The year 2020 has changed the way we work. The coronavirus pandemic has brought us close to technology in a way that has never done before. With social distancing to remote working, our reliance on digital technology has kept on increasing. At a personal level, this change wasn’t that hard to achieve. However, on the business front, it brought significant challenges. At present, businesses are seeking all sorts of employee productivity tools to keep collaboration and productivity at their best while taking full advantage of remote working.
So, let’s have a look at some of these tools which have created a name for themselves in the new normal of distant working and will become the new allies of businesses in simplifying processes.
Toggl
Toggl is a simple time tracking tool that works with all types of devices. It offers simple ways to complete various tasks. It also features reports and displays time spent on projects throughout the week. Integrated with various office productivity software, it also offers automated reminders.
Slack
Recognized best for communication, Slack is a set of collaboration tools and services. Users can create different projects, topics, invite team members as per relevant needs. It is beneficial for remote teams and enables communication from a central point. Further, it offers integration with other tools, including DropBox and Google Drive.
Trello
A simple, visual, and intuitive project management app. It gives users the ability to create ‘cards’ to break down projects into smaller tasks. Going beyond a notes app, users can add tabs, upload files, comment on tasks in a visually organized way.
ClickUp
ClickUp provides more than a to-do list and allows you to execute projects with an organized hierarchy and fully customizable features. It entails Process Management, Task Management, Time Management, Integrations, Complete Customization, Team Collaboration, Apps and Devices, and Reporting.
It goes above Trello in terms of Email, Custom Statuses, Smart Notifications, Template Everything, Custom Fields, Documents, Conversations/Chat, and Profiles.
Wrike
An all-in-one collaboration software, Wrike offers robust features such as Work Management, Time tracking, Live Editor, Document Control, Sharable dashboards, report templates, amongst others.
ProofHub
ProofHub is an online Project Management Platform. It offers Planning, Organizing, Collaborating, and Delivery of projects. It also features detailed reports on resources and projects.
ToDoist
A simple to-do list app to jot down your tasks. ToDoist categorizes and prioritizes tasks, schedules, reminders, and more. For teams, it offers organizing, planning, and collaborating on diverse tasks and projects.
IFTT
Standing for ‘If This Then That’, IFTT offers collaboration with other productivity apps and connected services. Some useful practical applications include social media posting, setting in-sync across systems, building a smart home, amongst others.
Monday
A Project Management Software to create personalized projects and dashboards for teams. It comprises a collaborative tool to discuss changes, add comments, ask questions, etc. with a single click. Monday also offers a customizable visual appeal.
Alternatives
Rescue Time
Rescue Time is a similar concept to Toggl as a powerful time management tool and training for teams. It entails automatic time tracking which tracks the time spent on apps, websites, and documents with no manual entry. On top of that, it offers detailed reports, trends, and insights such as working habits, distractions, smart goals to track progress and become more focused and productive.
With detailed reports and insights, set your smart goals and receive real-time alerts. You can track anything from writing, designing, or coding–and get real-time feedback to keep you on track. Furthermore, you can integrate all Rescue Time with all your favorite apps including calendar, slack, and much more.
Mircosoft Teams
The easiest recommended alternative to slack is definitely Microsoft Teams. The app comes as a chat-based workplace platform under Office 365 to work under a single window. Earlier Microsoft offered Skype for business, which got overtook by Microsoft teams.
As a collaboration app, Microsoft teams lets stay organized and be at a single place with all your teams. The robust all-encompassing tool has easy access, stability, security, privacy, and top-of-the-line collaboration and sharing tools. It offers to schedule and keeping track of meeting through Outlook, calls, video calling, activities, collaboration across multiple departments, and creating, editing, sharing files across the organization and cloud-based storage devices. Another advantage to Office 365 users is its ability to integrate with other products such as Outlook, SharePoint, OneDrive, and OneNote.
Notion
Notion is an improved working space for notes, projects, Wikis, and databases. It provides powerful resources. The stylish design makes the development and organization of contents, job items, or database elements extremely flexible. It runs as a desktop and native-apps on browsers and mobile devices.
The integrated teamwork tools make it easier to collaborate and share knowledge. The extensive collection of functions in a tool will replace a number of disconnected applications to make workflow more streamlined, clearer overview, with extended efficiency.
Asana
A work management platform to keep the focus on day-to-day projects, goals, and tasks. It allows users to assign tasks, share details, set priorities, all in a single place. It works better for teams to align with objectives and follow each project step-by-step.
Airtable
Airtable is a low-code platform for building collaborative apps. You can customize your workflow, collaborate, and achieve ambitious outcomes. Its customizable options lets you add fields for attachments, long text notes, checkboxes, links – even barcodes.
The impressive thing about Airtable is its ability to mimic other collaboration tools. It offers Grid View, Calendar view, Gallery view, Kanban view, which are seen in other collaboration tools covered in this list. It also offers continuous collaboration with the integration of over 50 Airtable apps alongside automation capabilities.