Remote working ideas to keep you productive

Remote working has become a way of life for millions of people recently. Something very few had even considered doing is now second nature. 

Most people have the basics – computer, phone and internet connection. But there are ways to up your game and impress clients, many of whom will never know you are sitting in your kitchen.

So here are 6 ways to make your remote working more streamlined for 2021.

1. Google Workspace & Google Hangouts

Ensuring that you can always gain access to your documents and files is vital for any business to run smoothly. Here at the POSH Agency have found that Google Workspace (formerly G-suite) is the best solution. All our employees can easily log in remotely to get what they need. Instead of using Word or Excel, we use Google Docs for our work, which is automatically backed up on the server as we type. This means nothing is lost in the case of a computer failure or power cut. 

With Google Workspace, we get calendars that all our team can access, helping us to co-ordinate diaries without seemingly endless back-and-forth emails. And speaking of emails, these are on this platform too, working on a par with platforms like Outlook and Mailbird. 

We also make use of Google Hangouts and use Google Meet instead of Zoom. We can invite up to 250 people to a meeting and people can join using most devices – laptops, phones and even tech like Google Home Hub Max. 

We’ve found that having all of this under one umbrella keeps everything running smoothly and avoids needing different passwords for different utilities. 

2. Loom

Sometimes you need to take clients through a website, perhaps one you have developed or one you are looking to improve. It can be hard to do this over the phone, so creating a short video is sometimes the best idea. This is especially true if your team is spread over different timezones and so can’t have everyone on call at the same time. 

Loom is great for this, as you can record yourself and your screen at the same time, going through what you need to discuss. You can then save it as a file, and everyone can watch it in their own time. It means everyone gets the same information, and you can ensure that you are giving everyone what they need. 

Here’s a video demonstrating how it works.

3. Mmhmm

Although this sounds like an old Crash Test Dummies hit from the nineties, Mmhmm is actually a great way to make video calls a lot more interesting. You can use it, for example, to put your screen above your shoulder. This means people don’t have to decide wether to watch you or your graph. 

You can use Mmhmm to really emphasize presentations by reducing the size of your head on screen, or simply making your background more interesting when remote working.

It’s a great way to liven up video calls and keep people engaged in what you have to say. Here’s a video that explains it in more depth:

4. Teamwork

They say team work makes the dream work, but in this case, it makes sure everyone knows what work they have to do.

We use Teamwork here at POSH Agency to note all the time we are putting into our clients each month, and who is doing it. This means we can easily report to them on what we’ve accomplished, without having to rely on spreadsheets, timesheets or emails. With everyone on the team remote working, it’s easy to quickly log in and see where everyone is at and if anyone needs help.

All our team can access it and it’s project management software that is simple to use. Whether you need to manage workloads or re-prioritise a project, this software makes it simple. That means you have more time to actually do project work!

5. Milanote

We recently came across a great tool for creativity, for concepting and creative project planning called Milanote. Milanote is a visual and collaborative system for capturing ideas and managing a marketing project. It’s a bit like working on a wall in a creative studio. So, how do we use Milanote? Well, we are pretty new to this system, but so far we are absolutely loving the mood board function. As such, instead of creating time-consuming PowerPoint presentations to take clients through our web project research and ideas, we are now creating online mood boards.

 But this isn’t all it can do. You can allocate the project aspects to team members, set milestones… everything really in terms of project management from end to end on a creative or marketing journey. If you’re interested in giving it a try, you can create a free lifetime account here (with 500 cards bonus storage).

6.TikTok

TikTok isn’t really the new kid on the social media block any more. It was released in 2016 and has over 800 million users in 2021. 

People use it to make fun, short videos and brands use it to get in front of a young demographic. Over a quarter of UK smartphone users aged between 18 and 24 were using TikTok by the end of 2019.

However another use is to build team relationships and encourage a fun team environment. It’s a way to keep employees having fun whilst being creative. 

Here’s a great video for using TikTok for business:

Find your way

Finding your own way through remote working is hard, so hopefully these ideas will help with your productivity. If you have any great ideas yourself, then let us know below or on our Facebook page!