Working From Home Apps You Have To Take Advantage Of

“With the majority of the UK population still working from home, more and more people are getting their day’s tasks done at home. Throughout this time, it is important to consider the challenges that many are faced with when working from home, as well as the implications this can have on your home life. A common problem cited is struggling to unplug after working hours, as well as getting in control of distractions that can encourage you to wander from work. Communication and collaboration are also clear barriers when you are working from home, but this is one area where we have a number of helpful apps at our disposal. These are all challenges that a lot of us face, but hopefully some of these apps can help you overcome the working from home struggle.
Zoom
It is no doubt that the majority of people in lockdown have used Zoom as a form of video communication. Zoom offers a full suite of video conferencing tools for friends, families, businesses, and pretty much everyone. Group calls are made easy with Zoom, encouraging groups of up to 100 participants. There is a free version of Zoom, however users are limited to only 40 minutes of free calls. There are a number of reasons why you should take advantage of Zoom when working from home, here are just a few:

Meetings – Teams can run video meetings and one-to-one calls

Calls – Zoom allows users to run calls, for when face-to-face meetings are not necessary

Webinars – Zoom allows individuals to host webinars. Attendees can access these via a meeting code and password.

Messaging – Team mates can send messages during a Zoom call, allowing easy communication

Backgrounds – Zoom allows users to customise and change the background of their video call

As you can see, Zoom is a great app to use when you need to communicate with your team. Try hosting regular wellbeing Zoom  meetings to encourage your team to relax from work and have fun with one another. If you’re looking to upgrade your Zoom experience, why not take a look at some of these Zoom Background Ideas?

Calendar
Calendar is a feature rich alternative to its competitor, Google Calendar. Calendar integrates all of your calendars into one, keeping everything accessible and easy to find. In addition, calendar allows you to schedule team meetings, without the email reminders being sent to your team. Calendar also provides insightful analytic reports, which can help you boost productivity in future.

Toggl
If you are in need of a time tracking app but don’t have the budget to pay for one, you should try Toggl. This time tracking tool has a free tier of service, including the core functionality that you would expect in a time app. The beauty of using a time tracking app is fairly obvious. Tracking your time can help you manage your time effectively, allowing you to calculate how long you spend on each task. Simply add this app to your Chrome bar and get tracking!

Google Drive
Google Drive is the ultimate cloud alternative to Microsoft Office. Google Drive offers an entire range of file sharing and collaboration features, making it a lot more useful than its Microsoft rival. Real time collaboration makes working remotely extremely easy, with no lag getting in the way. In addition, having all of your documents, sheets and powerpoints in one collective app can improve organisation. For most Google Drive users, the free version should suit all of your needs with a default 15GB of storage space. This is upgradable of course, to £8.28/mo per user.

Spark
A notorious productivity killer, emails can be the bane of many people’s lives. Spark is an email client that automatically collates your emails from each account. The app will also allow you to prioritise emails, and filter out the ones that are irrelevant. Spark also hosts a number of useful collaboration tools, allowing team members to work collaboratively on the same email. There is a free version of Spark, as well as a paid version starting at $6.39/mo.
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