Showing posts with label productivity. Show all posts
Showing posts with label productivity. Show all posts

January 22, 2015

5 Graphic Design Resolutions You Can Make This Year

 
With the first month of 2015 already mostly behind us, you may have already filled your resolution list with more than enough ambitions for the coming year. But if you don’t have any design related goals, consider crossing out “eat more kale” and add one or two resolutions that nourish your creative self instead. Here are a few ideas:

1. Step up your technical skills.


We all know how elusive getting into that perfect creative flow can be, so don’t let technical skills or messy organization get in your way. Here are some small things that can have a big impact on your efficiency:
  • Be diligent about creating character and paragraph styles for long documents

  • Know and use keyboard shortcuts and hotkeys (shameless self-promotion: my hotkey reference posters can help with this one!)
  • Try some new productivity or organization tools

  • Develop a good file organization system (something I have to work on, any suggestions?)



2. Read a design book.


 Reading more is perpetually on my resolution list. No matter what the subject, I feel much more focused and aware in other areas of my life when I make reading a habit. Resolve to absorb some new information about designers and their process, new work that you won’t find circulating on the internet, or some practical information like freelance finances and logistics. Here are some design books that I’ve found interesting and helpful:


3. Learn something new, design-related or not.


 There are 100 ways to do the same thing when it comes to graphic design, and it’s extremely interesting to learn different designers’ processes. I’ve had a Skillshare membership for half a year now, and it’s certainly worth the cost. There is a huge variety of design and illustration related classes on there, as well as critical / creative thinking, marketing and other related fields. Here are a few of my favorites that I’ve taken so far:


4. Refresh your personal brand or business cards.


It can be difficult to prioritize designing for yourself when you have so many other things on your to-do list (like eating or not eating kale.) But if you’ve been meaning to freshen up your personal branding or business cards, it may help to make it a resolution for yourself this year. Whether you’re actively looking for a job or not, it’s great to have business cards or a website that you’re proud to share whenever you meet a potential client, collaborator or even just a friend. 

5. Start a rewarding personal project or endeavor.


No matter how much else you may have going on, it’s important to make time for projects that you truly feel personally and emotionally invested in. When your heart is in your work, it’s easier to put in extra time and energy, push your creative limits, and create work that truly connects and resonates with people. Also, you should be having at least a little bit of fun! I’ve found that techniques or styles I experiment with in personal projects end up being useful in my professional work as well. As Maya Angelou said, “You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have.”

CLICK TO TWEET


What other design related goals do you have for this year?
Let’s hear about them in the comments! 

35 responses , join in!

September 4, 2013

designer productivity - 5 tools for getting things done

 

I won't hesitate to admit it, I am a productivity junky. GTD (Getting Things Done) blogs, life hacks, time-management tips: I can't get enough of them in my quest to do as much as humanly possible with each and every day. 

A recurring theme in productivity advice is the idea of creating a "catch-all" for tasks and responsibilities - a central location that makes it easy to keep track of everything you need and hope to accomplish. It's important to keep in mind, your tools are only as good as your discipline in utilizing them; it's much less effective to use various methods or to keep track of some tasks mentally while externalizing others. 

For me, this tactic of transcribing every task - from replacing a lightbulb to accomplishing a life goal - has been instrumental in suppressing the scatterbrained artist in me and her penchant for perpetually forgetting to buy more coffee creamer. I've used various methods over the years that have served me well, from ball-point pen on found construction paper to iPhone apps bought at the price of a small pizza. Here are my top 5 favorite tools I've found in my search for the perfect way to get things done:


5. Workflowy



Workflowy is a simple, free, in-browser list that doesn't distract with any superfluous graphics, animations or bells and whistles. Hierarchy is an important factor in to-do lists, so the cascading lists and bullets make it easy to organize tasks into categories. You have the ability to sign in on any computer and access your list from anywhere, including a mobile browser. (And most importantly, you still have the satisfaction of crossing things off with a strikethrough when they're completed.)


4. 2 Do

image courtesy of 2DoApp.com

2 Do has no shortage of features – which in my opinion makes it worth the $9.99 it'll set you back in the app store (believe it or not). In contrast to Workflowy, 2 Do has everything and the kitchen sink - great textures and graphics, various tabs for different lists, the ability to set alarms, as well as setting recurring tasks. You can add notes, record audio, attach phone numbers to call, or even set it up to alert you when you're geographically close to a task. Imagine having a reminder alarm go off near the pharmacy if you have to pick up a prescription!


3. Google Drive



At one point I wanted to get back to basics, and found that setting up columned lists in a Google Doc for the bigger picture things (like plans for the year, or for a specific event/project) seemed to be more conducive to staying on top of all my tasks. While it's no longer my way of capturing day-to-day responsibilities, I still like to keep longer term lists this way - such as christmas gift ideas or New Years resolutions.


2. Trello



Trello is my current weapon of choice when it comes to my to-do lists. It's intended to be more of a collaborative project management system, but I've found it to be a useful productivity tool for one as well. You can create a number of different lists that are displayed on a single page or board, so all projects and errands are visible at the same time. You can also add comments, links, images and checklists that show the percentage completed as you check things off. It's free, and both an in-browser and an iPhone app, so it's easily accessible whenever inspiration strikes you.


1. Google Calendar




Google Calendar is more central to my ability to function than I probably should admit. I use it to organize every part of my life - planning my workout schedule, organizing daily tasks and reminders, carving out time for working on design projects, keeping track of social events - if I'm spending time doing it, it's in my calendar. Google Calendar's simplicity makes it one of the best tools out there, and still has the important features of different color-coded calendars, creating recurring events (like grocery shopping every 2 weeks), and a checklist to add time sensitive tasks to specific days. If you're an iPhone user, I've found that Calendars + is the best app to use your calendar with - it's the most simple and visually close to Google's calendar that I've tested.

I am constantly looking for more ways to fit more productivity into my life - do you have any favorite apps, methods or websites? Share them in the comments!

39 responses , join in!

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