At this point you have likely been working from home for a few weeks due to the coronavirus pandemic. As a digital first agency, we have been continually improving the tools and processes we use to connect and create our best work with remote clients for quite some time now. We are driving full steam ahead as we have our individual home offices set up and exciting active projects to keep us challenged and inspired.

However, our clients, friends, and partners are at varying levels of proficiency with regards to tools and approaches used while working from home. The coronavirus has not only caused many of us to shift our physical offices to the house, it has also shifted much of our communication and processes to digital/online. We want to share some practices that have majorly improved our team workflow to help you work better as you adjust to the new normal.

Here is our pick of tools, tips, and products that can help you work smarter in these challenging times:

Video Conferencing: Not Just a Solution For Working From Home

Google Meetings and Zoom are our staples when it comes to video conferencing. The platform isn’t as important as the practice. For some of you, working from home during the coronavirus is primarily the reason you are now using it. I would urge you to use it as a standard practice as opposed to the phone whenever possible. Video conferencing allows you to screen share and seeing that person on the other side facilitates better and more meaningful conversations which inevitably results in better work and relationships. I’m a fan of Zoom as we can easily record meetings (make sure you ask!) in the event that I need to refer to it later or pass it along to a designer, writer, or developer that is using the conversation as a spec or inspiration.

A Better Way to Share those Documents

I still see too many organizations where they are emailing documents such as spreadsheets, word docs, presentations, etc. This leads to unnecessary emails back and forth when changes are made and valuable time wasted hunting down file locations. At this stage of the game,  these files should exist in a well organized cloud based environment and be shared so users can work on files collaboratively in real time. We use Google Apps/Drive, others use Office365. These are the two main offerings for collaborative word processing, spreadsheet and presentation software. For pure storage there are a plethora of options such as dropbox, fileshare, etc.

Communicate en Mass

You may have already sent an announcement to your clients and partners regarding operations during Covid. If you haven’t already, do it now. It is important to give your clients any information that could help them during these times. As time progresses there may be updated news and/or processes you may want to share. Send out these emails in a nicely branded format. There are a number of programs out there that allow you to do this. We are big fans of Aweber and Sharpspring.  Be sure to update your Google My Business profile for prospective customers to reflect any changes in hours or services. You may also want to consider creating your own videos to explain processes and communicate subjects that you can no longer do in person. Loom and Camtasia are both great tools for doing this.

Intuitive Screen Capturing Made Easy

Screenshots are a key component to communicating effectively in today’s day and age. Our go-to tool for this is marker.io, an extension for google chrome that allows you to easily take screenshots and from there mark up, comment, and share. In just a few clicks, marker.io allows us to document and explain feedback visually. We have found this tool indispensable in our everyday and have baked it into our QA processes, so much so that our friends at marker.io have a case study featuring how we use the tool.

Making Support & Troubleshooting Easier

We have seen some interesting things since clients are now working from home. We had one user that kept getting blocked from the site we host for them. Ultimately, we figured out that their office VPN software was not configured properly and was making requests to non-existent executable files on their website and thus was being blocked. You may run into your own troubles with sites or applications. One thing that can make your support person’s life easier is to send them a report from supportdetails.net. All you have to do is go to their site and send a report. It will contain your browser, version, OS screen res and much more. This will be helpful to anyone troubleshooting your issue and expedite fixing the problem.

Set Up A Comfortable Workspace 

For as much time as you spend sitting, it’s important to have a space you enjoy sitting in and is comfortable even during long work sessions. Make gradual improvements to your work area like investing in a new chair, reconfiguring your desk layout, and even experimenting with lighting. These things may seem small but they can go a long way in helping you stay productive throughout the work (at home) day.

Automate What You Can

Most of you are already using a number of different web apps (Gmail, Trello, BaseCamp, TeamWork, DropBox, Quickbooks,  Slack, Social Channels and a load more I don’t have listed here). Using Zapier you can connect and automate tasks and allow these programs to talk to one another without knowing how to write a lick of code. They have plenty of examples here.

Slack Brings the Team Together, Wherever You Are

At Durkan Group, we are ALL over Slack. If you aren’t using it I encourage you to just sign up and give it a shot, heck NASA did! Think of it as chat where you can have dedicated channels as well as direct messaging. We have 2 channels for any given project, 1 for the DG team and 1 for the DG Team plus client contact(s). In addition, we have channels for sharing what we think are great digital experiences, water cooler talk, food talk, operations talk and more. With Slack you can always be in touch with the team, answering questions and keeping projects moving forward. I have been in some precarious situations and kept things rolling with the team thanks to Slack’s mobile app.

A Virtual Whiteboard to Keep Ideas Flowing

Remember the days of being in the office together and you had a big old whiteboard where you could draw, write, diagram and sketch with your team? You can still do it from afar! We use Freehand by Invision to do just that. It’s an infinite whiteboard that allows you and your team to go to town and collaborate just as you would if you were in the office together. Freehand is the perfect tool to keep creative/strategic momentum and ideas rolling.

Other Important Tips to Practice While Working From Home:

• Go Easy on Your Eyes & Head – I have 3 monitors staring back at me most of the workday. When I started experiencing migraines one of my employees suggested blue light blocking glasses and I wish I had only gotten them sooner. I find they make a big difference, when I don’t have them my eyes are straining. I went with these Blue Light Blocking Glasses by Gunnar. As a general practice, make sure to take breaks as necessary to give your eyes a rest from too much screen time.

• Exercise – It is critical in these times that you get proper exercise daily. Regular activity will keep your energy levels up and improve mental health overall. Get some fresh air by taking a morning or lunchtime walk around your neighborhood. If you are craving a disciplined workout, I suggest checking out the BeachBody On Demand website where you can access loads of different classes from Yoga to High-Intensity  Interval Training to Weightlifting and more. I highly recommend the Insanity workouts if you are looking for something more hardcore to get your heart pumping.

• Treat Yourself – If you have the means to do so, treat yourself to something that enhances your workspace, whether it be plants or photos, it’s the little things that matter. My mousepad had served me well, but it was looking rough and tattered, complete with coffee stains. I decided to step it up and get a new gaming mousepad with enough room for my mouse and keyboard plus a cool lighting / glow fiber border. Check it out here.

• Make Your Office in The Morning – Routine is something we all are struggling to maintain in these times. Admiral McRaven has it right, make your bed! This is a great speech, well worth watching if you need some motivation.  In that same spirit, I would encourage you to start the day by cleaning/organizing your workspace and outlining your list of items to tackle for the day.

Stay Safe & Be Well!

We know it hasn’t been business as usual for everyone. Recent events have driven companies to shift their operations entirely online, leaning on digital proficiency while working from home more than ever before. No matter your industry, everyone is feeling the effects. We are all in this together and Durkan Group is here to provide you with the guidance, the resources and the support needed to navigate these uncertain times. If there is anything we can do to help you or your organization through this, please do not hesitate to contact us.