Emmy M Woo 
It’s official. The fourth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic is underway in Canada. The immediate shift towards a remote lifestyle made it more important than ever to maintain an organized routine under lockdown. Due to the Delta variant, the return of online classes and remote work may be closer than we think. Out of caution, here are a few useful tools to help get us through any upcoming potential lockdowns. From free project management to tracking email clicks, these tools will stretch beyond the everyday Zoom and Google Workspace.
*Micro Macro Magazine is not affiliated or endorsed by any of the tools listed below.
1. Todoist | Task Tracking
(iOS/Android/Desktop App/Gmail Extension)
- Main Function: easily create and manage to-do lists
- Features: motivate yourself to complete tasks with priority rankings, due dates, filters, subtasks and trend analytics
- Highlight: widget function is available on iOS for convenient access to view upcoming tasks on the home screen
2. Slack | Communication & Collaboration
(iOS/Android/Desktop App)
- Main Function: manage a team or just a few people through channels or DMs
- Features: enjoy the convenience of sending files, pinning messages, setting reminders, and immediate advanced search options
- Highlight: app integrations and add-ons that can customize Slack to your own business
3. Asana | Project Management
(iOS/Android/Desktop App)
- Main Function: easily manage large-scale projects and oversee progress
- Features: Allocate tasks to a team with deadlines, a calendar, notifications and reminders, activity feeds and the status of the task
- Highlight: visualize project management through multiple views: list, board, calendar view
4. Notion | Notes & Planning
(iOS/Android/Desktop App)
- Main Function: multi-purposeful and real-time organizer for a team
- Features: create meeting notes, tasks, journalling, kanban-boarding, habit tracking, project overviews, timelines, spreadsheets
- Highlight: Even with a free trial, users can create unlimited pages and content (images, tables, paragraphs)
5. MailTracker by hunter.io | Email Tracking
(Gmail Extension)
- Main Function: accurately track the statuses of emails
- Features: monitor the number of clicks and when the email was opened by the recipient
- Highlight: emails are never accessed or stored by the company to protect your privacy
With technology becoming increasingly essential in our daily lives, these tools will surely be of use. Whether you’re a marketing assistant or a student, having the right digital tools to ‘work smarter and not harder’ is crucial in today’s modern world.
