The remote work trend is on the rise.
Remote work offers benefits to both employers and employees that you cannot find in a traditional office setting.
However, with this newfound freedom comes a new set of challenges.
One of the issues remote workers face is staying organized and on track.
Thankfully, there are many remote work tools available to help you stay productive and efficient no matter where you work.
In this article, we will review the top remote work tools and discuss the benefits offered by each one.
What Tools Are Needed to Work Remotely?
You need four main tools to work successfully in a remote environment.
- Computer: Look for a computer that offers a fast and reliable experience. It should also have enough storage space to accommodate your files and programs.
- Internet Access: You cannot adequately access all files and programs without a reliable internet connection. Consider investing in a mobile hotspot or other backup option so you can always stay connected.
- Software and Programs From Place of Work: Your place of work likely uses software and programs you need to do your job. Make sure you have remote access to these tools so you can work from anywhere.
- Communication Apps: There are many apps available that offer features like video conferencing, instant messaging, and file sharing.
What Are the Benefits of Using Remote Work Tools?
Let’s take a look at the main benefits of using quality remote work tools.
- Feel Like You’re Working From an Office: You can have all the same files and programs at your fingertips as you would when working in a traditional office setting.
- Convenience: It is easy to access many of these tools from your computer, phone, or tablet.
- Better Communication: You can share files and have video conferences with coworkers and superiors.
- More Efficient Use of Time: When you can access the tools and files you need from anywhere, it cuts out a lot of wasted time. You no longer have to commute to an office or go onsite to meet with clients.
The Best Remote Work Tools For 2022
Are you ready to review the top remote work tools on the market in 2022?
Here are the best tools to help make your remote work experience efficient and enjoyable.
Trello
The main features offered by Trello include the following.
Drag and drop interface: Trello’s drag and drop interface makes it easy to move cards around and reorganize your projects on the fly.
Card views: You can view your projects as a list of cards, which helps get an overview of what projects to complete next.
Calendar view: The calendar view lets you see all upcoming due dates in one place.
It is helpful for remote workers who need to stay on top of deadlines.
Checklists: Checklists help you keep track of what to do inside each project.
You can add as many items to the checklist as you need and check them off as you complete them.
Comments: The comment feature lets you leave notes for others on each project.
It helps keep your remote team in touch for valuable collaboration.
Power-Ups: Power-Ups are integrations with other apps that add extra features to Trello.
For example, you can integrate Trello with Google Drive so you can attach files from Drive to your Trello cards.
Slack
Let’s look at the Slack features in more detail.
Video and voice calls: The video and voice call feature lets you have a remote meeting with your team.
Use it for collaboration, brainstorming sessions, and even when applying for a remote job.
Integrations: Slack integrates with many other apps and services.
For example, you can integrate Slack with Google Drive, Dropbox, and Box.
Slackbot: With Slackbot, you can automate tasks, such as sending reminders or gathering information from team members.
Instant messaging: The instant messaging feature lets you send quick messages to individuals or groups.
You can also set up message alerts so you never miss a beat.
File sharing: The file sharing feature lets you share files with your team.
It is helpful for remote workers like freelance writers who need to access files from different locations.
Anyone on your team can use Slack whether they use a Windows, Mac, Linux, or mobile device.
For smaller teams, you can try out the free Slack plan.
If you need to use Slack for larger teams, you can upgrade to a paid plan to unlock more features.
Microsoft Teams
Microsoft Teams helps you stay connected with your team.
It offers features like video conferencing, file sharing, and chat.
Other features include the following.
Video and voice calls: With the video and voice call feature, you can have a face-to-face conversation with your team members.
It doesn’t matter if they sit in the next room or work in a nearby country.
File sharing: Microsoft Teams makes it easy to share files with others.
You can upload files from your computer or OneDrive.
Or, you can create a new file inside the app.
Chat: The chat feature in Microsoft Teams lets you have real-time conversations with your team members.
You can also use it to share photos, videos, and links.
Freelance websites usually require remote work tools that use this type of chat feature.
You can also use Microsoft Teams to join a meeting.
With the meeting feature, you can schedule or join meetings with clients from anywhere in the world.
Additionally, you can use Microsoft Teams to create groups.
Finally, Microsoft Teams allows you to share your screen with other team members.
Visme
With Visme, you can create beautiful presentations, infographics, and other visuals.
Visme is a quality remote work tool.
It helps to communicate your ideas clearly and efficiently.
Here are a few features that make Visme stand out.
Pre-designed templates: With Visme, you can choose from a library of pre-designed templates.
It is helpful if you don’t have time to design your visuals from scratch.
Drag-and-drop interface: The drag-and-drop interface makes it easy to create visuals.
You can add text, images, and other elements with just a few clicks.
Animations and transitions: The animations and transitions in Visme help you add movement to your visuals.
It makes them more engaging and visually appealing.
Visme offers free and paid plans.
The paid plans unlock more features.
For example, you can use a paid plan to download your visuals in high resolution.
Other paid plan features include access to more templates and the ability to remove Visme branding from your visuals.
NordVPN
When selecting NordVPN, you gain access to one of the best remote work tools to protect your online privacy.
NordVPN encrypts your internet traffic and hides your IP address.
It makes it impossible for anyone to track your online activity.
NordVPN also gives you the ability to access blocked websites and content.
With NordVPN, you can bypass government censorship and internet restrictions.
NordVPN has a strict no-logs policy.
The service never stores your data or monitors what you do online.
NordVPN is available on Windows, Mac, Linux, and mobile devices.
The service allows you to use its security protection on more than one device at a time.
You can also use it with your router.
While this option might not seem important at first glance, consider that you often work with client data that needs extra security protection.
Using NordVPN, you can rest assured that your data will remain safe from cyber criminals and other online threats.
Think about the number of cyber attacks that you hear about in the news.
Protecting client data, especially for people looking at jobs for freelancers, can help alleviate lawsuits or any erosion of trust between you and your client base.
Dropbox
Dropbox is a remote work tool that helps you store and share files online.
It is a convenient way to access your files from anywhere in the world.
With Dropbox, you can share files with anyone, even if they don’t have a Dropbox account.
All they need is a link to the file.
Its main features include the following.
File sharing: Dropbox allows you to share files with your team members or clients.
You can share files by sending them a link or inviting them to view the file in your Dropbox account.
File storage: Inside a Dropbox account, you can store your files in one place.
It is helpful if you work with large files.
Version history: Dropbox keeps a record of all the versions of your files.
Use this feature to go back to an older version of a file.
Dropbox provides free and paid plans.
The paid plans unlock more storage space and features, such as remote device wipes and priority support.
Dropbox also makes it easy to integrate with other remote work tools.
For example, you can connect Dropbox to Slack to receive notifications when someone shares a file with you.
Asana
Using Asana can help you stay organized and on track when working remotely.
With Asana, you can assign tasks to team members, set deadlines, and track the progress of your projects.
Asana also allows you to create templates for your projects.
The feature is helpful if you often work on similar types of projects.
For example, you can create a template for website design projects.
The main features offered by Asana include the following.
Project management: Asana helps you manage projects by allowing you to create tasks, set deadlines, and track the progress of your projects.
Task management: With Asana, you can assign tasks to team members and track the progress of the tasks.
You can also add subtasks to break down large tasks into smaller ones.
Asana integrates with tools such as Dropbox and Slack.
The integration allows you to receive notifications in Asana when someone shares a file with you or mentions you in a Slack channel.
Redbooth
Redbooth helps you manage projects and tasks.
It is similar to Asana but offers some additional features.
For example, Redbooth gives you a Gantt-like feature that allows you to visualize the progress of your projects.
The company provides this inside its Timeline View.
Here are other vital features offered by Redbooth.
Project management: Redbooth allows you to create and manage projects.
You can invite team members to collaborate on projects.
You can also assign tasks to team members and set deadlines.
Task management: Redbooth helps you manage tasks by allowing you to create task lists and subtasks.
You can also add notes and attachments to each task list.
Kanban boards: Redbooth provides Kanban boards to help you visualize your work.
You can create task cards and move them across columns to track the progress of tasks.
Calendar: Redbooth has a calendar feature where you view your tasks in a calendar format.
You can also create events and set reminders.
Productivity reports: Redbooth generates productivity reports to show you how much work each team completed.
Basecamp
Basecamp is a tool to help with keeping projects organized.
It uses a simple and easy-to-use interface.
Basecamp also offers features like to-do lists, file sharing, and scheduling.
Here are other features you will find inside your Basecamp account.
Project management: Inside Basecamp, you will find a dedicated project management area.
It is where you can create and assign tasks.
You can also see the progress as tasks get close to completion.
To-do lists: Basecamp offers to-do lists to help you keep track of your work.
Assign tasks to team members and set deadlines.
File sharing: Share files with your team members.
You can easily click on and view the files others share with you.
Scheduling: Basecamp provides a built-in calendar to help you schedule your work.
Use its reminders feature for upcoming events.
Team chat: Basecamp provides a team chat feature where you can communicate with your team members in real-time.
Chat in groups or privately inside one-to-one conversations.
Jira
You can use Jira as a developer to manage your work.
Jira also offers project management features to create and assign tasks.
As a tool developed for developers who want to create the best software possible, Jira includes features that revolve around these types of projects.
Scrum boards: Jira’s scrum boards help developers plan, track, and release their work.
Jira’s boards help you break large, complex projects into manageable pieces so focused teams can work more efficiently and ship faster.
Reports and insights: The reports and insights dashboard helps you track progress and performance over time.
You can see what each team works on, work completion percentage reports, and where bottlenecks occur.
Time tracking: Jira’s time tracking features help you estimate the time it will take to complete a task, track actual time worked, and see where time is being spent.
Roadmaps: The roadmap feature will sync your organization and teams.
Its visibility provides team members with the context required to remain aligned while making fast decisions.
Customizable workflows: Jira’s workflow engine is highly configurable.
Customize it to fit your team’s needs.
Drag and drop builder automation: Automate your workflows with the drag and drop builder.
Developers at VISA, Pfizer, eBay, Cisco, and Square use Jira when developing their software.
You can rest assured that it will aid your company when going into developer mode.
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are the answers to two commonly asked questions about remote work tools.
Is Zoom a Remote Working Tool?
Zoom is a remote working tool.
It allows people to communicate with each other via video conferencing.
It is helpful for team meetings, client presentations, and more.
The definition of freelance work includes the need to communicate remotely with clients.
Use this tool as a freelancer to hop on video chats when starting and completing client projects.
Which Software is Best for Remote Work?
There is no one “best” software for remote work.
It depends on the needs of the individual and the company.
For instance, some teams enjoy using Slack better than using Basecamp.
Try each tool we gave you above to find out which one works best for your long-term needs.
Wrapping Up
Now that you understand the different remote work tools available to you and their benefits, it’s time to choose the right ones for your needs.
The options we’ve highlighted are a place to start.
However, there are many more tools that exist on the market.
Do the research and find the ones that fit your specific needs so you can stay productive, connected, and on track while working remotely.
Do you have a few more questions for us?
Ask us in the comments below, and we will provide you with the answers.
If you found one or two tools from the above list, get started using them immediately.