Do It. Share It. Store It. The Best Work From Home Tools
Do It. Share It. Store It.
There are so many tools to choose from when you are working form home. For most home based workers the most commonly used tools are project management, messaging, and cloud storage tools.
Let me share with you the ones I use for the following tasks:
- Project Management Tools
- Messaging Tools
- Cloud Storage Tools
I use these tools everyday to run my business. With 100 employees, a dozen clients and profits of $1,000,000 a year, I have learned quite a bit about how to effectively manage my businesses from where ever I happen to be on any given day.
Every year new tools are launched in the market. Some live up to the expectations while others are forgotten as soon as they were launched. So I will share with you the ones I think will stand the test of time.
Project Management Tools
Project management tools are always in the limelight either for introducing new features or integrating several useful tools in one app. They are invaluable in keeping my team on the same page, allow us to meet deadlines and track deliverables.
Trello is my go to app for keeping track of tasks and for team communication. I love the visual aspect and flexibility to move tasks around.
I’ve used Monday, Asana & Basecamp as well, but find Trello much better for what I need. Loading Images, Sharing Files (limited to 10/250MB) and setting up Deadlines and To Do Lists.
Messaging Tools
Slowly but surely, the world is moving away from SMS and MMS as the default way to text message people. It started years ago with apps like AOL Instant Messenger and has evolved into a plethora of options that all work really well. The evolution definitely kicked it up a notch over the last few years. You have basically more options now than you’ll ever need.
I use FB Messenger. Businesses can manage the service through their Facebook page, where they can set a welcome greeting and instant replies and activate other features.
Most of my virtual team uses FB Messenger for inter team commutation. A couple of my clients prefer WhatsApp so we do use that as well. Bottom line, using messenger apps is so much better than using e-mail.
Cloud Storage Tools
Thanks to cloud storage and file syncing apps, you can create a file on your computer at work, edit it on your phone on the subway home, and then finish working on that same up-to-date file from your laptop in your living room. Or, in minutes, you can share a 20 GB folder of photos and videos with colleagues who are halfway around the world. This is the virtual hard drive on the internet that ensures the latest version of your files are at the ready on all your devices.
You’re probably already using one, if not more, of these services, such as Dropbox or Google Drive. But there are dozens of cloud storage and file syncing apps available today, and each has its own special features. If you’re looking for additional free space or wondering what’s the best place online to stash your files without having to buy a plan, here are your top options today.
Although I was an early adopter of Drop Box, my team has converted me to a Google Drive User.
Google Drive gives you more space with its free account compared to Dropbox and while both let you pay additional storage. Dropbox’s maximum is 3TB while Google Drive’s is 30TB. Dropbox does follow and sync changes made to files quicker than Google Drive
So for me its Trello, FB Messenger and Google Drive. What are your core apps?
If you liked this post, check out the video version here:
Daniel Meyer heads both Sonic Analytics and Sonic Virtual Staffing, sister companies that deliver both data analytics solutions and virtual staffing to businesses in the United States and the Philippines. With over 20 years in Big Data and Virtual Staffing, Dan is one of the most sought-after public speakers in Asia and offers big data coaching and analytics training seminars on both sides of the Pacific.
Sonic Analytics(www.sonicanalytics.com) brings big data analytics solutions like business intelligence, business dashboards and data storytelling to small and medium sized organizations looking to enhance their data-driven decision-making capabilities.
Sonic Virtual Staffing (www.sonicva.com) brings virtual staffing solutions like graphic design, social media management, bookkeeping and specialized virtual assistants for authors and professional speakers to small and medium sized organizations looking to scale on a budget and looking for 24/7 staffing options.
When not training current and future analysts, you can find Dan championing the use of analytics to empower data-driven citizenship by volunteering his expertise with schools and non-profits dedicated to evidence-based social progress.
