Many of us have gotten quite used to working from home over the last 12 months. In fact, it’s fair to say a part of all of us aren’t welcoming a return to the office. However, working from home does pose its challenges and if it is going to be what we now begin to do over the long-term, then there are certainly ways in which you can work from home effectively.
For most of us it was a novelty to begin with, which has led to bad habits from working in bed to not taking full lunch breaks or worse still taking work late into the evening. There are ways in which you can avoid this though and there are in fact a number of apps you can download to your phone which will make your working from home experience that bit better. Below you’ll find our top four apps for working from home...
Google Docs/Microsoft Office
Google and Microsoft offer their office suites available to download, with the likes of Google Docs and Sheets perfect for downloading to your device. Working from home requires much more flexibility, particularly those who are parents too, so being able to open up your device while walking home from dropping the kids off and picking up a few paragraphs of an important document can ease the pressure when you do get home.
Both Microsoft Office and Google’s versions are free to download and you can sync them to your accounts meaning they can be picked up again once you’ve got your laptop open.
Teams or Equivalent
Most businesses will use some form of instant messenger/conference call technology and the vast majority of those also have apps that can be downloaded to your smartphone device. This is useful for picking up communications on the go, as well as also during those irritating times when your internet goes down during a call. You can pick it straight back up again via your app, although it’s probably not ideal presenting.
Microsoft Teams, Zoom, Google Hangouts, and Skype all have apps you can log-in to and again provides you with that flexibility to work when and where you please.
Gaming
There’s a tendency to forget about play when it comes to working from home. There’s blurred lines between home and office, but you shouldn’t forget to take a break and refresh the brain, just as you would in the office. Gaming is a great way to get away from your laptop and you don’t need us to tell you about the large number of games within the app stores.
Bingo apps are handy for when on the go as they are often quick to play, easy to play, and also require you to react quickly and test your cognitive skills, making it a solid game to wake you back up before heading back to work. There are dozens of great bingo games in app stores, with a range of different games to suit the time and budget you have.
Stretch Reminder
As mentioned, the lines can become blurred between work and home life when working from home, so it’s important to differentiate, take breaks, and switch off when the day is done. Stretch Reminder is an app that sends you reminders to take a screen break and encourages you to do some stretches. You can set your own intervals for when to be reminded and it will give you a stretch with video guidance on how to do it.
It’s important to take screen breaks and do some stretching and will not only be good for your mental health, but also keep you feeling fresh at work throughout the day.
