Remote work has a lot of perks. Our daily commute is usually just a few steps, we haven't experienced rush hour traffic in years, and on days when we just don't feel like getting out of our pajamas, well, that's okay.
But with all the perks, it can feel isolating at times. We don't have funny ugly sweater competitions at Christmas, office potlucks or even the casual "good morning!" greeting to our teammates when we walk in the door.
To combat the all-too-easy habit of isolating ourselves, we believe in investing in tools that keep our team connected. Here are our favorites:
1. Slack
We slack each other all day, everyday. Simply put, Slack is a communication tool. It serves the function of instant messaging, file sharing, email, polling and catching up on our lives. We have slack channels for serious topics, projects and clients... and slack channels just devoted to just sharing gifs and funny article links.
2. Zoom
Zoom is a video conferencing system. We get to see each other's smiling faces each day and also keeps us accountable for brushing our hair.
3. Basecamp
Where would we be without Basecamp? Probably nowhere. (No, but really.) Basecamp, or as we call it on slack: BC, helps us turn our ideas into projects with deadlines.
4. Husbspot Academy
Lastly (but certainly not least), HubSpot Academy. These courses help our team stay connected by learning together. Many of their courses and certifications are free and help us expand our skills professionally while keeping us connected personally.
Remote work can be so fun and so challenging. But these tools help us keep the barometer needle as close to fun side as we can.
What tools do you love? What should we add to our list?