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Introduction
Over the last 7 or 8 months we’ve all been in various stages of lockdown due to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. This makes working together a bit hard when we can’t be close to one another for safety reasons. Social distancing and all.
After the initial shutdown, we are all looking for a somewhat normal life, whatever normal means in this pandemic world we are now living in. That return to normalcy brings up some interesting questions about how we can work together while apart.
Are we all supposed to put any collaboration-related projects we have on hold? Do we simply stay shut in our homes watching Netflix? How can we still get things done, but safely?
In this article you will learn how to effectively collaborate and plan projects big and small, while staying safe from COVID-19. Just because we have a new normal doesn’t mean we have to give up everything we used to love doing. We just have to learn how to do it differently.
Example 1: Make Interior Design Decisions without meeting in person
Typically when we start an interior design project we meet with the designer and go over exactly what we are looking to do and define the project parameters. The designer usually has books of fabric swatches, furniture samples and paint chips to look at, while inspecting the room to be redone.
Without being able to meet up with their interior designer, one of our users explained how they had managed to communicate, review ideas, renderings, samples, and still get the project completed on time.
With an eye towards staying safe, they met with the designer in person as few times as possible. So then how did they communicate, review ideas, renderings, samples, and still get the project completed on time?
Doculife allows many people to work together within a shared space called a binder. Each contributor is given the ability to upload, add, modify and comment on things through contributor roles.
Communicating about design options is a snap, as every object can have its own dedicated discussion. Each bookmark, image, video and more has its own discussion panel, so you and your designer can chat about anything and always be in sync with what’s happening.
Using the Doculife app, the designer was at the store taking pictures of pieces they thought would be a good fit with the new design. Whatever they uploaded appeared almost instantly in the shared binder, so our user, who is getting the interior design work done, could provide timely feedback as to whether they liked the piece or not. Now that’s staying productive and efficient… and safe.
Example 2: Plan a Surprise 50th Anniversary Party while miles apart
How do you plan a party for close to 40 guests when the planners all live hundreds of miles apart? With Doculife of course.
One of our staff member’s parents were going to be celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary in early 2021 and needed a way for her and all her family members to organize and plan the event while apart.
She needed to find a venue, catering, provide a map to the venue as well as invite all the guests. She also wanted the guests to contribute memories of her parents’ 50 years together by uploading photos and videos.
Using a shared binder, she was able to invite all the appropriate friends and relatives to give input via Doculife’s conversations. Everyone gets heard, can reply and have input, even though none of them are together.
What’s more, everyone can contribute photos and memories of their parent’s 50 years together in a shared album to display at the event. Each person has the ability to upload and reorder the album.
Doculife has many productivity tools called widgets that add helpful information to any binder such as albums, maps, routes, notes, checklists, reminders, milestones and many more. Anyone can add these or modify them to help complete the project.
Using the milestone widget everyone stays on the same page with planning progress as it relates to venue rental, catering and entertainment ideas, pricing and contracts. Additionally the checklist widget keeps tasks in the forefront with what’s done and what’s left to do.
We know the event will be a big success when it happens. Brothers and sisters working together in harmony. Her parents would be so proud!
Example 3: Remodel a Rental Property Kitchen without personally having to be there all the time.
Renovating a property when you can’t be there can be challenging. Another Doculife user from Florida told us how he wanted to remodel the kitchen of his rental property in California while it was empty. The problem was, he could not travel there due to COVID-19 restrictions.
Not wanting to delay the work, he decided Doculife was the best solution for collaborating while apart.
After settling on a contractor, they were invited as a contributor in Doculife. Using the built in conversation function, the contractor and property owner conversed back and forth without interrupting each other’s day or keeping each other on the phone.
The contractor was able to add his plans and estimate to Doculife, tagging the property owner in chat. 3000 miles away in Florida the property owner logged in to Doculife to see progress and make comments on anything the contractor has added.
The contractor used the free app to add appliance and material options to the binder while at the hardware store. The owner provided feedback in real-time keeping the project on schedule and under budget.
Every couple days the contractor uploaded a short progress video so the owner could see every detail of the work being performed. As the renovation passed inspections the contractor added those documents to the owner’s binder.
The remodeling binder on Doculife became invaluable to the owner and contractor, keeping communication flowing so both knew what the other was doing and thinking. Everyone stayed on the same page, with no unforeseen surprises. The multi-week project was completed without the owner ever having to step foot in his property to manage or approve the work.
Now that’s being efficient and productive from afar. Life goes on, and everyone stays safe, while completing thousands of dollars in renovation work, thanks to Doculife.
Example 4: Collaborate on a School Project without being in the same room
Students in junior high, high school or college often need to work together in teams to complete research projects and present a final, cohesive report.
Some friends of mine have a teenage daughter in her sophomore year in high school. She needed to complete a team project with a classmate and could not get together in person.
Doculife is tailor made for this, allowing students to collaborate in real time while doing research together, while apart. Students can look things up on the internet and save important things directly into their shared project binder using the Doculife browser extension for Chrome or Firefox.
In our video example, 2 students are researching the history of the Eiffel Tower. They are using the browser extension to save images and videos of the tower build process while using the rich format notes widget to write the final report, editing it together.
When complete, they invite their teacher to Doculife with read-only privileges to review and grade their work. The two students never had to be in the same room together to complete the media-rich team project.
Conclusion
With Doculife, life doesn’t have to grind to a halt during COVID-19. Using its built-in productivity tools and companion mobile app, anyone can plan and organize a project or event with other people and never have to be in the same room.
Doculife is the best solution for planning and collaborating during this COVID-19 pandemic. Don’t let this new normal hold you back from completing your hopes, dreams and ideas. Use Doculife at home or on the go. It fits however you need to work.
In this article we covered just a few of the use cases for collaborating with Doculife. There are hundreds more, only limited to your own imagination.
Use widgets, chat in real time, add your things, get stuff done – all free with Doculife. Get started safely collaborating today.
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