Good morning and welcome to another edition of Workspaces.

Are you looking to upgrade your workspace? Well we have another giveaway for you this weekend that should be able to help!

The folks at Ugmonk have hooked us up with their new Gather Organizer Set + Monitor Stand (normally $588!) to give to one lucky Workspaces reader!

All you have to do is retweet this tweet to enter for a chance to win! Winner will be announced on Twitter on 10/25.

-Ryan (@rjgilbert)

Jim Raptis is a solo founder building a portfolio of SaaS products in public. He's a frontend developer who designs (or the opposite, it's up to you) and occasionally works as a contractor for startups.

BrandBird is a tool that turns your images into beautiful social media posts.

MagicPattern is a toolbox with 10+ tools for creatives to generate stunning graphics like patterns, gradients, and many more.

Screenshots.so is a tool that provides powerful website screenshots via a simple API.

Twitter → twitter.com/d__raptis

Inside Jim's Workspace

Hardware:

Macbook 13' 2013
Samsung UJ590 Monitor 31.5" 4K
Roccat Mechanical Keyboard
Logitech MX Master 3
Logitech C922 Pro Stream Web Camera
iPad Pro 2021
Kindle
BOSE QuietComfort 35 ΙΙ
Elgato Wave 3

Software:

MagicPattern - Design assets like patterns, gradients
BrandBird – Turn screenshots into beautiful posts
Notion – Documenting work & life
Gmail – Emails
Feedhive – For scheduling social media post
Figma – Where the magic happens!
Screenflow – Demo Video
Toggl – Tracking time for freelancing
VS Code (with Github Copilot) – The Code
Cleanshot
1Password
Spotify – Music buddy

Misc:

IKEA SKÅDIS Pegboard
IKEA Standing Desk
Mi Led Desk Lamp
Mi Yeelight Lightstrip

What is your favorite item in your workspace?

I’d go with the standing desk!

I have always wanted one, and it’s a game-changer for boosting productivity. Perfect for long boring calls, and a quick coding session after lunch haha.

How do you spark creativity?

For my job, it’s really important to keep up with trends and the best (and easier) way to do it is by paying close attention to all the digital and physical content that I consume daily. From Instagram ads and cool websites to physical billboards and interior designs. It helps me collect the best parts and then reproduce them in my own work. That’s more about the day-to-day inspiration.

When I want to force a creative flow (eg for a client project) I usually get inspired by searching Dribbble and similar websites to collect matching pieces for the specific project. Then, I adapt them to the current project.

How do you manage work-life balance?

For me, the trick is to have dedicated hours for working - eg. from 10 AM to 6 PM. Outside these time slots, I try to limit work-related tasks & freelancing gigs. Plus, I have a hard rule of “no work” on weekends. It helps me clear my mind and start the week fresh.