Work Smarter, not harder
If lockdown has taught us one thing, it’s that for businesses to thrive, working smarter increases our effectiveness, productivity and brings ease to our work life. Utilising the business applications on offer in this modern world is a great way to keep working smarter as a team.
How can you continue to maximise your output? Consider implementing some of our tips and favourite business applications.
Meet from home
Only six months ago, if you were to tell us that you would be able to run all your monthly meetings from your bed, we would have fallen over with laughter. Yet here we are in September, and we are still running our discussions as we did throughout lockdown. The fact is, it’s much more cost-efficient for us to meet via any one of the popular streaming platforms. No one has to leave their house, incur the dangers of public transport or even get dressed. You can mute yourself and eat your cereal whilst you listen if you please.
Working from home in this way has increased our productivity. It has allowed us to prioritise the health of our employees. It’s a win for everyone, the only question being, will live chat be the death of the office?
Your online to-do board ✅
When we consider our favourite business applications, we use Trello every day, and we can’t get enough. Trello is an online collaborative to-do list; any member of our team can add a card that relates to a specific job. One or all of us can then pick it up and run with it, adding artwork, ideas, content and loads more!
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As a team, Trello allows us to understand how far we have progressed on specific tasks and which ones still need our input. It keeps us focused and on target whilst we are away from the office. If you haven’t tried Trello, we would advise it!
G Suite ✨
G Suite is Google’s way of bringing your business to a virtual office, and it’s pretty spot on. As you would imagine from Google, the programme includes everything you need; from Gmail to Google Meet, and even collaborative file sharing and editing. G Suite, is pretty much all the great tools rolled into one, and it’s precisely what your business needs to run smoothly and smartly from home. Our favourite tool is the collaborative files, allowing you and your team to work on one project at the same time in real-time, it’s pretty cool.
Meet the accountant
Business applications for accounting should be your top priority. Sage and Xero are both cloud-based accounting software. The platforms allow small to medium-sized businesses to understand their finances and gain knowledge around how their cash flow works in relation to stock levels. The difference between the two applications is that Xero is solely focused on smooth accounting, and it’s absolutely perfect if that’s what you’re looking for! Whereas Sage is more of an all-in-one solution. It specialises in stock-level knowledge and working out exactly where your capital is tied up.
Collaboration is key
As you may have noticed, the key to working smarter is working together. Trello allows you to organise and G Suite allows you to work on the same piece of work. Two other business applications to consider are Monday.com and Asana. Essentially they do the same thing; they bring your team together no matter how far apart you may be
In their nature, Asana and Monday.com are team tracking tools. They allow you to break jobs down into manageable pieces and then tick off each piece as you go. Meaning that you know exactly how far through a project your team is at any one time. This is incredibly beneficial for companies who champion collaboration and work in sectors with specific time-constraints. For example, if a client asks how long a job is going to take if your team is using one of the tools mentioned above, you can give an honest and realistic answer.
As a creative agency, we are all about making sure all of our projects run as smoothly as possible. Therefore working smart is our only option. If you are looking for an agency for your next creative project, get in touch with us today!
Take a look at some more of our blogs for helpful tips, tricks and advice:
