If you are working from home right now, you probably agree it takes some getting used to. My business The Laminated Cotton Shop has been based in my Melbourne home for the past 5 years. I wanted to share some of the work from home tools I use because they might be helpful for you.
1. Canva for editing anything
The online tool Canva is an all in one graphic design tool that edits pictures and so much more. I use Canva to edit everything from zoom backdrops to facebook stories. This graphic design software has functions that are useful to pretty much any industry.
Need a professional photo backdrop for those online meetings? Want a graphic for that report ? Need to make posts for social media? Want a template for a diagram ? Have to edit photos for clarity? All doable in Canva.
Canva is like the graphic design department for your home office. Its pretty intuitive and theres even a free plan. You can check out Canva Here.
2. Ebay
When you work from home you don’t have the space for a room full of spare stationary. If you are new to working at home during this lock down, you might only have the office supplies on hand you took from the last day at your actual real workplace.
I see Ebay as my own office supplies department when working from home. If i run out of anything it’s easy to hop online, compare brands and prices and order immediately. I get most of my stationary delivered straight to my door this way. Other useful work stuff on ebay include snack bags for your desk to stop those regular trips to the kitchen.
It helps that The Laminated Cotton Shop has its own Ebay Store. I’ve been using Ebay so long now I kinda can read between the lines on what listing is the best purchase decision for me. My biggest tip when shopping on Ebay is to check the feedback on the seller so you can see what other shoppers have to say about that store or product.
3. Podcasts
I find Podcasts handy for solving work dilemmas from home. Basically any industry topic you can think of very likely has been discussed by an expert on a podcast. Have a work issue you need some additional help on? Just google the expert on that topic and find their podcast . You can get new ideas to solve work problems by listening to someone who has been through similar issues already.
Working in Ecommerce I find I can get some really valuable insights from podcasts by consultants I could never actually afford. Sometimes a podcast by an expert can help you decide if you need to spend time or money fixing an issue at work or if there is an easy way to handle it yourself.
Apple Podcasts in my home office are a bit like a learning and development department . I actually got so interested in podcasts at I’ve guested on the Create and Thrive podcast about running The Laminated Cotton Shop (episode at this link)
So if you are working from home right now there are countless resources online to help you do whatever your work is. I think Canva, Ebay and Podcasts are really useful tools that have saved me time and money over the last few years and wanted to share these ideas in case they are useful for you..
Hope that helps! Stay home and stay safe cheers Jacinta