1. Plan Your Time

To stay productive, planning is essential, and to plan properly, you need lists. Too many lists will drive you crazy, as will writing them on the nearest napkin, so streamline your planning with an app like Remember the Milk.

Keep three lists:

• A ‘to do’ list – This is where you put tasks you must do—tasks like commitments and obligations, basically things that have to be done now. It’s possible to subcategorize this list into timeframes (today, this week, this month etc.) but no further than that.
• A ‘watch’ list – This is like a reminder list; for example, track items you’re waiting for a reply on, or need to follow up on.
• A ‘later’ list – More like a wish list, this is where everything else goes, such as things you would do if you had the time.

Everything will go onto one of these lists, and looking at your workload like this should help you prioritize.

Keep your lists in one place. Apps such as Evernote (that sync across all your devices) are great places for keeping to do lists, as well as whatever other inspiration you stumble across throughout the day. Which leads nicely onto the next tip…

2. Beware of Procrastination

We’re only human. Procrastination is inevitable, but it’s often a result of poor planning. By putting measures in place to combat procrastination, your productivity will increase:

• Avoid distraction. Have a designated working area where you know you can work well. Even when working at home, treat your day like a day at the office. Have set working hours, plan breaks and let friends and family know you’re working and unable to take calls or visits. There are even apps (like SelfControl) available to block websites that may distract you from getting things done.
• Don’t let email ruin your focus. Check your email twice during your working day, once in the morning, and once at the end. Allocate as long as it takes to deal with your correspondence, and then close your email and turn notifications off. Sounds scary, but it works.
• Try structured procrastination. It is difficult to fight distraction. So plan your procrastination. If, in avoiding doing something that has to be done right now, you do something that should be done a little later, you are still managing to constructively use your time.

3. Use the Cloud (and any apps that will save you time)

Saving your files to the cloud will in turn save you time. No matter where you are, or what device you’re using, by utilizing the cloud you will always be working on the most up-to-date version of whatever you’re doing. You can even use it to work collaboratively.

• Get Dropbox and learn to use it. There’s far more to it than just syncing your files, and making the most of it can help you boost your efficiency.
• Use apps to do the things you hate, so that you can do the things you love. No one likes keeping track of finances and invoicing, so why make life harder? Cloud tools like Xero are invaluable for streamlining the little fiddly little things (like invoicing) that seem to waste hours of your valuable time.

4. Look After Yourself

This is a productivity tip that we’re all guilty of forgetting. You cannot work productively if you’re running on empty. Business greats like Sir Richard Branson advocate working out, getting enough sleep, eating properly and taking time for yourself to help keep you at the top of your game. Do not take on more work than you can do, and don’t waste time trying to be perfect.

If, after you’ve tried all of these tips you’re still not living up to your productivity potential, then read Simply Business’ productivity guide for even more tips on increasing your efficiency. Or read Brit journalist Charlie Brooker’s thoughts on productivity apps, so you can at least laugh at yourself during the self-improvement process.

All stock photos via Shutterstock

1. Dropbox

The most elementary aspect of the cloud is storage and sharing. For that function, look to Dropbox, a popular application with a simple, intuitive interface that easily allows you to store, sort, and share all your files. Free membership is available with limited space, although you can earn more by referring friends.

2. Basecamp

This project management software is the destination for designers who are working within a larger team. You can schedule events, assign projects and due dates, add comments, and start discussions. Easily navigable and trackable, Basecamp enables large groups to stay on track with unwieldy projects.

3. MarQueed

For designers who are interacting with clients as well as with their own team, it’s important to get clear communication. It isn’t always possible to meet face-to-face, so this is where MarQueed comes in; images can be marked up and discussed simply and quickly for agreed-upon decision-making.

4. GitHub

With group projects that involve front and back-end coding, GitHub is the best solution for hosting and sharing code. All files are maintained and updated in a single repository, from which you can access a file’s revision history; an essential feature that greatly streamlines the tiresome process of coordinating functionality between the different realms of designers and web developers.

5. Typetester

This simple tool lets you test up to three typefaces against each other; a perfect aid in selecting the right combinations of typefaces. With Typetester, you can the size, alignment, leading, tracking, color and more, and then just scroll down to see blocks of lorem ipsum in every weight, as well as in uppercase or lowercase.

6. Kuler

After you’ve decided on the right set of typefaces, you might need help selecting a great color palette. Look no further than Adobe Kuler, which hosts an endless number of palettes generated by other designers. You can also make your own, or simply search through them by keyword or theme. Accessible through any Adobe program, it’s

7. Gridfox

This Firefox extension sets up a transparent grid overlay on any web page opened in the browser. With Gridfox, you can edit the grid to suit your needs, making it a great tool for both site development and for checking up on your own grid-based site designs.

8. CSSDesk

A helpful tool that allows you to test out snippets of code in a simple environment, CSSDesk helps you to navigate the increasingly complex world of CSS markup.

9. Evernote

If you have Evernote, then you no longer need your bookmarks bar, Pinterest, or that long list of urls you made when gathering inspiration for your next project. You can save pictures, videos, screenshots, or whole websites and organize them into one easily-accessible system.

10. Adobe Creative Cloud

Instead of downloading software as it becomes available, you can now subscribe to a monthly membership with Adobe Creative Cloud. It will continuously update your programs, and you can also use it to store and share your files.

While these apps can certainly find a place in almost any designer’s workflow, there are still many others that are worth knowing. Keep up with the steady improvements in cloud app technology and you’ll be amazed by how quickly they replace their desktop counterparts.

I have always been very intrigued by Batman (even dressing up as him for Halloween), but I have recently gotten back into everything Batman. I’ve beaten both of the (amazing must-play games by the way) next-generation video games (Arkham Asylum and Arkham City) read some gripping graphic novels and watched some of the best movies around.

The villains in the Batman world are numerous to say the least. Check out the Wikipedia Batman Family Enemies page for full list. In this multi-part series I have chosen some of my favorite villains that Bruce Wayne has dealt with in his 70 years of being in comics, movies, books, video games and more. Enjoy!

All images property of their respective owner (images link to original source).

Bane

Harley Quinn

Penguin

Poison Ivy

Mr. Freeze

Stay tuned for the next part in this series for more baddies from Batman. Subscribe!

Bounce

Bounce is a quick and easy way to share ideas on a website. Bounce lets people quickly add feedback about a website and toss that back and forth with other people. For most creative people, asking for feedback is difficult, but as feedback is a necessary part of designing this takes the pain out of the task so everybody in a team is better off.
Install Bounce

Tape

Tape is a tool for developing a pixel-perfect website. It lets you put down guides that snap intelligently to a the page content (and stick to it if it moves on scroll or resize), and helps you easily measure positions and sizes of elements. It knows about borders and padding, and will even snap to the baseline of text and all guides can be quickly toggled on and off with a single keystroke. It also won’t interefere with other websites unless you click on the Tape icon.
Install Tape

Evernote

Evernote is one of the best productivity apps out there. Use Evernote to save your ideas and inspirations and then easily access them from anywhere at anytime. This is a must for any designer as you will never again forget anything. You can create task lists and attach images, audio, pdfs and any file type to any note that you have made. Evernote is also great as you can organise your notes with keywords which makes finding them again a doddle.
Install Evernote

Eye dropper

Eye dropper is an open source extension which allows web and graphic designers to pick colors from any web page and allows you to sample that color for your own page, giving you quick color ideas and code to go with it.
Install Eye Dropper

What’s the font

This chrome extension does exactly what it’s name suggests. Just highlight some text and what’s the font will tell you the exact name of any font. It’s as easy as that.
Install What’s the Font

The “big guns” in the TD app world are The Creeps! and Fieldrunners. I own both of these apps, and they no doubt belong on the top of any strategy/TD lover’s list of games. But what about the games that have been “flying under the radar” and have not gotten as much mainstream attention as they should be getting? Well, here are a handful that deserve some more attention. They are all excellent games, both in the TD realm, as well as general strategy games.

Gemcraft

Gemcraft started as an online TD game (as a lot of iPhone TD games do) that has been played over 90 million times. The goal in GemCraft is to combine the magic powers of 8 gem types each with its own special abilities. You can use Pure gems, or combine gems together to craft new and powerful multi-color gems with both their strengths. Use gems in towers and traps to wipe out hordes of monsters preventing them from reaching your mana crystal.
More info at iTunes

Bloons TD4

Featuring a whole host of new tower and enemy types, Bloons TD 4 is the long awaited sequel to Bloons TD. This time the monkeys are serious and are ready to take down the enemy from the land, air and sea. Utilizing a new ranking system you can build up your experience and gain access to even more powerful towers and upgrades. Call in mortar strikes, deploy the monkey aces and harness the power of banana farms as you bid to take down the enemy in true bloon-popping fashion.

I must warn you, Bloons TD4 is a very addicting game! You’ll find yourself saying “just five more waves, then I’ll put it down,” only to have your phone warn you with the “20% battery life” message two hours later haha. The developers have been updating the game with new maps and features fairly regularly to keep their users happy!
More info at iTunes

Pew Pew Land

Pew Pew Land features 48 fun and cartoony levels, 13 of which are unlockable. It has a great choice of towers as well as a diverse array of creeps, including super huge bosses. A really cool and new TD feature, is the ability to play with a friend (some of the later levels are extremely hard). You can even share your scores easily with Twitter or Facebook (a nice addition for any game, bragging rights)
More info at iTunes

4Towers

This game has a similar feel that GeoDefense/Swarm had as far as graphics go. You are only allowed four towers, but you can combine towers to create more towers with more powers/attacks. This fun concept plus a great soundtrack makes this a great game.
More info at iTunes

Tower Defense®: Lost Earth

For some reason Com2uS decided to register a trademark for the name “Tower Defense.” Them doing so meant they had huge faith in the game, or they were just plain crazy (after all, if it’s THE tower defense game, it naturally comes with high expectations). As it turns out, the game really delivers and it one of the best I’ve played to date. With gorgeous graphics, nine towers, dozens of increasing harder levels, super attacks and four game types (standard, survival, gathering, attack); this game sure lives up to it’s hype.
More info at iTunes

Defender Chronicles

This one is my favorite of all TD games I have played. It not only is one of the only ones that has a side-view 2D platform perspective (think Super Mario Bros.), is also introduces a “general” which you can level up and outfit with different pieces of armor which boost your stats. Of course you can level up the general in any way you please, depending on the type of player you are. Highly recommended! (Hopefully Defender Chronicles 2 will be coming out soon, as this game hasn’t been updated in awhile)
More info at iTunes

7 Cities

Coastal tower defense, you build towers next to waterways to destroy invading ships. Towers can gain experience to get more powerful. The graphics are impressive and the creeps come in a wide variety (boats, monsters, treasure chests with cash). 7 Cities even lets you choose a variety of upgrades for each tower. Instead of the tower just getting more powerful, you can choose to increase its fire rate, gold collection, etc.
More info at iTunes

Doodle Defense

The childish “doodle” games seem to be hit-or-miss with gamers. Doodle Defense definitely needs some content updates (only five maps and five towers), but what it does have it does quite well. The graphics are simple, but I feel that simplicity allows you to focus on the strategy needed to beat the levels, instead of ogling at how pretty the pixels are.
More info at iTunes

Crystal Defenders

Yea, I know it’s a bit on a expensive side, but then again what app from Square Enix isn’t haha. I snagged this gem when it was on sale (SE normally does huge sales on all of their games when they release a new one) and have loved it’s combination of Final Fantasy and Tower Defense! Instead of using traditional “towers,” you use characters from the Final Fantasy universe such as a black mage, thief, dragoon, etc.
More info at iTunes

Besiegement

Besiegement is definitely not a graphical powerhouse, but it surely delivers in the area of replay value. It has both open field maps, as well as path oriented maps, and plenty of both.
More info at iTunes

If you have a tower defense app that you enjoy playing that I did not mention, please leave a comment and let me know, as I love finding new TD games Thanks

A new tool has been launched this week to help designers get complete and effective briefs from their clients. It’s called BrieFix and it seems like a useful application for the briefing process. It’s really easy and intuitive for designers to set it up and you may also install it on your website and personalize it with your own logo and color scheme. Another great thing is that you may take it on your own domain, so that clients never feel like they leave your website.

You may set a compilation of questions for logo projects, one for website projects and so on, according to the services you offer. And it’s pretty awesome that you will get all the briefs into one single place, organized by project type, so you no longer have to worry about losing forms or client details on your computer.

What BrieFix aims to do is to help your clients while facing the “daunting” task of creating a design brief. The application is not a simple form, but is rather an interactive and fun tool which aims to “pull out” all the information you need from your clients. For instance, using mood boards and asking your clients to choose logos they like from several sets of images makes it easier for you to get a picture on clients’ design preferences, as visuals communicate things that words cannot.

The Prizes:

Ten (10) winners will each receive a Premium package at BrieFix.com for a 6 month period. That is a $174 value for each winner, totally $1740 worth of stuff!! Even if you don’t win, BrieFix is offering a 30 day free trial of their great app!
Each Premium package includes:

• 15 briefs a month
• 5 compilations a month
• 150MB data storage
• Myname.briefix.com
• Mydomain.com
• Custom branding

How to enter:

• Leave a comment below (something funny/interesting is always a plus)
• Make sure to use a valid email address

Optional:

• Retweet or share this post on Facebook (using the sharing buttons below)
• Follow both myself and BrieFix on Twitter