If, like thousands of people around the world, you have been forced to these days working from home for the first time a cause of the COVID-19 pandemic, you're likely facing one situation you have never faced before..
And is that working from home, while having many advantages, it can also become quite a drama for those not used to doing it - even if, let's face it, there are also days that are also for those who have been telecommuting for years.
Fortunately, we have one myriad of tools and applications that can help us improve our productivity and make working from home easier - or more - than working from the office.
Tools for better organization
Not having a boss or manager who frequently checks that we are doing our duties can have its benefits. Of course: it's easy to even start procrastinating if you don't maintains good organization. To do this, these are some of our essential applications:
Trello
We had already chosen it as one of our favorite productivity apps at the time, and it still is today an indispensable tool, which cannot be missing on our devices. Trello is a cross-platform organizational tool based on dashboards which can be used to manage ideas, activities or goals.
Google Keep
Another essential utility for teleworking is Keep, Google's note and memo application. It is extremely easy to use and still includes most of the functions we might need from an application notes and activities. Also, since it includes the ability to add reminders, we avoid having to resort to another application such as Google Tasks.
Asana
If you work in a team, Asana is one of the tools that can make it easier for you collaboration with other colleagues. This application allows you to keep track of the tasks to be completed and the projects to be completed by each team member. Also, it includes integrated chat and real-time notifications.
Your phone companion
Microsoft has a useful tool for Android phones that can help make working from home easier. It is "Your Phone Companion", a tool that allows you to synchronize your mobile with your Windows computer. In this way, for example, it is possible quickly transfer files from your mobile to your computer, or even see notifications coming to your phone directly from your PC.
Google Calendar
Nor should there be a good one calendar application installed on the mobile phone, which can be used for quickly see our upcoming video conferences, everyday activities and, ultimately, to organize our working day. The Google calendar is a good option thanks to the synchronization features with different types of accounts that it includes.
Enhanced
When you're telecommuting, it's easy start a business and spend more time on it than you should. To avoid this, one of the best tools that exist on Google Play is Boosted, an application that I myself have chosen as one of my best discoveries of 2019.
It is a tool that allows us to keep track of the time we dedicate to carrying out each activity or task during the day or our working day, to check on which ones we spend the most hours and then determine if we are allocating the time in the most appropriate way.
Notion
Some people can't get enough of Google Keep and other simple note-taking apps. For them, Notion is probably the best option that exists today on Google Play, an app for collaborative and multi-platform activities and notes with endless options and tools.
App to improve concentration and avoid distractions
Just as important as getting organized is avoid succumbing to distractions during periods of work. Something that, working from home, can happen more frequently than it should. To avoid this, we are left with these tools:
5217
Renowned app developer Francisco Franco - known, among other things, for being the creator of the popular Franco Kernel - offers us an extremely simple, but very useful app when it comes to avoiding distractions while we work.
The app is based on studies and research that claim it does short breaks between each work period, in particular 17-minute breaks every 52 jobs, can help improve productivity. 5217 is a timer-type app that guides us through these work and rest periods in the simplest way possible, so that we don't even need to be aware of the clock while we're working.
At morning
Whether in the office or at home, there is no doubt that the notifications that arrive on our mobile they are one of the most common distractions we face during our work day. To reverse this problem, there is DayWise, an ingenious application that generates a sort of "inbox" of notifications in which all the notifications we receive will be stored, so that a notification is sent to the device only when we have programmed, to be able to see all communications received.
ActionDash
If your mobile phone does not yet include Google's Digital Wellbeing tools, you can always contact an even more complete alternative: ActionDash.
It is an app created by the developer behind Action Launcher, which brings together tools such as statistics including how many times the mobile has been unlocked or which apps have been used the most.
forest
At the time, it was chosen by Google as one of the best apps for Android, and it's no wonder. Forest is an application that will help us stay focused and free from distractions while we work. As? Easy: planted a tree –Virtual, yes–.
At the beginning of a concentration session in the forest, a seed is planted that will become a tree. However, when you leave the application and open another one, the tree will wither and you'll have to start over. The final goal is to obtain the most beautiful forest, representative of the sforzo which was done to avoid the temptation to use your smartphone while working.
App to communicate with colleagues
Not being in the office doesn't mean you need to stop communicating with the rest of the people you would be communicating with during a normal work day. In teleworkIn fact, it is even more important to maintain good communication, what you can achieve thanks to these applications:
Duo
If you want to avoid the "coldness" of the message apps of messaging apps like WhatsApp, you can always resort to video calls, and for that there are better options than Google Duo, thanks to the ability to make video calls for up to 8 people or other interesting features such as its extraordinary "night mode".
Discord
It was born as a communication tool for "players", but it has become one of the most popular app, used by all types of work teams. It might not be as professional as Slack or Microsoft Teams - two other good options, if your business uses them - but Discord is a fantastic tool that allows you to chat with colleagues, thanks to the fact that it is a cross-platform app that includes both sms that voice chat, direct messages and sortable channels.
As if that weren't enough, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Discord has announced an increase in the number of people who can participate in a "Go Live" session - the Discord function designed to broadcast live content., Going from 10 to 50 participants.
Spark
Since you probably have to spend a lot of time a read, reply and organize emails, it is best to do it with a customer worthy of it. Of all those that exist on Android, Spark is probably one of the best we've ever tried, thanks to the infinite functions among which we find the possibility of use pre-established email templates, a smart inbox that only alerts us to those messages that are really important, and much more. It is also a totally free app.
Office automation app
During these "teleworking" days, you may have to open and edit files such as text documents, spreadsheets or presentations. If your idea is to do it directly from your Android phone or tablet, these are the best apps you can use:
Microsoft Office
Freshly baked, Microsoft Office is a new app for Android che brings together all the most popular office tools in one place. That way, you just need a tool to open, edit and organize your documents Word, Excel e PowerPoint.
Google Docs, Sheets and Slides
However, if you prefer tools that allow you to collaborate in real time with other colleagues, your best option is probably to use Google's office automation apps. All of them can be downloaded for free from the Google Play Store.
Cloud storage and file sending apps
When you work from home, you may also have to send or receive large files. In that case, the cloud becomes your best ally, and thanks to applications like these you will make the file transfer with other colleagues:
Google Drive
Thanks to its 15 GB of free storage space, Google Drive becomes one of the coolest options when it comes to store and share files, more or less heavy, in the cloud. However, you can always use any other alternative such as Dropbox, OneDrive, Box o Mega.
We transfer
Although all you need is send large files to other people, one of the best apps out there is WeTransfer. There is no need to create an account or log in, and the upload and upload process is extremely simple. Keep in mind, of course, that there is a 2GB limit and that it doesn't have a mobile app as such, but that it is one web version adapted to mobile phones.
Firefox Send
A good alternative to WeTransfer which has its own mobile app is Firefox Send. The tool created by the company behind the famous web browser offers the possibility of send files up to 2,5GB in cryptography. To do this, open the app, upload your file and generate a link. After a while, the link will no longer be available and no one else will be able to download the file.
