5 Remote Work Apps That Will Make Your Remote Job Easier

When you are not in the office you may miss easy access to documents or conversations. There are many applications that you can use to make working with your team easier and quicker. These remote work apps aren’t that hard to master, can bring you closer to your teammates and help you work more efficiently.

Here are five remote work apps that will help make your remote job easier, and make you more effective:

1. Google Drive and Docs

In the office, there may be a central location where everyone saves their documents. This is what Google Drive has to offer. This is a free cloud-based solution and they give you a plenty of room (15G) to save any type of file you want. All you need is a Gmail account.

Once you upload a file to Google Drive, you can view it from your PC, your smartphone or your tablet. You can share your documents with anyone you want or you can keep them secret for your eyes only.

A cool feature about Google Docs (which Google’s version of Microsoft Office Word) is that many people can change a document at the same time! If you need a client’s signature you can highlight where they need to sign and they can have access to the doc to sign it. In our virtual world using Google Drive and Docs is the tool to use because of all of their amazing features.

2. Slack

This app is like being in a virtual office. Your team jumps on and can start conversations through the messaging app. If someone asks for a file you can send it to them through the chat room. You can have private conversations with one person or a group if you’re working on special projects. If your team uses social media or any other apps like Dropbox you can connect almost any other app to the Slack app.

And, it just so happens that Slack is one of the most popular apps for communicating, according to our remote team leader survey about communication tools.

The best part is you can organize the chat rooms based on the project or topic of conversation. So if you are working on the “super cool project” you can name the room that. And if you go to work on a project a pop-up window will appear when the conversation starts up in the Slack app.

3. Skype

This is one of the most common free video conferencing applications out there. It offers instant messaging and the ability to make free phone calls with no video locally or international. You can also use the app to call someone offline (meaning not logged into Skype) for a low-price.

If your team needs to talk you can hold a group Skype call with up to 10 people including you. And if the need arises you can share your screen with your co-workers to review a document or view a website.

4. Trello

If you need an online project management app you need to go check out Trello. It’s a list of lists that you create to view on your desktop or mobile device. You can set up notifications and add people to your projects. There are ways to attach documents to keep things organized within your project.

This is a great app to use when you’re out and about, have a great idea for a project and need a place to jot it down. Plus it’s amazing how much this app has to offer and yet it’s free!

5. WhatsApp

This is a messaging app that works internationally, on all types of phones, tablets, and PCs. The messaging conversation can be seen across all devices so you can pick up where you left off.

A cool perk is that the app doesn’t use your cell phone carrier minute! Also, the app searches your contacts to see who else is already using WhatsApp and adds them so you don’t have to.

Not only can you use this for text messaging you can also use it for phone calls and video conferences. You can share whatever you want! Documents, pictures, videos, anything so it makes working with your team super easy.

These apps make you feel like you’re not so removed from your virtual team and customers. They help bring you closer to the people that mean the most to you in your career. It makes working together more convenient and fun.

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By Liz McGrory | Categories: Work Remotely

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