Top Work from Home Apps for Keeping Yourself Productive

COVID-19 has forced a large population of the workforce in the US to work from home. With most work from home policies and strategies it’s important that people stay busy, active and entertained in order to be productive. There are several factors that can impact your productivity such as distractions, effectively communicating with colleagues and feeling stagnant. So, we at Zco wanted to suggest some mobile apps to improve productivity and keep yourself busy with at-home activities.

Starting off the list is an app for your time outside of work activities. If you have Hulu, Netflix, or Amazon Prime, but can never find something to watch, then Dinggo is the app for you.   

Dinggo is an application that allows you to see what primary streaming services offer in terms of content. Once you launch the app, select which streaming platforms you’re currently using. Then go on to pick the types of shows and movies you like from genres like action, foreign, mystery, and many other categories.   

Dinggo is sort of like the Netflix equivalent to Tinder, a popular dating app that lets you swipe right on shows you are interested in watching or swipe left on shows that don’t interest you. It is available on iOS and Android devices and can be downloaded directly from the Apple or Google Play app store.   

There is no better way to prioritize your free time by being selective in what you watch. No one wants to wander through home screen menus, trying to find something interesting. That is why Dinggo makes our list. Not to mention, it is an excellent example of an app created in React Native, highlighting its natural feel and cross-platform functions.

Dinggo on the App Store

Dinggo on Google Play

Since gyms have closed and people have no other option, they must do their workouts at home. It can be challenging to find the motivation to go running, do bodyweight exercises, or push yourself physically. This is where ChallengeMe comes in. 

Challenge me is a fitness app for sending challenges and workouts to your friends and network through the app. If I were to record myself doing 40 pushups and wanted to pass along the challenge, it‘s made super easy through the app. You can follow different influencers to see what events are popular now. It reminds us of social phenomenon’s like the ice bucket challenge, where you call out individuals to participate, and the challenge moves along through referrals.  

The addition of a leaderboard provides even more motivation to compete. Step away from your home office and see where you stand on your fitness journey.

ChallengeMe on the App Store

Staying connected with colleagues and friends is more important than ever. We’ve seen a considerable jump in the use of applications like Zoom or Apple’s facetime function. This jump indicates how popular video conferencing is right now. As such, you‘re falling behind if you don’t leverage these tools. 

If you’re looking to keep yourself organized during this hectic time, then the use of collaboration software has never been more critical. You might think I was going to recommend something like Slack or GoToMeeting to talk with your coworkers, but ideally, you want something with some more bandwidth and options. I personally like Microsoft Teams, if your company runs in that environment. Teams allow you to connect multiple forms of business software into one place. Documents, your calendar, live chatting, and meeting software all into one package is tough to beat.  Teams is one of the most beneficial remote work apps that simplify your work from home.

Microsoft Teams on the App Store

Microsoft Teams on Google Play

This is an app that’s not just for gaming. It’s a free, easy to use tool for connecting with friends, coworkers and others online. It’s a powerhouse platform to enable better real time collaboration and communication. 

Discord allows anyone to set up a private or public server and add users through an invite link. In Discord, you can send general messages and set up team-specific chat rooms based on your departments and groups. With their push to talk function, it becomes easy to talk to your coworkers in a more organized environment.   

The other use of Discord is to use it for its game chatting as well. When your workday is over, and you feel like chatting socially, while playing a PC, Xbox or PlayStation game you can always open your Discord app and start talking to your friends.

Discord on the App Store

Discord on Google Play

Let’s not forget the main goal of adapting to working from home, getting work done. No matter what your job function is there are apps that can help improve your productivity and at-home working effectiveness. 

We all miss our comfortable office spaces, with your computer monitor at just the right height, or perhaps all your documents are piled on your desk in a specific order. At your home, however, this is not the case, unless you have a decked-out home office. The best technology for working remotely is one that lets you continue business as usual.  

If you are lucky enough to use a solution for managing sales, customer service, or other business aspects, this is the time to test out the mobile usability. Apps like Salesforce Lightning mobile, HubSpot and Outlook are hypercritical for when you are on the go managing multiple projects, deals, taking your dogs for a walk, or any number of situations.   

We are huge proponents for using mobile technologies when it fits. Now more than ever, you can get more work done from on the go and from the home office. Having access to these tools is one thing but using these effectively is a matter of practice and repetition.  

Try finding something that fits your needs for managing a process, updating information, getting approvals and serving your customers’ requirements. If you can, then also work towards building your work from home accountability so that remote working does not get a negative stigma.