With the weather improving and employees itching to get outside, some workers are wondering just how much longer they can work from home while others are already weighing the pros and cons of office life. So the last thing anyone needs to worry about is their work computers making their lives more difficult. Fortunately there are some WFH tips and helpful hacks out there that can enable you to work smarter, not harder.
If your office uses Google Workspace like FischTank, here is a rundown of some WFH tips, tricks and supplementary extensions available to help make your work life run more smoothly.
Make the most of your Gmail
In our industry, we’re fortunate to get to work with reporters and clients all around the world. But sometimes, when you’re aiming to send a pitch at 3pm ET, the reporter you’re working with in Germany might not appreciate getting an email at 9pm at night. Thankfully, Gmail offers a ‘schedule send’ function to time your emails to meet a reporter’s needs, even if you’re out of office. This function is great for any industry, helping to maximize productivity within your inbox.
And for those Gmail power users looking to take their inbox to the next level, FischTank favorite Boomerang offers unmatched tools for email productivity and calendar scheduling!
But perhaps Gmail’s most potentially life-saving feature is the most difficult to find. For those of you who occasionally spot a typo after sending an email or realize you’ve forgotten to CC an important client (certainly not me), Gmail actually offers an ‘Undo Send’ option! After navigating to the ‘General’ tab in Settings, users can choose between five, ten, twenty and thirty second undo options. Once toggling your preferences, you’ll see a friendly popup on your screen asking if you wish to unsend after each email.
Get through Google Drive faster
The collaborative nature of Google Docs and Google Sheets make the tools an increasingly popular option to utilize when drafting pitches, writing bylines or sharing media lists. In turn, Google has been regularly adding new features to make these tools as functional as possible.
When drafting bylines, it can be tricky to keep an editor’s word count on your radar. And while the word count was a typical reminder at the bottom of a Microsoft Office screen, it is not the default option for Google Doc users. But fear not! Users can choose to keep their word counts on the screen with a few adjustments to settings. Head over to the ‘Tools’ dropdown menu in the heading of your document. After clicking on the ‘Word Count’ option, Google will give you the option to display the word count as you type.
Last, but certainly not least, Google has created a way to make kickstarting documents so much easier! Looking to start a new media list? Simply type in ‘sheet.new’ into your browser’s address bar, and you’ve got a new blank Google Sheet! Want to draft a new pitch? Inputting ‘docs.new’ will achieve the same result with a Google Document and same with ‘slide.new’ for Google Slides.
Technology in the workplace should enhance your productivity, not drag you down. Fortunately there are plenty of options out there to empower workers, whether in the office or at home.
Do you have other WFH tips to make your life a bit easier? Drop them in the comments below!
