaborate effectively.
A password manager
Now that you have so many new digital tools at your disposal, the one major issue many people face is remembering all of their new log-in information. Of course, best cybersecurity practices call for using complex passwords that don’t contain personal information which can make your accounts easy to hack, so remembering a random string of numbers or letters can be virtually impossible.
You can use a password manager to prevent such issues and keep all of your passwords under a single, master password so that all of your information will safe completely safe.
Gadgets for comfortable work
In addition to software and digital tools you’ll inevitably need for this situation, your home office will also need a few upgrades to make your time at work more comfortable. Without the right gear, you risk ending up with neck pain, low back issues, and other health problems that could lead to long-term issues, or at the very least short-term disruptions in your workflow.
Start with finding an ergonomic chair to give you optimal support. Add to that, you can actually get a desk converter to eliminate all that sitting if possible and spend more time working while standing.
Noise-canceling headphones are sometimes crucial when working from home
The current situation has put many working people in that awkward position to work from home, sharing the space with other family members. That, in turn, leads to absolute chaos on all ends, especially if you have kids running around and trying to vent all of that extra energy. Tuning out the noise is one of your top concerns, and a pair of quality headphones to cancel out the noise will be perfect for that occasion.
They will also be a wise investment for later on since you can use them for whenever you find yourself in a noisy office or you simply want to follow an online lecture in a busy conference room.
All of these and many other tech tools are at your disposal to make your work hours at home simpler and more streamlined, so as to preserve your focus and help you avoid business-related headaches every day. However, technology can only take you so far, since you need to make sure that you’re choosing the right tools for your specific position and that you’re eliminating all possible distractions to stay on top of your tasks. Hopefully, these tools will make the transition easier on you and you’ll enjoy your home-based office more than ever!
In this article, you can find additional advice on how to work remotely from anywhere.
About the author:
Jacob Wilson is a business consultant, and an organizational psychologist, based in Brisbane. Passionate about marketing, social networks, and business in general. In his spare time, he writes a lot about new business strategies and digital marketing for Bizzmark blog.
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