World Productivity Day is June 20th. Usually, we’d be gearing up to share tips and best practices on how to be your most productive self with Asana. But with the various challenges teams have experienced in 2020, our definition and expectations of productivity have changed. This year, instead of focusing on individual productivity, we want to help you center on connecting and collaborating with your team in order to be at your most effective—together.

Like many groups, my friends and I tend to bond through constant sarcasm and making fun of each other. So when a friend in our circle recently revealed to the group that he had secured a new job overseeing digital transformation in a financial organization, the news was met with some gentle teasing. This got me thinking – while ‘digital transformation’ has been in the collective psyche for some time, definition (and understanding) can vary greatly.

Showing appreciation for a team member’s hard work is one of the easiest ways to make them feel seen and valued. That’s why we’re excited to announce the launch of in-product Appreciations. Whether your team is distributed or slowly returning to the office, Appreciations can help you connect, celebrate wins, and bring a little joy to your workday—from anywhere.

Want to stay productive working from home? You’re not alone. Recent global events have only accelerated what we saw across several predictions and studies: that remote work and working from home would soon be a new normal for the majority of the labor force. However, because the shift to remote work was so sudden because of the rapid spread of COVID-19, many employers might not have been able to help their employees transition seamlessly for work from the office to work from home.

It’s odd – we’re always talking about the healthy work-life balance and know that working long hours can lead to stress, anxiety, and depression. Yet, we continue to dedicate more and more time to our jobs. In fact, research shows that 80% of workers answer emails and return phone calls after hours. For one, people believe long hours on the job to be proof of their work ethic.

The uncertainty fatigue is real. Those “how we’re handling COVID” emails from every business we’ve ever patronized have died down and many of us have settled into something resembling a routine, but most of us are still isolated from friends and family. We’re gearing up for a long summer of, yes, more uncertainty, with only the dim hope of an ambiguous return to “normal life” to cling to.

Remember that movie Groundhog Day? Where Bill Murray experiences the same day over and over and over and heartwarming hilarity ensues? Working from home can feel like a lot like that (minus the heartwarming hilarity). The hours meld together because there’s no natural divider to separate work time from personal time.