In theory, working from home isn’t too dissimilar to being in an office. After all, you’re still working – just from home. But in a practical sense, there are a lot of differences.
The obvious one is that you can’t just go to your colleague’s desk and either chat to them about how crowded the train to work was this morning, or find out where they are on a particular task. Other factors come into play, such as people getting distracted or missing human interaction.
But with so much of the world moving towards remote work, there are plenty of tools out there to make the experience easier if you’re not used to it.
Here are three that should be considered.
For remote teams: Plai
Plai is a workplace engagement platform which is being used by over 300 organisations in more than 40 countries. The tool can be used to track the progress of objectives and their sub-goals, along with encouraging feedback and praise.
The software also allows unlimited users to be added, along with integration with Slack. In the future, one-to-one meetings and regular check-ins will be introduced for the pro version.
You can choose from three plans: starter, pro and enterprise. A breakdown of the benefits for each of these can be found here.
To keep track of your daily tasks: Todoist
For some people, it can be hard to separate work life from personal life if you work from home. This can result in lower productivity levels, meaning that projects stagnate.
But there’s a tool to help with that, which goes by the name of Todoist. This service not only enables you to track your daily tasks – you will also receive reminders if things aren’t completed, in addition to other benefits.
As with Plai, there are free options: free, premium and business. The best choice for you will depend on how many people are going to use it, along with what your objectives are. You can make that choice by reading what each plan offers you here.
Team schedules and community driven projects: Milanote
Another nifty tool that we’ve used recently is Milanote. What sets this tool apart is the easy interface and simple drag and drop features which allow you to set tasks, append documents, add notes and share communal project boards. We like this tool because it’s so simple to use, every member of our team is on it and it’s quite competitive in pricing compared to other organisation tools.
For your mental wellbeing: Headspace
Looking after your mental wellbeing is important if you know that you’ll be spending a lot of time alone. One way to work on this is to be comfortable with your own thoughts. And this is where Headspace comes in handy.
If you’re not familiar with Headspace, it’s a meditation app with countless courses and different focuses. Some are designed to reduce stress, while others inspire creativity or aim to lower anxiety levels.
You can get a free trial when signing up for Headspace. After that, you can choose to pay on an annual or monthly basis. If you want the app for all of your team, you can contact them for more information.
Final thoughts
Working from home is about both efficiency and wellbeing. You might not be in a physical office with your team members, but you can still keep each other in the loop with how projects are progressing. And of course, it’s important to still be social with them.
But away from that, you can improve both of these by finding comfort in being with your own thoughts. This may be the first time you’ve had time to think in ages, which could help creativity to flow and ensure that you’re better-focused on tasks.
By tracking your projects, checking in with other team members and practicing mindfulness on a regular basis, you can make the most of your time at home.
Get more affiliate marketing news, views and tips by subscribing to our newsletter.
