With COVID-19 completely transforming our lives over the last year, the whole world has shifted to a new reality of remote work. Many companies have had no choice but to let their employees work from home in an effort to contain the pandemic as much as possible. Workplace culture has evolved from in-person interactions and formal meetings to notifications upon notifications and webcam chats and voice calls.s

Over the last few months, I’ve read many articles talking about this massive culture shift. So I wondered — what tools have companies adopted to aid this transition? Many different new applications and services have popped up since the beginning of the pandemic, and some old ones have regained their popularity. When there are so many tools to help, which ones have companies and workplaces chosen to simulate a "normal" working day?

After many hours and numerous browser tabs of research, I’ve put together this list of resources that will make any remote working experience as seamless as possible. This list includes more than just tools and applications - it also compiles other resources like well-written articles and informative videos that will help ameliorate not just your remote working environment, but also your work-from-home culture.

Tools

Trello has a creative and interactive interface. You create cards in columns for different projects. You can move and remove cards across columns. It works perfectly for assigning tasks and managing projects.

Trello also comes with three different plans and the free one can cover most of a startup's needs. It's a handy little tool to keep track of your project.

Slack is one of the world's leading platforms for team communication, imagine all your team communication in one place, instantly searchable, available wherever you go.

Available for Mac, PC, iOS, and Android, Slack is used daily by tens of thousands of people, including teams at Stripe, Rdio, Medium and Airbnb. Don't be fooled by the name, Slack can help you be more productive by streamlining your work communications.

Loom is a tool designed to help users bridge communication gaps through the power of video. We all understand how difficult communication can be. Once we do figure out what to say and how to say it, we have to worry if the audience will misunderstand us.

Loom is a tool that aims to solve some of these problems. Users can either capture their screen or use a front camera, tie it all together with narration and share it! This tool has a wide range of applications in different sectors!

1Password is the best way to stay secure online and the fastest way to use the web. 1Password makes you more productive while simultaneously increasing your security with strong, unique passwords for all your accounts and keeps all of your important information encrypted and secure.

In addition, 1Password also provides protection against web-based phishing attempts. It goes beyond password management by adding web form filling and strong password generation.

Whether you're an entrepreneur just starting out or a seasoned business owner, you will understand how chaotic this way of life is. Basecamp is a web-based project-management tool that launched in 2004.

It's one of the best online tools to manage projects, get everyone on the same page, keep clients in the loop, and get your best work done. Basecamp offers to-do lists, wiki-style web-based text documents, milestone management, file sharing, time tracking, and a messaging system.

Element allows individuals and teams to connect, chat, share files, and collaborate in real-time, providing a secure and privacy-focused alternative to mainstream messaging apps. It focuses on security and privacy by utilizing end-to-end encryption for all communication.

Element follows a decentralized architecture by utilizing the Matrix protocol. This means that users can choose their own server or join existing Matrix home servers, ensuring of their data.

Jitsi is a completely free set of open-source projects that allows you to build video conferencing solutions for your business. Take video calls to the next level with this tool.

Jitsi works on both web and mobile devices  and supports advanced video routing concepts like bandwidth estimations or scalable video coding.

GitLab is the optimized open-source code collaboration platform that allows a full workflow to create, review, and deploy code simply and effectively. This tool includes a Git repository management, code review, issue tracking, wikis, and more, along with GitLab CI, a continuous integration and deployment tool.

Built to run on a client's infrastructure, GitLab scales effortlessly and handles more than 25,000 users on a single server. GitLab enables engineering teams to build better products.

Asana puts team tasks & conversations together, so you can get more done and rely less on email. Their mission is to empower humanity to do great things.

They've re-imagined how work gets done through a fast and versatile web application that connects everyone with what's going on, their shared priorities, and who owns each part of the effort. Asana is free for teams up to 15 people with unlimited projects and tasks.

Videos

The Effective Remote Developer

Remote working personas can be hard to develop - this video can help you understand how to be a good remote worker.

51 min

Why work doesn't happen at work | Jason Fried

If you’re not a fan of the office environment, you may be on to something. This TED talk discusses how office work environments aren’t always the most efficient.

17 min

Optimizing virtual teams

We’re all working in virtual teams now. This video from Kellogg discusses how to optimize your virtual teams for remote working.

4 min

Podcasts

Remote Work Podcast

The name says it all - this remote work resource is a podcast you should check out immediately.

Building Remote Teams

This podcast is useful for anyone who is building a remote team from scratch.

Finding Engaged and Empathetic Leaders

Here’s a podcast to help you stay empathetic with your team during this remote work era.

Remote Work Life

The ultimate remote work resource borrows from experts — this podcast featured remote work CEOs talking about the experience.

Websites

Working From Home? Here’s a List of 130+ Free Online Courses

Here’s a list of 130+ free online courses which have become a staple remote work resource.

Awesome Interviews

If you’re interviewing for jobs remotely, this list contains links to every resource you could need for a technical interview.

DailyRemote

Looking for remote jobs? This website lists new remote opportunities daily.

Remote Work Podcasts

Podcasts are a valuable remote work resource — this website lists the best remote work podcasts of 2020.

HN Hiring

If you’re looking for remote developers, HN Hiring is the go-to remote work resource.

RemoteRole

Here’s another remote work resource specifically for job-seeking. All of these listings are remote, so you can browse without worry.

We Work Remotely

The best remote work resource is a good community. WWR is the largest remote work community in the world.

FreshRemote.work

Here’s another good remote work resource for your job-hunting needs.

Pramp

Pramp can help you refine your interview skills so that you can use the previous remote job hunting sites and ace your interviews.

Documents

REMOTE: Office Not Required

This book is a good remote work resource to ease into this new culture seamlessly.

Distributed Teams: The Art and Practice of Working Together While Physically Apart

This book is a collection of short chapters about the reality of remote teams.

The Remote Work Playbook

This PDF compiles all the tips ThoughtWorks has for remote working into one tidy resource.

Remote Jobseeker’s Handbook

To assist with job hunting, here’s a remote work resource that’s a handbook to getting hired.

Articles

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