Staying productive can be difficult but there are apps and tools out there that make it that bit easier. Here are our top 6 apps and tools for staying productive:
Office Lens – mobile scanning
Office Lens allows you to scan documents using the camera on your phone. You can trim and enhance the image and save it as a PDF and it looks just like you used a real scanner. It can save you time by making scanning documents easier. It’s made by Microsoft so you can sign in with your office account and save the files directly to your OneDrive or OneNote. You can also use it to scan business cards, quick notes and whiteboards.
It’s available from the iOS App Store and the Google Play Store.
Trello – organising projects
Trello is a project management tool that organises everything in a visual way. Projects are broken down into ‘cards’ and they can be arranged into various columns representing the project’s phases.
Team members can add comments, attachments, due dates and more to cards making collaboration easy.
WhatsApp – staying in contact quickly
Here’s one that you already have. WhatsApp is a great way to stay in contact with your team in a slightly less formal way than email. You can get answers and share ideas instantly. It’s informal nature acts as a sort of virtual water cooler where team members can discuss ideas and share quick wins without the pressure of a formal meeting. When you’re working from home, WhatsApp can preserve informal office discussions where many great ideas begin.
What’s more, thanks to end-to-end encryption, security is ensured, only the sender and recipients can see the messages.
Bit.ai – manage company documents
Bit.ai allows all business documents and marketing collateral to be shared, tracked and managed in one place. No more searching and emailing around for the latest version of a document. You can collaborate in real time on everything from team files including quick notes, team research, logos and images, to client and customer documents like brochures, fliers and even videos. The latest version of everything you need, in one place – handy!
Microsoft Teams, Zoom, Skype – video calling software
Whichever video calling software you choose, you should be using one. Staying connected through video calls is important, especially when working from home or collaborating between sites. Being able to see everyone in the meeting brings about a much better connection, a contrast to guessing who is talking and trying to work out nuances in tone of voice on a conference call. On video, you can see people’s expressions when they speak and other’s reactions when they’re listening, both important to effective communication.
Freedom – stop getting distracted
Freedom is an app that can be used across all your devices. It blocks access to certain types of websites during set times and allows you to schedule times when you can access them. Setting a schedule and sticking to it is an important aspect of productivity and breaks are a vital part of that. So, by blocking websites when you want to stay productive and unlocking them up when you’re due for a break, you can more easily stick to your schedule.
We hope you’ve found something useful in our list or at least been inspired to go out and explore the world of productivity apps and tools for yourself. If you find any that you particularly love, we’d love to hear about them.
Related read: How to Stay Productive While Working from Home
