I’m always excited to see Layers Magazine come to my Zinio reader (I subscribe to it though the internet to avoid the more expensive shipping to Sweden) because it’s always filled with great content. The columns are not really snowed in on one topic but rather diverse and there is absolutely something for everyone. It doesn’t matter if you are a video guy, print guy or web guy. The magazine covers subjects for everyone.

The big question for a lot of people though if it is worth the money? I would definitely say it is because there aren’t really another magazine like it there that coveres the range and diversity that Layers does.

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My daily workflow is hardly shaped by the tools I use and without some of them; it would be really hard to do what I do (in the way I do it). Here are my favorite XX applications, that I use every day (purposely leaving a mail application out of the list).

Adobe Creative Suite + Lightroom

For me, these are the given applications to start with—and I do group them into the suite. I use most of the programs in the Creative Suite in my daily workflow not just to write tutorials and recording learning materials but of course in my work as a web designer and photographer (latter using Lightroom as well). Without the Creative Suite, things would be a whole lot harder.

iCal

For me it is iCal, but the most important thing here is that it is a calendar program. iCal for me is a good program that can handle what I do with it. When trying to do many things in a day, planning in a calendar is really good to do—plus it syncs with my iPhone. I couldn’t be without a calendar at all.

Billings

When it comes to tracking time—which is a very important thing in the creative industry—you really do need a solid time tracking program. This is where I’ve taken a great liking to Billings. It makes it easy for me to keep track of projects and time. When a project is complete, it makes sending out invoices a real breeze!

Address Book

As with iCal, the important thing here isn’t that I’m using the Mac address book, but really any address book. It’s sufficient for my needs. What can I say about it? You must really have a way to keep track of all your contacts and their information, thus making the address book a must.

NetNewsWire

I subscribe to a big load of RSS Feeds to keep up with the happenings. I really like the NetNewsWire interface, which is why I’m using it a lot. Plus the interaction is pretty good between their desktop and iPhone version, making me able to read when I’m not at home.

Keynote

I do a surprisingly big load of presentations in my work perhaps not every day but almost. I’ve had the choice between PowerPoint and Keynote—and while I have PowerPoint, I find that I like Keynote a whole lot more. Great effects, easy and quick to use are the main features I like, giving the very fast presentation work time.

Cyberduck

A great FTP program is a must and while I’m trying a few different out, the free Cyberduck is what I’m using at the moment. It works great and is a very stable program, which is the reason why I’m continuing to use it. Makes my days a whole lot easier with site saving instead of needing to remember all connection details for each site.

1Password

When it comes to remembering passwords, I’m not that good at it. Or it’s rather so that I like to come up with difficult ones that’s hard to guess. Anyway, 1Password is a life saver as it not only allows me to store the passwords, but to quickly add them in through browser extensions, saving a lot of time each day.

IM Programs (MSN, iChat, Skype)

I like to keep up with all buddies of mine I’ve almost always got these clients on and I’m online. MSN and iChat is for fun and business (mostly fun I should say) but Skype holds my two business numbers as well! Use them a lot!

TextEdit & Evernote

I was debating on what the last app should be here and I figured that it must be TextEdit and Everynote in a joint post. I use TextEdit to keep small notes to myself (always have it open) that I want only on my computer, not for the most extensive time. If there’s the need for a note that I want to take with me on my phone or online, I’d use Evernote that syncs it up to its cloud server for me.

And there you have it. My top ten applications that I use everyday in my workflow, again purposely leaving out a mail application as that’s more a given.
 

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