Since the pandemic hit in early 2020, working from home has become more popular than ever. Companies are realizing that they are able to cut overhead costs. As well as workers are becoming more productive. Below I touch on my favorite programs or software for people who work from home to help them capitalize on productivity.
Monday.com
Monday.com is a user-friendly website that helps you stay on task, meet deadlines, collaborate with team members and organize schedules. They are used by over 125,000 companies including Hulu, Discovery, NBC, L’Oreal, and Adobe. Along with these big name companies, they are used by a variety of smaller businesses as well. They have packages for all types of companies, from individual plans that are free to pro accounts with multiple complex teams for $50 a month. Definitely worth checking out!
Canva
Canva is a design software that is so easy to use, no professional education is required. It is loaded with pre-made templates for everything from Instagram posts and Twitter headers. From t-shirts to business cards, and everything in between. You can also choose to design from scratch and use their many fonts, colors, elements, and pre-loaded photos to make one-of-a-kind designs. Canva is a must-have tool for anyone needing to create visuals.
Spotify
I’m sure you are all familiar with the music service, Spotify, but are you familiar with the impacts of listening to music while working? According to a study published in Trends in Cognitive Science, music can have the same effects at combating work stress and anxiety as some anti-anxiety medications. In a second study published by the JAMA Network, it states that music can make repetitive tasks more bearable. Interestingly though, in a study published in Applied Cognitive Psychology Journal, it states that some of the test results about listening to music while working depended on if the test subjects were extroverted or introverted. They said they saw a greater increase in productivity while listening to music if the person was an extrovert. Either way, I say it’s worth a shot. So turn up your favorite tunes, grab a cup of coffee, and get on with your to do list!
Google Chat
I am going to assume that most of you have a Gmail account, or at least know of Gmail. Correct? Well are you aware of their cool features like Google Chat or Google Chat Rooms? These features are super easy ways to send quick messages with your co-workers, create rooms with different project teams, and to have creative discussions without bogging down your email inbox. A simple solution to an everyday problem for sure!
Grammarly
The last program I want to suggest to you is something that is beneficial to almost everyone – Grammarly. Grammarly is a program that proofs everything you write and gives you the best suggestions to avoid any grammatical errors, unprofessional speech, or even plagiarism. Grammarly is an add-on that you can download to any browser extension, such as Safari, Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, etc. They have free accounts for you to try it out and see if it will work for you or you can dive right in with a paid account and receive all of Grammarly’s great benefits. They even just dropped an AI-powered, mistake-free writing assistant. How cool is that?
Have you ever tried any of these programs out before? What were your experiences like with them? Is there any that you would add to the list to recommend? We would love to learn more about people’s work from home experiences and how technology has benefited them. As always, for all of your technology needs, fixes, or troubleshooting, please reach out to us at Friendly PC, and we would love to get you hooked up.
