Our favourite working from home resources

20/05/2020

Zoom

Zoom has become invaluable to many now we are working, learning and socialising from home. Making group video calls is easy, meaning you can have your Monday morning meeting as usual, or host a conference call for a new contract with ease. Zoom launched in 2013 but wasn't very well known. Since the pandemic, meetings rose to over 200 million in March and over 300 million in April 2020, which is a huge leap from the 10 million video calls they hosted in December 2019. Other options for video calls are Skype, Google Meet or Microsoft Teams if you have a Microsoft 360 subscription.

Slack

Slack is a very popular instant messenger for businesses, bringing your team together to communicate effectively. Whether it’s one to one chats, or group chats, setting up new conversations is easy. You could have a chat for each of your projects so information doesn’t get missed in your inbox. There are plenty of integrations for Slack too, which could offer you even more flexibility while working from home. We have a bot which tells us whose turn it is to make the next round of tea! Microsoft Teams is another popular alternative for instant messaging.

Trello

Finding it difficult to keep track of your projects while working from home? A project management tool like Trello could be the answer. With the ability to add comments, due dates and important attachments, it makes it easy for your team to see how you are progressing through your workload together.

Dropbox

Using a service such a Dropbox can be useful for keeping your documents in one place and gives you the ability to easily share them with other users if needed. This can be far more efficient than emailing documents over to each other and saves space on your computer as they will live in the cloud. Google Drive or Microsoft’s One Drive are other options for storing files in the cloud.

WeTransfer

If you want to send a larger file to someone quickly then WeTransfer is our go-to. Simply drag your file onto the webpage and it will upload it to their server. You can then email the link directly to your recipient with a message, or get a download link to include into another email. The files are held for 7 days before they are deleted, so providing they download the files within this time, it's a great way to get files to where they need to be.

Figma

For the web design community, Figma can be extremely useful. Not only does it allow you to design your website or app, but you can work simultaneously with your colleagues and communicate with them through the software - so you can work together and give all-important feedback at the same time. Adobe XD has similar co-working abilities and may be included in your Adobe bundle if you have one.

Google Docs

Although most of us have Microsoft Office or equivalent installed on our computers, using an online office suite can have its advantages for working in a group. For example, on Google Docs you can collaborate with other users you invite to your document which could be useful for quick feedback or brainstorming together. As Google Docs includes a variety of applications, you can work together on many different projects such as spreadsheets and presentations.

Calm

You may find it tricky to separate your work life from home time, especially if you aren’t able to work in a dedicated room or miss the commute as a time to switch off. Using an app such as Calm can help you wind down after work, aiding with stress relief and get you relaxed, ready to enjoy the rest of your evening or weekend. It features calming music, meditations, sounds and visuals from nature and guides for mindfulness to support a healthy mind.

There are of course many other useful apps and software available more tailored to your specific line of work, but these general apps could help make working from home that bit easier.