Working Remotely, Productively with an iPad
I have written in the past about how I have used my iPad for productive work on a regular basis. However, over the past two weeks of working remotely, I have used my iPad almost exclusively to work from home and keep up on all communication. The new set up has demonstrated just how powerful the iPad can be for productive work and especially for communication from any location.
My set up
I reference the iPad specifically, but I do use my phone and occasionally my home desktop computer as part of my work from home set up. The iPad is the primary device for all written communication but also serves as the source for many of the video connections as well. Regular phone calls, as well as many of the video calls, are handled through my iPhone so I have easy access to my iPad for any written correspondence while on those calls.
Handling email
I didn’t think it was possible, but email is even heavier now than before. People continue to use email as a primary way to communicate for business needs, but now it is also a conversation tool, which leads to more back and forth, thus more email in total. We are working towards using more team collaboration tools, such as Microsoft Teams, but that is not fully adopted or implemented for our current situation.
I use the iPad almost exclusively for managing email. I work between the Apple Mail app and the Microsoft Outlook app to handle all email. Each application has some strong points. Having access to both allows me to use the one that offers the best toolset for the specific task I am working on. Reading and viewing attachments tend to be easier with Outlook, but managing any tasks that come from emails and sorting or filing is better handled from Apple Mail. This is especially true if you want to use drop and drag features to move emails to other applications or folders. Outlook does not offer that capability at this time.
Conversational Communication
It is difficult to replace in-person conversations and communication when working remotely. As a company, we recently introduced Microsoft Teams as a tool for use across the organization. It is not fully implemented and we do not have access to all features that Teams offers, but it has been a huge part of my ability to communicate with my team. I have established a daily morning video call with my direct reports. It is as close as we can get to being in the same room together. It allows us to share all of our current updates, both work-related and some lighter stuff. I believe this may have been the most important change we have made in working remotely so far. We remain connected both on a personal level as well as up to date on all of the things in motion each day.
Microsoft Teams at its core is a messaging app but allows attachments to be shared and has more tools for quick reference or organization. It also has the ability to create full team communication channels. This is not something we have implemented yet. I am hopeful we will have access to it soon, as it will provide a further level of communication connectedness. Teams also offers the ability for bigger group calls, functioning like a conference calling service. This can be either voice or video. With other companies like WebEx and Zoom (to a much smaller degree) being overwhelmed with new remote users, Teams has provided another simple way to set up calls between groups of people.
In using Teams, I use the iPad for almost all of the written communication within the application. I tend to use the phone for the video and voice calls. It makes it easier to keep the iPad available for any note-taking or referring to any attachments that may not be shared via video. However, when slides or other screen content is being shared I will switch to the iPad to make it easier to see. Teams does work in split-screen mode, so it is possible to multi-task with the app.
Conference Calls
Our primary tool for conference calls has been WebEx. That has been our company’s preferred vendor. My team had branched out to Zoom recently for some of the additional tools they offer and the ability to conduct calls with much larger groups. When we want to have conference calls with all stores, Zoom made it possible to have everyone on the same call. We primarily use both as voice calls with screen sharing capabilities. But as many have seen in the past few weeks, Zoom has excellent video capabilities. I have heard many examples and stories of families using Zoom to stay in touch with each other via video calls. Kids are even playing virtual games together with the video chat ability.
For this form of communication, I bounce back and forth between the phone, iPad, and my desktop computer. My desktop iMac has excellent audio quality and it makes it a very useful way to participate on conference calls with a larger screen viewing area for the visuals and easy to manage voice controls on the screen. It also keeps my hands free to work on my iPad for notes or reference items while handling the conference call.
Working remotely does take some getting used to, but I think many people are finding more ways to make it work better than they thought possible. I know having my iPad at the core of my remote work strategy has been key to remaining productive and in many ways sane. Its portability also allows me to work from different areas of the house, if necessary. I do have a dedicated space, so that is not necessarily a need for me right now. I do like knowing I have the option though. I think it may come in even more handy as the weather warms and suddenly the back porch can be as good an office as anyplace else.
What tools are you using for your remote work set up?
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