{"id":60181,"date":"2020-04-01T14:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-04-01T19:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/?p=60181"},"modified":"2020-05-04T15:32:47","modified_gmt":"2020-05-04T20:32:47","slug":"work-from-home-essentials-helpful-apps-and-utilities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/60181-work-from-home-essentials-helpful-apps-and-utilities\/","title":{"rendered":"Work From Home Essentials: Helpful Apps and Utilities"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Application<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

After you Work From Home (WFH) for a while, you build up a collection of apps and utilities that become a toolkit for your at-home workflow. Everyone’s toolkit will be different, with some specialized tools for the type of work they do, but there will likely be some core products found in everyone’s toolkit for working at home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this Rocket Yard guide, we will take a look at apps and tricks to help you manage your WFH environment. This is by no means an exhaustive look at available apps and utilities, but it should provide an inkling of the type of workflow utilities and tricks you may need.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Security<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

There are additional security concerns when you\u2019re working from home; these two tips can go a long way toward making your employer\/client feel better at the thought of their sensitive data being outside of their control. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

FileVault<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Working from home using your own Mac may have security concerns for your employer. Chances are they have security standards imposed on the work-place computing environment that aren\u2019t present on your home-based system. And while you may not be concerned about someone breaking into your home and stealing your Mac, my guess is your IT department may.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"FileVault
FileVault is turned off by default. Enabling the feature will encrypt all the data on the startup drive.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

To help alleviate everyone’s concerns, you can use the encryption system built into the macOS, which should pretty well ensure that no one can read or copy the data on your Mac without your administrator password. (You’re using a strong password, right?<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can find out more, including how to enable the File Vault feature, in the Rocket Yard guide: Mac 101: Everything You Need To Know About FileVault Encryption<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And while we\u2019re talking about misplacing or having a Mac stolen, don\u2019t forget you can use the Find My app to locate where your Mac is<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

VPN<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

A Virtual Private Network is a way to use a public network (think the Internet) to create a private, secure, and encrypted connection to a remote host, usually your employer or client. In many cases, confidential information will be sent and received between you and your employer\/client, and using a VPN is a good way to ensure security while the data travels between you and the remote host.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A VPN connection may be a requirement of your employer, or it may be a service you wish to offer to your clients. Either way, you can find out more in the guide: Do You Need a VPN to Protect Your Mac<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Task Management<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

There are a number of apps that can help you manage the tasks you need to perform each day to keep a project running, and finished on, or at least near, its intended schedule. They range from apps already included with your Mac, such as Calendar, Reminders, Notes, and Contacts, to many third-party tools.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Calendar<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Apple made some great strides in macOS Catalina with the Calendar app, but if you\u2019re not using Catalina, or you\u2019re still looking for a better calendar app, you may want to consider one of my favorite third-party apps: Fantastical.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Fantastical
Fantastical can help you plan your day and track tasks that need to be done. Image courtesy of flexibits.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Fantastical has a beautiful interface that is both easy to use and powerful, making it a good candidate for managing your time. Offering both calendar and task management, along with support for natural language input, Fantastical can schedule an event just by typing “Lunch with Mary this Friday.” And if you’re worried about eating outdoors on Friday, Fantastical will show you the weather for your scheduled events.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can try Fantastical for free, available on the Mac App Store<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Project Manager<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

If you thought working from home would simplify everything, chances are you now realize that may be just a bit off. If you’re finding tasks getting away from you, a project management app may be just what you need. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are quite a few to pick from, but one that deserves a look is GoodTask, a powerful task and project management app that works with your existing Reminders and Calendar apps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

GoodTask can be used as a simple ToDo app, letting you create lists of tasks to perform, or you can take on more complex project management with detailed subtasks that can affect the overall project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

GoodTask may be the right task management tool to WFH, with just the right balance of ease of use and features.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

GoodTask is available with a free trial<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

File Sharing<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

When you\u2019re working on a project, or once the project is finished, you\u2019ll likely need to send documents to your employer or client. This can be as simple as attaching a document to an email and clicking the Send button. You can also make use of one of the many cloud-based storage systems, such as Google Drive, Dropbox, Microsoft OneDrive, or iCloud Drive. Most allow you to invite people to view or edit the files you store within the cloud, which may be a very convenient way to have documents reviewed at certain stages of a project or to release finished documents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Share
iCloud Drive allows you to share a folder and define access permissions.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Each service has its own method for sharing files, but you can get an idea of how they work from the Rocket Yard guide: How to Use iCloud Drive Folder Sharing<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Screen Time<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019re using macOS Catalina, it includes a time management app that can help you keep your days on track and prevent you from spending too much time in productivity-stealing tasks, such as social media, games, music, or watching the news to see if you can go back to work now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many of us think of Screen Time as the modern version of the old Parental Controls that were used to monitor a child’s computer usage. And while Screen Time certainly fills that role, it can also be used to manage your own time when working at home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Screen
Screen Time can be used to set time limits for using apps; it can also enforce downtime to get you up and away from the computer for a bit.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In this WFH tip, we\u2019re going to show you how to use Screen Time to set schedules for task usage to ensure you don\u2019t spend too much time on one task, versus all the other ones you need to take care of.<\/p>\n\n\n\n