The apps we use for productivity and collaboration

There are more ways than ever to work with a team that is diverse and spread out, from productivity platforms to messaging apps. We have lost count of the apps we have tried, but we can list the ones that have stuck with us for a long time.

1. Decision Jam

We like to give team members a say in the culture and environment of the company, and one way we do that is by sharpening our focus before a big meeting. Decision Jam is a web app we built to propose and vote on the decisions that matter to us. It is easy to use and works for remote teams too.

Decision Jam pushes us to think in solutions, and it gets us focused before the big team meeting, which is where the real collaboration happens.

2. Slack

Slack is a household name for internal communication. It is a real-time messaging app, and it still gives our team a good place to talk about things, personal or professional, freely and on their own time.

We like how well it works with other tools the team uses, like Trello and Evernote. We have dedicated channels and private groups for potential clients, projects, team trips, marketing, design, development, DOTA and so on.

You can also share a file by dragging it into the right channel, without cluttering a teammate's email inbox.

3. Evernote / Trello / MeisterTask

Keeping every team member in sync with the project goals, with clear tasks and timelines, is what lets a team keep growing instead of stalling. Keeping everyone on the same page is easier said than done.

For organising tasks, we found that no single app suits everyone. Our designers use Evernote to track design revisions and creative notes. Some project teams find Trello the easiest to use, and others prefer MeisterTask.

4. Google Meet/ Zoom

Some things are easier to talk through face-to-face than in long messages, and we can't all be in the same room at the same time, so we use these two.

What we like about Google Meet, especially for client meetings, is that the call link is generated automatically when you create the calendar invite. You never have to set up the call room and send the client a link before every call.

We also like that Zoom can record calls, which helps when we need to review a call or run a retrospective on it later.

(Update) 5. Discord

As of time of writing we have only been on Discord for a few days, because the whole team is working from home due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It is working well for us so far, and you might want to try it too.

Discord is mainly built for video gaming communities, with text and voice channels for members to talk to each other.

We agreed that all of us stay in the audio channels while we work, and say when we go Away From Keyboard, so we can talk to each other whenever we need to work something out together. We also like how quickly we can share our screens to show a teammate something or ask for help.

If your team uses other collaboration tools, especially for remote work, tell us about them.

Learn more about our team here.