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10 Best Free Tools to Ease Your Work Life in 2024

As coined by Allen F. Morgenstern “work smarter not harder”, you can easily make your work life very enjoyable with simple tweaks and tricks. In this short article, I will teach you how to use free simple tools that will save you time and make you more efficient. Although there are hundreds of paid tools on the web, through my decade of work experience, the 10 free tools that I am currently using outweigh the paid tools and serve the same purposes.

After learning how to use these tools, like me, you can also be a pro with them for carrying out any day-to-day tasks efficiently. 

1.     ChatGPT

Using ChatGPT is a valuable and user-friendly tool for generating text-based responses, brainstorming ideas, and enhancing productivity. Whether for personal use or team collaboration, ChatGPT can assist with a wide range of tasks, from drafting emails to answering questions and providing insights. Here’s how to get started with ChatGPT:

  1. Visit the ChatGPT Website: Go to the ChatGPT website.

  2. Create an Account: If you already have an OpenAI account, sign in. If not, follow the prompts to create a new account.

  3. Start Using ChatGPT: Once signed in, you can begin interacting with ChatGPT to generate responses or assistance for your queries.

          ChatGPT Mobile and Desktop Access

  • Mobile App: Download the ChatGPT app for iOS from the App Store or for Android from Google Play.

  • Desktop Access: Use ChatGPT directly in your browser by visiting the ChatGPT website, or download the desktop application if available.

With ChatGPT, you can streamline your tasks and enhance your creativity effortlessly!

2.     Snipping Tool

The snipping tool which comes inbuilt with Windows PC operating system is handy and easy to use. Whenever you find any exciting paragraphs or images on the web or documents, using this tool you can quickly make selections, copy them on the clipboard and paste them on your MS Word document or any note documents.

To make easy use of it, search for the snipping tool in the Window search bar. When you see the snipping tool icon, right-click to place it on your Windows taskbar. To use it, click on the snipping icon on the Windows taskbar and click on the “New” button in the top-left corner. Then, select the area of interest, and copy or edit or save it.

3.     WordWeb Dictionary

The WordWeb is a full dictionary and thesaurus for British, American, Australian, Canadian, and global English. It is just one click to install it on your Windows PC. Once installed on your PC, you can find its icon on the taskbar of your PC. If you can’t find it on the Windows taskbar, look for it using the Windows search facility. It has the following benefits whenever you are reading, writing, or emailing:

  • One click to lookup for words.
  • Thousands of definitions and synonyms.
  • The latest international English words.
  • Works offline, or references to Wikipedia and web references.

4.     Google Calendar

Using Google Calendar is very helpful and easy as it can quickly schedule meetings and events, and can also remind people about upcoming activities for what to do next. Google Calendar is particularly designed for teams, as multiple events can be created and shared with other team members. To navigate to Google Calendar:

  • Type Google Calendar on your internet browser.
  • If you already have a Google Account, sign in. If you don’t have an Account yet, create an account.
  • Once you have signed in, you’ll be taken to Google Calendar.

5.     Grammarly

Install the free Grammarly browser extension for Chrome, Safari, Firefox, and Edge browser to help check for grammar errors online.

6.     CCleaner

CCleaner is the most widely used Windows PC cleaning App. The free version of CCleaner can be installed on your PC with one click. It cleans and removes unnecessary files such as cookies, browser caches, temporary files, etc. from your PC, thereby optimizing the performance of your PC and freeing up disk spaces.

7.     Google Drive

Google Drive is a free cloud-based storage device that allows users to store and access documents, photos, and other electronic files online using mobile phones, tablets, and PCs. It allows up to 15 GB of free storage shared across Google Drive, Gmail, and Google Photos.

To get started with Google Drive, the first and foremost thing you need is a Google account. Once you have your Google account, you can access Google Drive from drive.google.com. You can either upload your file into your Google Drive by dragging the file or folder from your desktop and dropping it into the browser window or by clicking on the “New” button on the top-left corner of the Google Drive screen and selecting either “File upload” or “Folder upload”.

8.     Google Meet

Google Meet is a web conferencing tool that allows users to schedule or join instant meetings from a computer, phone, or conference room. It is user-friendly as anyone with a Google Account can initiate a video meeting, invite up to 100 participants, and meet for up to 60 minutes per meeting at no cost. Using Google Meet you can start an instant meeting or schedule meetings in the future.

Go to Google Meet. To start an instant Google Meet meeting click on “New meeting” and select “Start an instant meeting”. Once you are on the Google Meet screen, you can start adding people using their Google Accounts and sending invitations to them. You can also schedule a meeting by going to Google Meet, clicking on “New meeting” and selecting “Create meeting for later”. A meeting link will be generated which can be copied to share with other participants.

9.     Microsoft Word to PDF Converter

MS Office has an inbuilt feature where anyone can now save the MS Word file to pdf (portable document format). To convert, just go to “File” in the upper left corner of your MS Word document, navigate and click on the “Save As” button. Select the location on your PC to save the document. When the “Save As” window appears, provide the appropriate name of the document, and from the “Save as type” dropdown menu select “PDF”.

10. Desktop WhatsApp

WhatsApp provides a simple online platform for communicating with friends and family when there’s a distance between you and them. The App not only works on cell phones but it can also now be installed on your Windows PC and synced with it. WhatsApp offline installer supports Windows 11, 10, 8, and 7. With Desktop WhatsApp, you can easily download messages and multimedia files on your PC for making use of them as you wish. In order to sync your Desktop WhatsApp with your cell phone, WhatsApp must be first installed on your cell phone to use it.