Available on Android, iOS, Mac OS and Windows

Google’s G Suite, which comprises Gmail, Google Drive, Docs, Hangouts, Calendar and other services, is probably the easiest way to work from home while still staying in contact with your colleagues.

The suite allows you to create documents, spreadsheets and presentations. Your colleagues can hop in any time to continue working on these documents.

You can store the working files online in Google Drive and search for what you need almost instantly.

Calendar allows everyone to see everybody’s schedule without having to call or message one another, while Hangouts allows everyone to stay in contact with one another.

Available on Android, iOS, Mac OS and Windows

Available on Android, iOS, Mac OS, Windows and Web

When it comes to managing a project with a distributed team, Trello is a popular tool that has been used by notable organisations, including Kickstarter and Unicef.

Trello revolves around boards, columns and cards. Each project is represented by a board, which can be filled with columns for upcoming, ongoing and completed tasks.

These columns are filled with cards – each representing a task – that can be edited, colour-tagged and moved from one column to another. Team leaders can assign a card to a member with a deadline. In short, Trello is easy to learn.

Its basic features are free to use, though with restrictions such as a 10MB attachment limit.

Available on Android, iOS, Mac OS, Windows, Web and Linux

Tracking the hours spent on a project is essential for businesses that bill their clients based on time. It can also improve productivity by highlighting tasks in which team members are spending too much time on.

Toggl is a time-tracking tool that supports a wide range of platforms. It syncs across all platforms so you can start a timer on a smartphone and stop it on a computer. Idle detection ensures accuracy even if a user forgets to stop the timer.

The app is also integrated with popular collaborative tools such as Asana, Basecamp and Google Calendar, making it easy to assign and track the time for projects.

Best of all, most of its key features are available for free. Firms with larger teams may find it worthwhile to opt for the paid version, which adds more functions, such as generating reports and including an unlimited number of members.

Available on Android, iOS, Mac OS and Windows

For those who need to make group video calls, Zoom is a good platform to consider. Once you have installed the app or its extension on your devices, you can have a free group video call for three or more people, but for no longer than 40 minutes. It supports high-definition video and voice with full screen and gallery view.

Participants of a conference call can even share their screens simultaneously as well as schedule meetings directly from Google Calendar.

You can also record video calls in video (MP4), audio (MP3) or text (txt) format to keep as reference.

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Available for free as a Google Chrome extension, or as a paid app on iOS and Android

Stay focused on the task at hand with this background noise and colour generator. It works to drown out annoying sounds like traffic outside or people chatting to help you concentrate better (might not work for loud drilling noises from your upstairs neighbour’s home reno though).

On the flip side, if it’s too quiet, it acts as background noise filler to create a more pleasant experience and motivate you to concentrate.

You can mix and match different types of sounds, from nature sounds like rain or a running stream of water, to white noise or even sounds from a coffee shop, to create the perfect ambience for your needs.

Available on iOS, Android and as a Chrome extension

Another popular task-managing app is Asana, which has both mobile and web versions so you can work seamlessly on-the-go. You can keep track of tasks in to-do lists, collaborate on documents with your team, and even comment on tasks or reply teammates directly.

What’s more, you can choose to take certain actions offline (in the case of spotty Wi-Fi, or no data situations, for instance). The app automatically syncs the updates when you come back online.

The free version lets you add tasks, projects, teams, files and share with up to 15 people.

Available only on iOS, macOS and Apple Watch.

Need to take notes or minutes, or somewhere to pen down your ideas? Allegory offers a clean, minimalistic interface that reduces distractions, making it extremely easy to use.

Organise your notes with filters, set due dates and add bookmarks, and even insert drawings and images when ideas strike. You can also pull up notes in seconds with the quick search function.

The app even allows you to scan documents and text to convert it to notes, as well as add images within the note itself to provide greater context. It supports many export options including TXT, MD, HTML and PDF, as well as image and plain text options.

Text: Trevor Tan and Vincent Chang/The Straits Times, Additional reporting: Elizabeth Liew