Effective telecommuting technology has opened up the labor market, helping remote workers communicate and collaborate differently and more easily than ever before.
As a result, there is no better time to try your hand at remote working thanks to the broad range of options now available. In no particular order, here are the top tech tools to enable more productive telecommuting:
Skype
Skype is the go-to video conferencing tool for many telecommuting individuals. Although it started off as a way to make international phone calls, now this tool is packed with a range of features for the world’s telecommuters and telecommunicators.
For example, Skype now comes with audio and HD video calling capabilities. It also allows you to share your screen, smart message your colleagues, record your calls, and now features live subtitles. You can also use Skype across a range of devices and even host a video or audio conference for up to 50 people.
Trillian
Trillian is an instant messaging platform that targets the business market. It runs seamlessly in the background so you never miss a message. It also works across all major platforms and devices.
Furthermore, this tool comes with powerful administrative features allowing you to store your group chat history, set the retention period for your chat history, and add other policies for your business.
SelfControl
There are plenty of apps available that promise to gently boost your office productivity. But if you find yourself easily distracted when telecommuting, the SelfControl app is the perfect tool to crack down on your procrastination.
Available for free on the Mac OS, this tool lets you block your own access to distracting websites, your mail servers or any other online space that places a drain on your time and resources. You can block distracting online sources for a specific period of time. Once the timer runs out, you can access those sites again.
Calendly
If you want to boost your telecommuting productivity, you need to manage your time carefully. Calendly is a collaborative scheduling and calendar app that allows you to balance your work and personal life with ease.
Calendly works with Google, Outlook, Office 365, and the iCloud calendars. You just synchronize your calendars to the app and, if someone wants to book a meeting with you, Calendly will show when you’re available. The individual can book a meeting through Calendly. But the neat thing is, they can’t see what you’re doing within a specific time slot – only that you’re not available.
Everytime Zone
The Everytime Zone tool may look like a simple idea, but it’s an absolute lifesaver if you have to work across different time zones.
The app uses your local time to tell you what time it is in another city, with one click. You can customize your timeline so you only see the time zones you need to know for your work. You can also share your events from your timeline and personalize your timelines to see when your team members are in and out of the office.
