What tools do you use to stay productive?
Interview with Harry, an IT Architect who works from home
My 13" Macbook Pro is my workhorse. I like the size as it's small enough to remain portable and still have enough juice to run my multitasking universe.
My iPhone keeps me connected while I'm on the go—I'm constantly tethering my laptop to it while mobile. My 100 Mbs connection keeps me wired at home.
Email and Cisco Jabber for keeping in touch with coworkers and Citrix for connecting to the office in NYC.
Harry has worked remotely for almost 10 years as a senior mobile, web and desktop developer—learn how he balances work with family.
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Interview with Cameron, a designer who works remotely at a WordPress agency
This is actually a topic I love to nerd-out about! I've probably tried every to-do list app and strategy you can think of. My current approach (and the one that works best for me) includes a mix of software and good old fashioned pen and paper.
Being a remote worker, it can sometimes feel lonely and cause us to spend too much time on social media.
I find the need to block these social media sites during most of the work day which is why I use an app called FocusMe which lets me set a time period to block distracting websites.
I also use a Pomodoro timer called Be Focused Pro which lets you break your workday into 25-minute blocks with a 5-minute break after each block. I use these 5-minute blocks for things like getting coffee, stretching or walking my dog.
This prevents me from sitting in front of the computer for 8 hours straight which can cause some long-term physical and mental problems.
In terms of to-do lists, I've found the best method for me is pen and paper because I'm such an “out of sight, out of mind” type of person.
Learn how Cameron started full-time remote work after trying freelancing and starting a digital agency.
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Interview with Andrew, co-founder and CEO of Insured Nomads
Andrew, co-founder, and CEO of Insured Nomads talks traveling while working, productivity tools, and the best advice he has received.
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Interview with Patryk, a Front-end Developer & UI Designer
Memo notes. 📝 Seriously.
I tried out dozens of shiny apps and read hundreds of articles on productivity. And this old school item is the simplest and the most powerful solution.
Each evening, I write down up to 3 tasks I want to accomplish. The key idea is focusing on what's the most important right now. The next day, I don't need to prioritize.
Patryk has learned that there is no reason to wait for the flow - once you start working, it will happen naturally.
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Interview with Alaina, a nonprofit program state director
I like to keep it old school with written to-do notes in a notebook.
Something about physically writing tasks and adding sub-notes or crossing out completed tasks on paper is more gratifying than typing it up on the computer.
A very simple tool I use in my Gmail is the starred email feature. In Gmail settings, there is an option to have different color stars or markings like the red and yellow exclamation points. I use those stars to sort my inbox and keep track of emails I need to follow-up on.
If I have a task that is time sensitive, I will create a task on my calendar.
A habit I use to employ and need to get back to is time blocking my day on my calendar with events and using my Google Calendar as an extension of my to-do list. This method is also helpful for getting a visual layout of tasks for the day and seeing where your time is spent.
It takes a minute to find your rhythm in a new remote position—hear how Alaina organizes her time to hit the ground running in a new remote work job.
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Interview with Dane, a freelance writer and author with 7 published books
As far as freelancing sites go, I use Upwork and PeoplePerHour. I also have a website and my portfolio is on SlideShare, which helps to give it a little extra exposure. And I sometimes get leads through my social media presences as well, predominantly from LinkedIn and Twitter.
Other tools that I use quite a lot include Dropbox and Google Docs for storing and sharing files, Slack and Skype for communication and occasionally Trello for project management.
I spend a lot of time in WordPress admin panels as well. But it really depends upon the client, and I’m generally quite flexible about what I use. All I actually need to write copy is Microsoft Word to write it in and Google Chrome to carry out a little research and to find sources.
Dane is a freelance writer and author who works remotely, and balances client work with writing his own books.
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Interview with Kirsten and Jay-Allen, remote team coaches & collaboration experts
- Google Calendar (and it’s reminders)
- Music apps
- Standing desk and ergonomic chair
- Putting phone and Apple Watch on silent
- Trello
It might be worth mentioning our favourite remote collaboration tools here too:
- Google slides for interactive workshops (the barrier to entry is low, the co-editing limit is high, and accessibility is easy)
- Zoom
- Mural
- Asynchronous communication - while it’s not a tool, it is a method that is really useful in remote teams, especially when there are many timezones at play.
Remote team coaches, Kirsten and Jay-Allen, offer three pieces of advice for new remote workers and reveal the one question every remote job seeker should prepare to answer.
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Interview with Chloe, a customer support freelancer and multi-project expert
I have a MacBook, a Mac Desktop, a printer/scanner and my trusty pen, paper, highlighters, and binders for each project.
Chloe uses the flexibility of freelancing to her advantage—see how she successfully manages multiple projects at one time.
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Interview with Melissa, a co-founder and remote work champion
This has always been a challenge for me even before I started working remotely. I've purchased every brand of planner and platform there is.
Where I'm at now is a very simple Excel spreadsheet shared with my business partner in Google Drive.
We have three columns, my to-do's, her to-do's, and our "middle of night thoughts." The third column is critical for me because sometimes you don't know where to start with an idea so I just need to put it down in a list and then divvy it into actionable tasks at another time.
This works now because we are two people. As we grow, we will go back to using either Monday.com or Dubsado. For us, it wasn't worth the cost until we had more people's time to manage.
Another method I use is to chunk out the workday. I give myself deadlines because sometimes I can spend too much time on one thing. So I'll say, "You can work on that web site copy for 30 more minutes only."
If I don't pay attention to the clock I'll get lost in it and not get other tasks done.
I even have a penguin-shaped egg timer that I stole from my daughter. I know, very high tech over here!
Melissa started Work Well Wherever to help individuals & companies embrace remote work—see how she balances entrepreneurship, parenthood, & self-care.
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Interview with Vivek, an entrepreneur building a virtual office for remote teams
RescueTime - a Desktop app that passively monitors the websites that you visit and gives analytics assessing how productive you've been for that week.
The first step to improving your productivity is acknowledging where you stand.
Be Focused - a Desktop app that sets alarms on a 30-minute cadence to remind you to take breaks. The app roughly follows the Pomodoro time management technique.
Asana - Project management website for organizing your tasks and tracking project completion
Pragli - (as described above) a Desktop app that provides a virtual office for your remote team. We use the product every day to facilitate quick audio/video communication and for team presence.
Calendly - Scheduling software that eliminates the painful back-and-forth of email scheduling. You just send a Calendly link to expose the times in your calendar that you're free. After using the product, I've reclaimed hours of time for coding and marketing.
The long San Francisco commute sent Vivek into remote work—hear about his three strategies for eliminating distractions & his must-have tools.
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