You have to get better every year. You have to add tools to the toolbox every year.

Tristan Thompson (*1991)
Canadian athlete

To know what others have in their toolbox when doing a certain job, has proven always to be very useful for me. Accordingly, I am ready to share mine in order to give orientation what is really necessary and what is nice to have. Equally, my toolbox should serve others by giving ideas and inspiration. It should instigate further discussions. So, let me know if you have different / better equipment and if so for which reason. Looking forward to listen to your tips.

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Mental tool box

The most important toolbox is our brain. We can equip it practically ad infinitum. That’s why one side this platform grows step by step. It will offer you by the time more and more tools for your own use. And that’s what I like, too: learning new tools, experiencing with them and putting in my toolbox for taking it out at the right moment – and passing them on to others. So, with TWL you have a large workshop toolbox already. Explore it!

Continuing education

As a general rule, learned from my former colleague Rainer Heufers, I will attend per year at least one training or workshop or and online course where I learn something completely new. Thus, I became a coach. Even now I will

It’s not only this one year training. Almost daily I watch a tutorial, contact the support of a company or research by search engines a solution to a problem. These micro steps add up. Sometimes I need stamina for solving a computer problem.

Reading and listening

For my personal mental collection of methods I do not only like to read – in the meantime mainly on my iPad Pro – but also to listen to audiobooks and podcasts. Accordingly, I have an Amazon account Kindle App on all devices and an Audible account. And a couple of favorite podcasts. Among others I have learned a lot, continue to learn and appreciate:

Of course, there are couple of German ones, too, which I won’t mention simply because of the language. If interested you can always ask me.

Computer

Hardware

Yes, I admit: I am an Apple guy. In 2011, I decided to switch completely. That means

  • iPhone (at that time an iPhone 3 GS), now I’ve arrived at 11 Plus
  • iPad Pro 11″: I love the handy size, especially as i read on it, take notes with the
  • Apple Pencil 3rd Generation
  • MacBook Pro 2015. It’s a little heavy and doesn’t fit in every laptop or messenger bag. However, it’s my reliable workhorse for all purposes, even layout, photo editing, film cutting. In short, it’s the multi purpose tool for my work life.
  • iMac – from 2011 and still working. The big screen is a blessing for layout and film cutting (though the processor is now a little to slow for it).

All together, this is a little family, which allows me to switch easily and to continue working under different circumstances.

Software

MacBook/iMac

  • Pages / Keynote / Numbers: after almost 20 years with MS Word and starting off as PowerPoint ranger in 1992 in the military I have done the shift to the Apple world. Sometimes I miss the one or other function of MS Word in Pages, but all in all I appreciate the operating experience, which comes with Steve Job’s heirs.
  • Adobe Creative Cloud: It doesn’t come cheap, but seeing what all wonderful software are included, I can’t work without it meanwhile: Main applications in use are: Photoshop, Lightroom, Bridge, Indesign, Illustrator – and instead of Premiere I go with:
  • FinalCut Pro because I am more familiar with it, as I need from time to time only have to put a film together.
  • Evernote: That’s where all my notes (except handwritten, see iPad), research goes. It’s organized, searchable, it