The ideal digital workspace should offer a combination of capabilities, such as communicating, sharing and task management, that enable you to get work done from any device and any location. Team chats and document sharing tools are an important part of a digital workspace. While workspaces are typically used in a group or team context, a personal workspace is a little bit different. It is a space of your own to organize your personal files, notes, and tasks.

Does such a place even exist? Yes! Check out our video below in which we show you how to build the ideal personal workspace using AirSend. 

How to Build Your Personal WorkSpace Using AirSend

The Works

In the video above we give the example of making a personal workspace for school. When it comes to school, one usually needs to know their schedule, assignments, future due dates, exams, and key points that their professor has said five times over the course of 50 minutes. AirSend gives you the capabilities to manage all that you need for classes in one place.

Another example can be having a creative workspace or even a work workspace. When meeting with your department, and your boss gives you some tasks to work on, AirSend can be your solution. You can now create action items on the spot, while also inputting notes to yourself as a reminder.

Further, if you are a fan of recording meetings, but do not like having to go through different applications to get the audio, you can now instantly upload your recording to AirSend. Instantly uploading your recording means that you now have one place to refer to your recording. In your own personal workspace.

How to Email Files to Your AirSend Channels

Share Images, Links, Videos, and Notes Across your Devices

Think of AirSend as a multitool. Multitools are the tools that do it all. AirSend gives you all that you need to make your personal workspace convenient, efficient, and effective.

With having a built-in actions list, you now have the ability to keep track of all your to-do’s. Having your own customizable notebook (wiki), also allows you to make mental notes to yourself, so you do not forget it.

Best of all, you can access AirSend across various platforms, such as desktop/mobile apps, browsers, and email. Similar to Opera Flow, AirSend allows you to share and keep links, images, videos, and notes across your computers and mobile phones. Think of it as a seamless connection between your phone and your personal computer. With seamless sharing, AirSend allows you to take your workspace-on-the-go.

Today, technology continuously evolves. The way we work, communicate, and interact will also continue to evolve. With this in mind, there should be an emphasis on workflow productivity. The questions we must ask ourselves is how or what can we do to further integrate technology into the way we work, communicate, and interact?

The answer: a digital workspace. AirSend, offers the ideal workspace that helps with personal or team organization.

AirSend is a versatile digital workspace to share files, send messages, and complete tasks. See how AirSend can help you.

Email is the John Wick of communication tools. No matter how many new apps—chat, forums, Slack, IM, Microsoft Teams—come along to kill it, email always survives. In fact, email use in the office went up in 2019, as workers spent more than three hours a day inside their inboxes.

Email persists despite having the worst qualities for office collaboration. It’s closed, meaning new team members don’t see old email discussions, and it’s ephemeral. Think about it: How many times a day do you search your inbox? Those conversations get lost in the stream of daily communications just as easily as a hallway conversation. Ninety-nine percent of the information there won’t be useful unless you track it somewhere else.

Given that email is a waste of time and doesn’t work well as a collaborative medium, it makes sense to add other tools into the company repertoire. There’s no one-size-fits-all solution. Your mix of tools will vary based on factors like the size of your team, the demands of your industry and whether your organization is mostly local or remote.

Communication vs. Knowledge-Sharing

But there are approaches you can take to determine the right tools for your business. First, you should recognize that there’s a significant difference in communication software and knowledge-sharing software. Just as using a screwdriver as a hammer is a recipe for a trip to the ER, using email to manage a project is equally doomed to fail.

It’s almost impossible to track tasks and to-do lists in an email string and just as hard to figure out when items should begin and end. Email is also a distracting medium, so if you’re focusing on managing a project, you’ll inevitably be distracted by the pinging of your inbox.

Synchronous vs. Asynchronous

It’s also vital that everyone has the same expectations on how these tools work. For communications, there’s synchronous and asynchronous. A conversation (or even an online chat) is synchronous and calls for real-time responses. Emails and discussion forums are asynchronous and don’t require immediate answers.

Tackling synchronous work with email results in missed communications. You’re responding while the other person is reading or responding, and messages pass each other like ships in the night.

Don’t Dismiss Maintenance

When it comes to knowledge-sharing products like wikis, file repositories or project management software, maintenance is everything. Without a vigilant organizing hand, information can overwhelm the best of these tools. And beyond a certain point, finding relevant information becomes a bigger drain than the effort to organize it. Just as there can be too little written information, there also can be too much information. Both are dysfunctional for companies.

As good as email search tools are, they’re never quite up to the task of finding specific pieces of information in a sea of documents. There’s a small chance you’ll recall the correct phrase that leads to the nugget of data you had in mind, but it’s more likely that you’ll turn up a pile of unnecessary messages.

Everyone Must Join In

Finally, these tools only work when everyone on the team uses them. It’s also critical that colleagues understand when to use each piece of software. It doesn’t happen automatically; it has to be intentional.

If you don’t get everyone on board with your new tools, they’ll default back to their trusted email system, and your original problems won’t be solved.

There’s going to be some trial and error before you find your right match. Don’t try to force-fit tools into your business. Find what works for your style and use it.

As a side note, here are the tools we use every day: AirSend for chat/file sharing, Zoom for audio/video calls, Bookstack for wikis, Discourse for discussion forums, Trello for task management and YouTrack for bug tracking.

The latest additions of some much requested features to AirSend.
The latest additions of some much requested features to AirSend.

Despite the global Coronavirus outbreak and stock market crash, the past few weeks at AirSend have been fast-paced and productive. We hope you’re staying safe and are excited to share with you the addition of some much requested features to AirSend.

Ability to Export Channels

Whether you work in an industry that requires records of transactions to be kept for a certain amount of time, or you just like having multiple copies of your data, you can now easily export any channel in AirSend as a compacted file.

Clicking the export button in a channel that you own automatically downloads all of your channel’s messages, files, and Wiki notes so that so you can keep extra copies of your data on your computer or external hard drive for safekeeping.

Ability to Copy Channels

Do your client transactions require a standard set of paperwork? If you’re tired of emailing the same documents to each new client, just create an AirSend channel with the necessary documents and duplicate that channel for each transaction.

Clicking the duplicate channel button creates an exact replica of the channel with all of its files and Wiki notes.

Ability to Email Messages and Files to Channels

Last but not least, you can now send messages and files to a channel through email by emailing the unique channel email address found in channel settings.

What’s Next?

We’re excited about the progress we’ve made, but our journey is far from over. Stay tuned for our next update where we will reveal more improvements.

Also, if you have anything you’d like to share about your AirSend experience so far, please fill out this quick survey to help us make AirSend even better for you.

Remote working tips from a remote team that will help you and your organization continue to be productive while working from home.
Remote working tips from a remote team that will help you and your organization continue to be productive while working from home.

2020 has been a year defined by the Coronavirus outbreak.  With hundreds of thousands of cases worldwide, and over 3000 reported deaths, nothing has shaped the way we are living more than this epidemic. 

Much like the flu, COVID-19 is spread through human-to-human contact through respiratory droplets, most commonly transmitted through coughing.  Prevention methods such as using hand sanitizer and frequent hand washing help limit you and your team’s chances of getting the Coronavirus, but many businesses are also implementing remote working strategies to protect their employees in the midst of uncertainty about the disease.

You may be asked to work from home rather than spend time in an office where the Coronavirus is potentially spreading since an increasing numbers of countries are implementing quarantines and other lockdown measures. But how do you do so comfortably and productively?

A remote-first company, the AirSend team has members on every continent in addition to its Austin headquarters. In fact, AirSend itself was created by condensing our hands-on remote work experience into an all-in-one remote work tool. Here are some remote working tips from a remote team that will help you and your organization continue to be productive while working from home.

Tip #1: Have Core Working Hours

Source: unDraw

One of the benefits of remote working is that it allows you and your team to set your own hours. Everyone is different. Some are most productive in the morning while others do their best work in the evening – and that’s great. But balance must be achieved in order to keep things moving.

Establishing a window in which employees are required to be at their screens and ready to communicate, either by phone, screen-sharing, or video conferencing, will help promote teamwork and workplace structure. Core working hours cut down on time spent waiting for email replies or for someone to get back to a computer to verify something while maintaining some of the flexibility that would be less available in an in-office environment.

Tip #2: Promote Discipline

Source: unDraw

While the office is a space designed for working, you and your team’s homes may be somewhat less so. Leaving an office environment to work at home can invite all sorts of distractions if you and your team aren’t accustomed to it. Here’s a short checklist to implement to promote discipline while working remotely:

  • Set reasonable wake up hours and regiment your day
  • Have an appropriate workstation where you can work without sinking into the couch
  • Schedule your breaks so that you don’t end up taking too many breaks or breaks that are too long

In addition to encouraging your team to follow the tips above, you should also provide them with the equipment they need to set up a comfortable home office. This includes items like desks, chairs, computers, headphones, cameras, and helpful software such as a digital workspace.

Tip #3: Encourage Team Spirit

Source: unDraw

Employee morale is important, especially when a team is working remotely. By having team members regularly socialize like they would in an office environment, people working remotely will have a more positive outlook on their work and will be more productive. 

Organize weekly or bi-weekly functions through video conferencing where team members can let off some steam and talk casually with each other, and validate hard work though awards and incentives.  Acknowledging effort can be difficult if you aren’t face-to-face with someone, so find time to show recognition through video conferencing events.

Tip #4: Track Team Progress With Clearly Communicated Goals

Source: unDraw

As mentioned before, when team members are left to their own devices, work can stagnate as a result of distraction and lack of structure.  Having consistent contact with your team through weekly briefings where goals and duties are assigned and deadlines are set can help.

You can also use team management apps with progress tracking, such as AirSend. AirSend lets you assign work to different members of a team with deadlines and reminders. This keeps everyone on track even without in-person meetings.

As a remote-first team, we use AirSend and OKRs to keep everyone moving in the right direction. OKR stands for “Objectives and Key Results,” and setting and communicating OKRs can help your team stay motivated and on track.

Tip #5: Hire the Right People

Source: unDraw

At the end of the day, the strength of your team boils down to the ability of each individual team member to work remotely with minimal supervision. This is why it is doubly important to hire motivated self-starters when facing a remote working situation.

Some people are naturally good at this or have prior experience, while others need to be trained. Since a newly implemented, experimental working environment is not the easiest place to train employees, be sure to hire people with past experience and success with remote working if you need to hire now.

Staying Safe During the Coronavirus Outbreak

In the midst of the Coronavirus outbreak, remote working may be the best option to minimize transmission. However, when we allow ourselves and our employees to work at home, some level of structure and office culture must be sustained to keep everyone at the top of their game. Using these tips, you should be better prepared to organize your workforce accordingly and help minimize the spread of COVID-19.

John discusses his journey to becoming a guide for those dealing with divorce and single parenthood.
John discusses his journey to becoming a guide for those dealing with divorce and single parenthood.

We recently had the opportunity to talk to John, a personal coach, writer, and founder of the website WholeParenting.Org. During the interview, John discussed his journey to becoming a guide for those dealing with divorce and single parenthood. He also shared his vision for the future and some personal coaching resources he finds helpful.

Here’s a transcript of our conversation (edited for clarity):

ME: Can you tell me a little bit about you and what you do?

JOHN: I am a a blogger with a number of books out that all have to do with being a single parent. And that’s the focus of my coaching as well. A lot of it is relationship-based, too. I’ve had the blog for nine years. It was syndicated on the Huffington post for a while, and it gets around 15,000 views a week.

I’m also in the process of completing an online community that will back the blog and putting a membership site together.

ME: How did you get started with that?

JOHN: My first blog, I started when my wife asked for divorce. It was as much a cathartic place for me as anything else. Whereas the new one, my intention was 100% positive, kid friendly, and mom friendly. It was a different voice and actually transformed my relationship at the time. As I started writing, it started changing my life. I began to realize my responses are 100% up to me, and the more I can put them in the positive column, the more I’m bringing in positivity. It sort of changed my life just to launch it and to write always trying to put the positive spin on stuff that wasn’t always positive.

So anyway, that’s kind of where I’ve come from. I also do digital marketing as a career, but I’ve been in the pivot mode towards the coaching as my sole income for about two years.

ME: What are some of your goals with coaching?

JOHN: I give a free 30 minute coaching call to anybody that wants it, and I get around one to five introductory calls a week right now. I’d like to get five calls a day instead of a week so that I can start looking at different models of coaching. Like group coaching, speaking engagements.

ME: What are some people or websites you follow to keep up with your industry?

JOHN: I’m a big fan of Brené Brown. I’ve written a ton on my blog about braving, and it’s one of the key fundamental skills I use in coaching people in relationships. It’s powerful stuff. The Good Men Project, of course, and various channels in Medium. Each day I get a summary of the top three or four articles in different topics. I kind of keep myself away from the coaching stuff because that’s just not my thing. I’m much more organic. If you read my books or you read my blog, you’ll know I want authenticity and human connection and let’s start there and see where it takes us.

ME: Thank you for sharing! I think what you do is really great and necessary for a lot of people.

JOHN: Yeah, I get so jazzed knowing that this is what I’m supposed to be doing. I get so much joy even with these 30 minute calls. I’m like – I’m honored to be talking to you and I’m sorry you’re going through a tough time, but I can give you hope. That’s all I do. I bring hope to the picture.

If you want to learn more about John and what he does, you can visit his website here: https://wholeparentbook.com/

AirSend is a versatile digital workspace for professionals to share files, send messages, and complete tasks. See how AirSend can help you as your business grows here.

The ideal digital workspace should offer a combination of capabilities, such as communicating, sharing, task and business management, that enables you to get work done from any device and any location. Team chats and communication tools are an important part of a great digital workspace. Some would often say that without collaboration or a place for productive flow, digital workspaces cannot be created.

In essence, digital workspace gives you the capabilities to do everything from one platform. In this blog post, we are going to explain the best three digital workspaces that carry the best capabilities of team chats and productivity.

AirSend

AirSend is designed to make your life easier. We give you the capabilities that other platforms cannot give you in one digital workspace.

With AirSend our priorities are to keep everything in one place, work without distractions, build a personal workspace, find everything with a click of a button, and most importantly, keep everyone in the loop. With our attributes, we replace Microsoft Teams, GDrive, Todoist, and Trello all together. 

Furthermore, our user interface carries a sleek and simplistic design.  This allows users to view all features needed for a channel, such as task tracking. This makes it easier for client-to-client relationships and team groups to be in the loop.

Finally, we also have built-in audio/video calling. Having a built-in calling function makes having a digital workspace incredibly useful. However, AirSend is still in its beta stages. Because AirSend is still in development, there will be consistent updates and added features to the product.

We use AirSend as our digital workspace for our marketing team. Even though AirSend is our product, we sincerely believe that AirSend can help your team too. Though we like to think we are the best, we also take the time to acknowledge our formidable innovators who also deliver. 

Slack

Slack logo

Slack carries many promising qualities. Built as a communication tool it offers a variety of options, such as public or private channels, and threads.

They also carry audio and video calls. Slack is also free, however, there are some restrictions. P.s. with AirSend we don’t offer restrictions. With Slack, there is a limited storage space of 5GB. The paid version of Slack is $6.67 per month and $12.50 per month for the Standard and Premium versions, respectively.

Slack also carries powerful search capabilities, however, in the free version, it limits to a search of 10,000 messages.

Slack also carries a complex user interface, which sometimes can be seen as time-consuming when switching from channel to channel.

Finally, the selling point for Slack is their integrations. Slack can integrate over 1,500 other apps and platforms. The downside, however, is that with most app integrations you need to have a separate account.

For those who enjoy integrating personal drives, ticket systems, task trackers, etc, Slack is great. You have the option to connect any accounts for easier usage. However, with AirSend we do not require you to connect personal file storage or other accounts. We provide it to you. 

Discord

Discord Community page

Discord is a great platform that enables all-in-one voice and text chat. Originally marketed for gamers, Discord has been increasing its reach to other fields, such as podcasts, therapy groups, and YouTubers. They also carry a lot of open source development such as Manifold, FastGlobal, and Deque to name a few.

The selling point of Discord is that they give you full control over your server. The way it works is that you first build a server and from there you build specific channels.

Discord main channel view

Discord also allows you to create permissions for personal channels, make bots, create roles (mods short for moderator) which are given to people to have certain access over others. In summation, Discord is a great platform to create communities, have control over what should be allowed, assign roles, create bots, and have a personal workspace.

However, with the extremely complicated user interface, maneuvering through discord can be difficult, especially for those who are not tech-savvy. Furthermore, Discord’s communities are a great feature, but with hundreds of members streamlining messages, it can be hard for one to feel a part of the community.

If joining a large community is what you are looking for, Discord is great for you! Discord is also great if you are hosting games, or want to co-op with a friend. However, we do not think Discord is made for everyone.

Like the Matryoshka doll, Discord and Slack create several barriers to get to your workspace. If you are starting from place A, you must go to B, before getting to C. Clients must go through other channels, servers, and workspaces before getting to their own.

AirSend removes abstractions of workspaces and servers by eliminating the barriers. If you are starting from point A, you now can go to point C without having the confusion of context switching. With AirSend you can have client-to-client or B2B relationships within one space.

Furthermore, AirSend is on its way to bringing public channels and invite links.

Summation

As you can see, each platform carries its pros and cons. It is all a matter of what you feel would be the perfect digital workspace for you.

Does having an all-in-one platform where you can have the ability to upload and organize files, assign actions, and have a built-in notebook sound like your type of speed?

Or does having a platform where you have to create a plethora of other accounts, only to integrate it with one platform sound like the perfect fit for you?

Perhaps even a platform where you can build your own server through a very organized and complex design sound inviting?

Whatever the case may be, choose the digital workspace that will best suit your needs and productivity. 

AirSend helps team chats and professionals create a versatile digital workspace that gives the capabilities to share files, send messages, and complete tasks. See how AirSend can help you.