Technology gives many the freedom to work remotely. Freelancers, entrepreneurs, full-time employees, students, and retirees, often do online work from home.
Some find it comfortable to work from a bar, those who opt for warmer climates, and those who choose to work while traveling. But the vast majority prefer to work from home.
Regardless of the solution chosen, it is the availability of a set of tools that makes it possible to work remotely with top android.
That’s why we’ve created this list of tools and travel apps that can make your life easier if you work remotely, from home, or on the go.
Productivity app and travel app for those who work remotely
WiFi Map: find a free wi-fi network in the area
Let’s start with the one thing that everyone who does online work from home and digital nomads needs, and that allows almost any other app listed here to work: the wi-fi network.
Finding a free and stable internet connection can be quite difficult in your city, let alone when traveling abroad. This is where WiFi Map can come in handy.
The app works through the crowdsourcing formula, indicating over 100 million free hotspots worldwide, along with passwords and download/upload speeds, submitted by users. This app also specifies which type of facility hosts the connection; therefore, you will know if you can have a coffee or a snack in the chosen place.
The great thing is that the app allows you to download wi-fi maps in advance; thus, you will have offline access to information on the cities to visit and you will solve the problem of the “need for the internet to find the internet”.
Only, consider that, since it is information obtained in crowdsourcing, it may have become obsolete; therefore, always check their publication date.
Available for: iOS, Android
Google Drive: Store files in the cloud
It’s easy to take cloud storage for granted. It’s a must for working remotely, especially for anyone who is part of a small team or works alone. It allows you to share files and access them easily from one place.
Google Drive remains one of the most generous cloud storage platforms, offering 15 GB of storage immediately and for free.
In addition, Docs, Slides, Sheets, and the other tools of the Google suite allow you to open files in different formats and share them while on the go.
Available for: iOS, Android, Web
Slack: a workspace for remote teams
A workspace dedicated to the team, in addition to being reliable for communicating like email, offers several advantages, especially if part of the team works remotely.
Slack is one of the most popular solutions for work team communication, given its variety of features useful for collaboration. It allows you to create channels for different purposes; for example, a channel for customer service tickets (# customer-support) and one that collects the latest mentions on social media (# social-mention).
Featuring a growing number of apps and integrations, Slack can be tailored to your workflows. It connects with many other tools for working remotely listed in this article and allows you to set up automatic notifications of other services.
Available for: iOS, Android, Web
Trello: project management and collaboration
Trello is a Kanban-style project management tool. It can be used for just about anything from product development to content planning to freelance management and day-to-day management.
What sets Trello apart from other similar tools is its ease of use. It allows you to move files and texts by dragging them, as well as to paste images from the clipboard onto the cards, collecting them together. It allows you to assign deadlines, labels, team members, and comments to cards, both for planning a strategy and for monitoring the progress of a project.
By choosing the free plan, you will have a limit of 10 MB for each attachment; but you can easily insert Google Drive or Dropbox links on the cards, so you can gather resources and ideas in one place.
Available for: iOS, Android, Web
Google Translate: to translate the world around you
If you are traveling abroad and don’t speak the local language, Google Translate can come in handy, especially with its camera function, which uses your smartphone to read the text that is physically in front of you.
Just take a picture of the text (or scan it with the Google Assistant app) to see the translation superimposed on the original text. It works well with many common languages, including some with different characters than ours (we have successfully tested it in French, Spanish, Korean and Japanese).
You can also speak into the microphone and the app will translate what you say out loud into the language you have set. Specific words and phrases can be saved in a collection of favorite phrases, easily searchable later.
Available for: iOS, Android
TripAdvisor: Find fun things to do in the area
The apps listed in this article aren’t all about work. Sometimes, you can simply travel to discover new places and have fun . After all, working remotely requires knowing how to perfectly combine work and private life.
This is where an app like TripAdvisor comes in handy. It allows you to search and compare flight and hotel prices, but that’s not all. You can also find activities to do in the cities of your choice by looking at reviews, prices, images and more.
Want to try the best local restaurants or see the most popular attractions? There is a variety of things to do in your free time while traveling or working abroad.
Available for: iOS, Android
Hangouts: remote communication
Sometimes, text messages aren’t enough. Meet in person or, better yet, have a video call with screen sharing.
Google Hangouts is one of the best tools available for this purpose, especially since it doesn’t require a Google account to accept the call. In addition, it can be integrated with Google Calendar, to simplify the planning of business calls.
You can make one-on-one calls or organize group meetings, sharing your screen to make it easier to read instructions, discuss results or gather feedback on an idea.
Available for: iOS, Android, Web
Zapier and IFTTT: save time with automation
For entrepreneurs, time is never enough, especially when choosing a job online from home or remotely. However , automation can help you recover some of it.
Does your work include some repetitive processes that can be done by anyone? Then you can definitely automate these processes via Zapier or If This Then That (IFTTT).
Download the photos posted under your brand hashtag. Gather your product quotes on Reddit and Twitter in one table. Connect two apps that don’t normally integrate. There are tons of ways to reduce your workload, to complete tasks while you sleep, and to allow information to pass between apps and people.
Both Zapier and IFTTT have strengths:
- Zapier is designed for business use, with a free plan and pricing based on usage.
- IFTTT allows you to create a mix of personal and business workflows, for free and without limits.
Available for: iOS (IFTTT only), Android (IFTTT only), Web
Momentum: A new tab that keeps you focused
Discipline is one of the most difficult aspects for those who choose to work remotely. With no one to check your timing or watch your progress, it’s easy to lose focus , especially if you’re a procrastinator.
Momentum is a popular browser extension that turns each new tab open into a reminder of your most important assignment and tells you the time left to complete it.
You can combine this app with other Google Chrome extensions to keep your browser from being a distraction and continue to use it as a productivity tool.
Available for: Chrome, Firefox
Evernote : Collect ideas on the go
Every entrepreneur needs a diary of ideas , a place to collect and capture fleeting moments of inspiration. This is especially true for those who have chosen to work remotely and are always on the go.
Evernote is one of the most suitable apps for this purpose; in fact, it allows you to create notebooks to store specific notes that may include images, links, text and even snippets of important information, via its web clipper tool .
With Skitch , which is part of its complementary set of apps, you can also take screenshots of what’s on your screen and automatically store these images in Evernote.
If you want a simpler tool, you can also try Google Keep to jot down your ideas and to-do lists .
Google Docs in distraction-free mode: focus on writing
Google Docs is a very good text editor. It is cloud based. It allows you to add images and format text in various ways, easily share it with others for feedback and much more.
But what was missing and added is the “distraction-free” mode, which excludes all alternative options, favoring concentration on pure and simple writing. This free browser extension is a game changer if you spend a lot of time in Google Docs writing articles for your blog or text for your website.
Enable this add-on and activate full screen mode. Without external distractions, you can concentrate on writing.
Available for: Chrome, Firefox, Safari
Work From: co-working areas in the area
For remote workers and digital nomads, it is often necessary to establish a temporary base of operations, an environment where they can concentrate on work even for several hours. Work From makes this aspect easier by crowdsourcing the advice of a large community of remote workers.
Each location is assigned an overall “workability” score of 1 to 4 stars. This is to help you choose the best place to settle with your laptop and work remotely. Furthermore, as a member, you can also contribute by pointing out your favorite places of work.
Available for: iOS, Android, Web
Working remotely, taking advantage of technology
You can work remotely in various sectors. But remote workers – be they entrepreneurs, writers, developers, translators or marketers – face some similar challenges. They need a good wi-fi connection and to find the right concentration to achieve their work goals.
Fortunately, by taking advantage of technology, you can overcome these challenges and enjoy remote working opportunities. First of all, the freedom to choose the environment in which to work. And not least, flexibility, which allows you to live a fuller life.
