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Abstract

you should be using to make your life a little easier.</p><h2 id="c915">1. Google Drive</h2><p id="cb2b">Regardless of whether you use Outlook or Gmail for emails (or if you’re like me, you might use both) Google Drive is a great tool for collaborating with others. Gone are the days of a stagnant excel spreadsheet or word document — instead, you can now use Google Sheets or Docs which update in real time and save automatically. No more forgetting to press save and having a meltdown when you’ve lost your document.</p><h2 id="13d3">2. Messenger Apps</h2><p id="2409">Emails are so last year, although unfortunately a lot of people still haven’t got the memo about that. WhatsApp is great for keeping up-to-date with individuals whilst Slack is ideal for team working and collaborating on different projects. Just don’t forget to turn your notifications off at the end of your working day.</p><h2 id="d377">3. Trello/ToDoist</h2><p id="8d85">As a virtual assistant, to-do lists are my jam. But up until recently, they’ve usually consisted of various pieces of paper on my desk. Trello boards are a great way to keep track of certain projects and ToDoist is a great virtual way of keeping on top of tasks. If you share these apps with other people, it’s much better accountability than the face of your desk.</p><h2 id="0293">4. Doodle Poll</h2><p id="9b0e">As someone who manages various diaries across multiple time-zones, this is a new tool I’ve taken a shine to. You can easily input your available times and dates (in your time-zone) and when the recipients receive the poll to fill in their availability, it automatically converts to their time-zone. Huzzah!</p><h2 id="496d">

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Team Viewer</h2><p id="8363">This is absolutely essential if you have any IT issues — which let’s be honest, is a given. Team Viewer allows your technical guru to login remotely to your PC and (usually) effortlessly fix the problem. It’s also a simple way to access your office desktop if you are temporarily working from home.</p><h2 id="ba06">6. LastPass/1Password</h2><p id="6c60">Quite the change from the previous post-it note on my computer screen with my login details but online security has never been more important. LastPass and 1Password are virtual password managers so you no longer need to remember all the variations of your passwords. With a large majority of us now working remotely, it’s essential to keep these safe and secure.</p><h2 id="34a7">7. Zoom</h2><p id="549d">It pains me to say it, as someone who has their own personal gripes with video-calling, but face-to-face interaction is very much needed in a remote working environment. If you upgrade, you can even set up Webinars which is a great alternative to face-to-face events.</p><p id="39e0">The key to mastering remote work is finding the right tools to stay productive and connected. And whilst the above is just a short list of the basics, once you get going and appreciate the value of technology, you’ll soon be able to leverage all sorts of tools to enhance your working life.</p><p id="8389" type="7">“Once a new technology rolls over you, if you’re not part of the steamroller, you’re part of the road.” ~Stewart Brand</p><p id="7d68"><i>For more freelancing updates and tips from me, you can signup to my weekly newsletter <a href="https://upscri.be/jglzhw">here.</a></i></p></article></body>

7 Essential Tools to Make Remote Working Easier

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about what I’ve learnt since making the transition to freelance work six months ago.

I naively thought the skills I had gained from the office were all I needed to make the jump to working from home. I also thought it would be a seamless, effortless, rainbows and fairy-tales type journey.

Oh how wrong I was.

My first client was a YouTuber. A little different to my usual legal clientele. I suddenly started to realise I would need to know more than just Microsoft Outlook and Microsoft Word.

My next client was an architect who used Google Suite.

And so began my journey of learning how to use a number of different tools for different clients — and more importantly, how to make the most of them.

“Technology now allows people to connect anytime, anywhere, to anyone in the world, from almost any device. This is dramatically changing the way people work, facilitating 24/7 collaboration with colleagues who are dispersed across time zones, countries, and continents.” ~Michael Dell

For all the beginners and those new to the freelance/remote-working world, let’s focus on my top seven essential tools you should be using to make your life a little easier.

1. Google Drive

Regardless of whether you use Outlook or Gmail for emails (or if you’re like me, you might use both) Google Drive is a great tool for collaborating with others. Gone are the days of a stagnant excel spreadsheet or word document — instead, you can now use Google Sheets or Docs which update in real time and save automatically. No more forgetting to press save and having a meltdown when you’ve lost your document.

2. Messenger Apps

Emails are so last year, although unfortunately a lot of people still haven’t got the memo about that. WhatsApp is great for keeping up-to-date with individuals whilst Slack is ideal for team working and collaborating on different projects. Just don’t forget to turn your notifications off at the end of your working day.

3. Trello/ToDoist

As a virtual assistant, to-do lists are my jam. But up until recently, they’ve usually consisted of various pieces of paper on my desk. Trello boards are a great way to keep track of certain projects and ToDoist is a great virtual way of keeping on top of tasks. If you share these apps with other people, it’s much better accountability than the face of your desk.

4. Doodle Poll

As someone who manages various diaries across multiple time-zones, this is a new tool I’ve taken a shine to. You can easily input your available times and dates (in your time-zone) and when the recipients receive the poll to fill in their availability, it automatically converts to their time-zone. Huzzah!

5. Team Viewer

This is absolutely essential if you have any IT issues — which let’s be honest, is a given. Team Viewer allows your technical guru to login remotely to your PC and (usually) effortlessly fix the problem. It’s also a simple way to access your office desktop if you are temporarily working from home.

6. LastPass/1Password

Quite the change from the previous post-it note on my computer screen with my login details but online security has never been more important. LastPass and 1Password are virtual password managers so you no longer need to remember all the variations of your passwords. With a large majority of us now working remotely, it’s essential to keep these safe and secure.

7. Zoom

It pains me to say it, as someone who has their own personal gripes with video-calling, but face-to-face interaction is very much needed in a remote working environment. If you upgrade, you can even set up Webinars which is a great alternative to face-to-face events.

The key to mastering remote work is finding the right tools to stay productive and connected. And whilst the above is just a short list of the basics, once you get going and appreciate the value of technology, you’ll soon be able to leverage all sorts of tools to enhance your working life.

“Once a new technology rolls over you, if you’re not part of the steamroller, you’re part of the road.” ~Stewart Brand

For more freelancing updates and tips from me, you can signup to my weekly newsletter here.