The COVID-19 pandemic revolutionized how businesses operate and popularized remote work as most employees worked from home. While the pandemic is no longer an issue, many companies have retained the work-from-home policy to save costs, boost employee productivity and maintain business continuity.

Here are some must-have remote work tools to make working remotely easier and more productive.

1. Project Management Tools

Project management tools allow you to manage your

projects effectively and collaborate with other team members. You can create tasks and assign workloads to other team members, track progress, and set deadlines. Project management tools also enable real-time communication and file sharing. Consider the following project management tools for your remote work:

• Asana
• Trello
• Basecamp
• Monday.com
• Microsoft projects

2. Time Management Tools

Telecommuters are subject to distractions. As such, a time management tool is necessary to help you stay grounded and ensure you complete all your tasks on time. You can also use time management tools to prioritize tasks, schedule your work, set goals, and monitor your time usage. They also provide an excellent way to know how long it takes for a job to be completed. Some of the time management tools you can consider when working remotely include:

• RescueTime
• Toggl
• Google Calendar
• DeskTime
• ToDoist

For remote employees, time management and tracking tools foster accountability, transparency and reduce stress.

3. Cloud Storage

Working remotely requires you to have the ability to easily access and share files wherever you are. Cloud storage is among the most important remote work tools for keeping your documents and files safe. It also saves you space and costs and makes data recovery easier after a loss.

Since you store your files in the cloud, you can retrieve them whenever you want as long as you have an internet connection.

Besides file storage and sharing, these tools allow you to collaborate with other team members, track any changes, and make edits together. Depending on your storage needs and budget, here are popular common cloud storage options:

• Google Drive
• Dropbox
• OneDrive

4. Communication Tools

The key to successfully working remotely lies in good communication. Whether you are getting in touch with your team members or employer, having a communication tool ensures that you are always on the same page, regardless of your location. What’s more, most of the available communication tools support multiple users at a time, making meetings a breeze. Examples include:

• Zoom
• Skype
• Slack
• Google Meet

The good thing about these tools is that you can share your screen, record meetings, and send messages instantly.

With the above remote work tools, you can stay on top of your work, enjoy a better work-life balance, and boost your productivity in the long run.