Remote Work Apps: Our Picks

Remote workers are most effective when they are given FREEDOM+ACCOUNTABILITY, and can RADICALLY SIMPLIFY their workflow and distractions using MINIMAL TECHNOLOGY—so they can focus on the work.

Here are our top recommendations for remote work tools that help us accomplish these three principles.

THE BEST ALL-IN ONE WORKFLOW MANAGEMENT TOOLS

Microsoft-Teams.jpg

#1:

Microsoft Teams

basecamp.png

#2

Basecamp

trellopm.png

#3

Trello

If you want to keep everything together in one place—project management, to-do lists, team communication, and files—these three are the top apps to use. Any of them work great as personal point-solutions for managing your own projects as well. We chose Microsoft Teams as the #1 pick because its video call functionality is incredible, whereas the other two don’t have it. With its drag-and-drop interface, Trello is the most easy and flexible to use, while Basecamp is built precisely for remote workers, so various features are radically simple and delightfully useful.

Here’s who we didn’t pick:

  • Workplace by Facebook — too much complexity, far too integrated into Facebook’s tracking

  • Asana — a great tool, but not as good for a diversity of work styles

  • Jira — a great tool for programmers/developers, but not as good if you use it alone

The Best Personal Organization Tools

 
#1: Evernote

#1: Evernote

#2: Todoist

#2: Todoist

#3: Ms To Do (formerly Wunderlist)

#3: Ms To Do (formerly Wunderlist)

Because everyone’s work style is different, we prefer personal organizational tools that let you organize however the heck you want. Evernote, with its web clipper, note organizing flexibility, and built-in to-do list function (type in [ ] to create checkboxes), is our favorite to cover any person’s bases. Todoist is a close second with its beautiful, simple and flexible interface—primarily just for lists though. And the To Do app by Microsoft (formerly called Wunderlist) is fantastically simple for Getting Things Done.

Here’s who we didn’t pick:

  • Trello — Honestly, you should give Trello a whirl for project management. It’s a little overkill for just to-do lists, and a little tough for note taking. But if you’re a sticky note person, you’ll fall in love with it.

  • TuexDeux — We love this one, too, but it’s not for everyone.

The Best Video Conference Tools

 
#1: Zoom

#1: Zoom

#2: Microsoft Teams

#2: Microsoft Teams

#3: Skype

#3: Skype

Video calls are some of the lifeblood of remote teams. For the simplest and most foolproof option, Zoom is hard to do wrong, and it allows you to have literally hundreds of people on a call at once. Once again Microsoft Teams is a top pick here, because of it’s all-in-one simplicity and powerful video. And if you’re doing basic video calls, Skype is still fantastic as a standalone tool.

HERE’S WHO WE DIDN’T PICK:

  • Join.me — This one’s robust, but a little more dated and less radically simple than the others.

  • Google Hangouts — It’s free and easy, but the quality goes way down when you have a group, especially when multiple people talk at once.

The Best Group Chat Tools

 
#1: Slack

#1: Slack

#2: Hipchat

#2: Hipchat

#3: Microsoft Teams

#3: Microsoft Teams

Slack is the most flexible, do-anything-you-want-with-it group chat app out there. And it has integrations and customizations galore. Hipchat is another great choice, along with Microsoft Teams.

HERE’S WHO WE DIDN’T PICK:

  • WhatsApp — WhatsApp is fantastic for personal/casual group chats; its lack of good search features or file storage and tracking makes it not as great for work purposes

  • GroupMe — this app is especially popular among teens; rumor is it’s being merged into Microsoft Teams at some point soon anyway

The Best Tools For Preventing Distraction

 
#1: Pocket

#1: Pocket

#2: Forest

#2: Forest

#3: Freedom

#3: Freedom

These apps each do different things, so it’s hard to rank them. But for most of us, getting sucked into rabbit holes on the internet is a huge distraction and waste of time during our workdays—so Pocket is our #1 pick. It helps you save down articles for later, so when you encounter something you like, you can save it and get back to work without any FoMo. Forest is a little game on your phone that helps motivate you to do sprints of focused work. And Freedom is a powerful little app that helps you have more willpower… by blocking your favorite distracting sites!