With 84% of the global workforce preferring to work from home, the COVID-19 pandemic has pushed some of the best work at home apps to help employees and businesses in keeping the official proceedings and creative juices flowing.
We have made a list of the best work at home apps that’ll not help you fight off the coronavirus, but surely some of the common crises that come along at personal and professional level.
Video conferencing apps
Easily, the most prominent shift you’re experiencing by working from home is no longer having those routine face to face interactions. However, the lack of physical proximity doesn’t spare you from meetings and group gatherings.
Therefore, the use of videoconferencing apps has caught a huge spike to keep the routine conversations and corporate proceedings goings. As we’re already aware with the old school Skype, Zoom is another name that is being extensively used for business meetings.
Zoom allows you to host a 40-minute meeting incorporating 100 attendees free of cost. While you can always upgrade your service for a pro, business, or enterprise level plan and include additional participants, more cloud storage, company branding, executive business reviews, and different discounts on webinars and Zoom rooms.
Team communication apps
When you’re bound to work from home with an 8-9 hour workday for an indefinite period (at the moment), using video calls and email for every other official correspondence can be tedious and time consuming.
To stay connected with your colleagues, team members, manager, etc., you need a great team communication app other than a WhatsApp group.
Fortunately, there are a number of team communication tools that have been in use for professional remote workers for quite some time now.
Using Slack would be a great start! A collaboration tool that organizes conversations, documents, etc. and keeps everyone on the same page for seamless customer support, marketing, human resource, project management, and various other teams.
If your company uses Microsoft 356 products, you can opt for Teams. Quite similar to Slack in features, Teams allows users to create multiple channels and use various plans for business and enterprise level setups.
Group video calling apps
Besides your official workday hours, you also have your friends and family to connect with. This is where group video calling tools help you in replacement of going out and meeting people in real.
If everyone in your personal circle is iPhone loyal, then the first name that comes to our mind is FaceTime. With 32 people connected through a single call, you have a plethora of exciting Animojis and fun effects to make interesting conversations.
On the other hand, Android users can use Houseparty (also available on iOS), where you have the liberty to create multiple rooms with your family and friends. You can call whoever is available at the moment.
While alternate options such as Skype, Google Hangouts, etc. aren’t bad either.
News apps
Another major category of applications that have seen a drastic increase in downloads and use, all due to people wanting to stay updated with the current situation surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic.
You have a number of top options for Android and iOS including Google News, Reuters News, The New York Times, to name a few.
But if your country or region has a local app that keeps you informed thoroughly, use that. If not, you can always add the RSS reader along with its website to your preferred RSS tool. In doing so, you’re keeping yourself on track while checking the news without getting lost in the onslaught of Twitter feed.
Workout apps
Just because your gym doors are closed like almost every other business on the street, doesn’t mean you can’t do workout on your own. If you’re entirely committed to work from home, then exercising gets even more important to burn calories and stay fit.
Try going for Nike Training Club, a free app for both Android and iPhone users with over 190 workouts for download. Another great option is Fitbit Coach, the tool offers a wide array of personalized workouts depending on the user’s fitness level and needs. The entire gallery can be accessed for only $7 per month.
If you’re not a seasoned athlete and cannot go with video workout, try using Aaptiv, a ground-level tool for newcomers requiring step-by-step instructions on audio. Just plug in your headphones and perform a quick workout.
Meditation apps
Feeling a sense of anxiety, stress, or even depression is a possibility after being on lockdown for several weeks now. Hence, keeping your stress levels in check is important, especially when you have plenty of top meditation apps to help you in this regard.
Some popular names include Headspace, Calm, Aura, etc. The apps don’t consume much of your time and provide relaxing music, sleep sessions, and guided meditation packs to instantly fulfill their purpose of transporting you to tranquility.
Users can use Smiling Mind and even avail a free Mindfulness Foundations Course for starters to learn about mindfulness.
Grocery delivery apps
Yes, one of the few sectors to have benefitted greatly since the start of COVID-19 outbreak. As people are forced to stay inside locked doors, they have been increasingly relying on getting their routine groceries and household items delivered at home.
Besides the obvious names including Amazon and Walmart Grocery apps, you can even use if you have any local or regional applications running in your country. If you want a quick delivery, the Amazon Prime Now app is the best option out there.
Other popular names such as Instacart, Shipt, Amazon Fresh, FreshDirect, and more are available to use in all the major cities in US and supports thousands of retailers.
Related content: How are the grocery and food delivery businesses jumping the opportunistic bandwagon amid the COVID-19 outbreak
Cooking apps
With lockdown, and not having much to do at home, many of us have developed some interesting hobbies including cooking.
Let it be people wanting to stay content with cooking simple sandwiches and salads, or try to become a semi-pro chef and learn to cook top cuisines, many cooking apps are there to help you.
For kitchen newcomers, Yummly is a good start! An all-in-one cooking app loaded with more than 2 million recipes and a clear step-by-step guide, even a shopping list feature included. A user-friendly interface with compelling visuals and textual instructions is what makes the app a huge hit.
Moving on to Kitchen Stories, users get to become a part of a big cooking community. You can upload your own cooking experiences and recipes as well as view others’ to learn further. With plenty of HD quality recipe videos, the app will make you fall in love with cooking more than ever.
Also, you can view your favorite celebrities and chefs and their videos through the Food Network Kitchen app.
Final thoughts!
No matter whatever your designation, job description and responsibilities at your workplace and the work burden on your head, you’re having plenty of free time on your hands to try all or some of the above best work at home apps.
These mobile applications are in no way promising to make you a strict professional in that particular field or industry.
But keeping you connected with the outside world, continuing your side hustle, and playing with your long forgotten passion is what both the Android and iPhone users can get.
Imran Abdul Rauf is a Digital Marketing Strategist, employed at CMOLDS, and specializes in content marketing, email marketing campaigns, lead generation, and other aspects of digital marketing. A content enthusiast by the day, and hardcore gamer by night, Imran is also a regular guest contributor at some of the top tech and digital marketing platforms.
