50 WAYS TO WORK FASTER

The best way to achieve more is to work smarter, which is why we've put together 50 productivity tips based on our editors' and readers' advice

BE MORE PRODUCTIVE, they say. Work smarter. Do five days’ work in the space of four! Now,  we’re not suggesting that this article is going to shave two hours from your working day, but even if you find two tips out of these 50 that make a difference, we think that’s worth celebrating.

Never has been this subject been more topical, either. On the one hand, we have generative AI tools popping up all over the place that promise the world even if that world has six fingers and dresses the Pope in a white puffer jacket. As we will see, there are practical ways to take advantage right now.

On the other hand, companies such as Adobe and Microsoft are desperate to keep you subscribing to their software. To do so, they continually update their software with extra tools, many of which (as you will see) can shave a few minutes from a task, or automate it all together.

ADOBE LIGHTROOM CLASSIC

QUICKLY SELECT PEOPLE

If you’ve taken a portrait, it’s easy to select the person without having to brush around them first. Open the image in the Develop panel, and then select the Masking tools, which are found by clicking on the circular icon under the histogram. You should see small circular thumbnails of any people in your image in the right-hand pane. Click on them, and the red mask highlighter will appear over the person in the image.

That should open a sub-menu that allows you to mask only certain body parts, such as hair, teeth, face, skin, or lips. Select the appropriate body part or the entire person, then click Create Mask. Now, you can make isolated adjustments to exposure, colors, saturation, and so forth to get the desired effect.