These days, teams often include people scattered across different locations and time zones. Whether it’s a team of remote workers or a hybrid team that meets in person sometimes but also functions remotely, productivity tools can help increase collaboration and boost efficiency by streamlining everyday tasks.
While there are plenty of great productivity software tools to choose from, here’s a roundup of the top 16 that have been making waves in the industry. Take note of the different categories these tools fall into, and pick the ones that best suit your team’s needs.
The first category is project management tools. These tools help to keep track of tasks, deadlines, and communication between team members. That way, everyone is on the same page, and projects move forward swiftly.
Monday is a popular project management tool that helps teams plan, collaborate, and measure the progress of their projects. It also has extensive automation features so you can set up custom workflows for different tasks. Monday is most suitable for larger projects with multiple moving parts, but it can also be used for smaller tasks.
For an all-in-one work platform, ClickUp is a good choice. It’s highly customizable and user-friendly, allowing you to organize projects according to your team’s workflow. You can create tasks, set deadlines, assign them to different team members, and track progress in real-time. Its best feature, though, is its integrations with over 1,000 apps and tools!
Asana is all about cross-team collaboration, allowing each team to take its own approach to project management. In other words, it allows teams to customize how they manage projects and tasks while having a unified system that unites everyone’s work. It also features automation tools so you can save time on mundane tasks. What makes Asana unique is its ability to bring multiple teams together with a single platform.
In today's day and age, numerous amounts of data and information need to be collected, organized, and shared between teams. Knowledge management tools make that process easier by creating a shared knowledge repository.
For a comprehensive workspace where you can store notes, documents, wikis, projects, and more, Notion is the way to go. This is a tool that can be used both for individual work and collaboration. Not only does it provide users with a centralized location to store data, but it also offers features such as task management, onboarding new employees, and more.
Confluence is another great knowledge management tool. It's a one-stop shop for information such as project requirements, business processes, team discussions, and more. Because of its storage capabilities, it also makes it easier to keep track of changes over time. That way, team members can quickly refer back to the latest version of a document without having to dig through endless versions.
Evernote is the standard when it comes to note-taking and organizing digital information. From enabling you to save webpages and important documents to creating templates depending on the need, Evernote is an essential tool for keeping track of tasks and storing information. On top of that, it also has a great advanced search tool to find what you need quickly.
With hybrid work on the rise, tools that allow remote teams to collaborate and communicate effectively have become more important than ever. Otherwise, teams may struggle to keep up with each other or have delayed project delivery times.
Enabling you to use your office space more efficiently while keeping everyone in the loop about their bookings, Tribeloo is a hot desk booking solution that makes the process of booking and managing spaces easier. From allowing you to upload your own floor plans, to creating neighborhoods for teams so they can have their own dedicated spaces, Tribeloo makes sure no one is ever left out of the loop.
For video conferencing in a hybrid work model, Zoom is the go-to tool, providing a reliable experience that can accommodate up to 1,000 people at once. Additionally, it offers features such as screen sharing and breakout rooms for team discussions or presentations. Not just that, but people can join from anywhere, even if they use it on their mobile devices.
Slack has become the go-to tool for collaboration and communication between teams. Through its chat rooms and channels, you can keep everyone in the loop about what’s happening with your project while also sharing files and creating tasks that others can work on. It also has advanced features such as video calls and integrations with other tools, which make it an even more powerful tool for collaboration.
When teams are working remotely (even if it's occasionally), it's important to have a way to track time accurately. Otherwise, we all end up being in the dark about how much time is actually spent on each task, and the result is that we work more than we need to, with no real insight into the progress of our project.
Toggl is an easy-to-use, internet-based time-tracking tool that helps teams track their progress and analyze data. Its real-time sync features enable users to quickly start and stop tracking projects, regardless of what device they're using. What makes it stand out is its reporting feature, which allows users to get a detailed overview of their work and set targets for themselves.
Another great time-tracking tool, Clockify, was created with remote teams in mind. It goes beyond basic time tracking and offers features such as productivity and overtime reports, project estimates, billable hour tracking, and more. With Clockify, teams can easily stay on top of their projects while also staying organized – all together in one place.
On the client side, Harvest is yet another time-tracking tool that helps teams manage their time and resources more efficiently. It's an excellent tool for project managers specifically, as it offers features such as project budgeting and invoicing, so they can track progress and stay on top of tasks without having to manually enter information or keep up with paperwork. Plus, it integrates with popular communication tools such as Slack and Asana so teams can always stay in sync.
Finally, there are plenty of other productivity tools out there that can help teams in a hybrid work model. Below are the ones we recommend that are widely used and highly effective:
Loom quite literally revolutionized the way we communicate at work. By introducing the concept of "shareable videos", Loom allows users to quickly and easily share ideas, walk through tasks or processes, provide feedback, and more with colleagues – all in an engaging format. Its usage has grown immensely since its launch just a few years ago, and professionals at companies like HubSpot, Square, Uber, GrubHub, and LinkedIn are all using it to stay connected.
As far as automation tools go, Zapier is a must-have. It's ideal for connecting different apps and services together or automating the workflow between them. This way, you can avoid doing things manually and instead have Zapier take care of those tasks automatically, freeing up your time to focus on more important work. All you need to do is set up a Zap, which is essentially a template that defines what Zapier should do when certain conditions are met!
As its name implies, Todoist is a top-notch to-do list app that helps users organize tasks and projects into easy-to-follow lists. With features such as reminders, recurring tasks, subtasks, and more, it's an ideal tool for managing tasks and keeping yourself on track with your work. Plus, its collaboration feature makes it great for teams who are working remotely.
The inbox zero concept is becoming increasingly popular in the world of remote work, and Clean Email is the perfect tool to help you achieve it. It helps teams organize their inboxes by unsubscribing from unwanted messages and newsletters, sorting emails into appropriate folders, and deleting spam emails that have no intention of being read. With Clean Email, you'll quickly declutter your mailbox and have more time to focus on your work.
From project management tools to time tracking and automation apps, plenty of options exist to help your team stay productive and efficient in a hybrid work model and beyond. With these 16 productivity tools as part of your remote toolkit, you'll be able to stay on top of your work while still having plenty of time to enjoy all the benefits of working remotely.
For more tips on how to stay productive while working remotely or as part of a hybrid work model, be sure to check out our blog!
