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5 Tips for Braving the Storm and Working From Home

2 minute read

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The winter season is in full swing and storms are shutting down offices around the world. Keeping up with work can be difficult when you are worried about having enough canned food and secured windows.

Luckily there are many ways Google Apps can bridge the gap between home and office and help you stay productive from the comfort of your own down comforter.

1. Never miss a meeting with Google Hangouts

Being holed up at home doesn’t mean you need to go cancelling all your meetings. Face to face has never been easier with the aid of Google Hangouts. Face to face video meetings will keep you feeling warm yet connected.
Hangouts

2. Stay connected to your files with offline Drive

If the storm is strong enough, being stuck inside may be the least of your problems. Given the collaborative nature of Google Drive, losing internet connection can mean losing access to all of your work files. Never fear, Google allows for offline editing. With this walkthrough you can master the art of using Drive while off the grid.

3. Schedule emails to send ahead of time

Preparedness is key in making it through a storm. If you have emails that are time sensitive and you are worried you will lose connectivity, use a third party app such as Boomerang to schedule emails ahead of time.

4. Set up an Out of Office message so you don’t miss important emails

If you fear you will lose internet connectivity or use the storm as an excuse to finally take that tropical vacation you have been saving for, then you want to make sure that you don’t miss any important emails. Set up an out of office reply on your gmail to notify those who contact you that you will get back to them when things clear up.

5. Keep track of everyone’s location with collaborative maps

A closed down office can leave the workforce scattered throughout the city at their homes or shared workspaces. Locations can be important to keep track of and Google Maps has you covered.

Staying productive can be extremely difficult in extreme weather. Staying safe should be your first priority but use these tips to better tackle the rest of your priorities.

What are your best tips for working from home? Leave them in the comments below.

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