We hosted a small celebration at the Village last night. A collection of friends, clients, partners and people who’ve helped us along the way came in for a celebration of, well, everything. It’s our birthday, it’s December, and we wanted an excuse to say thank you to everyone for a great year (and a great first year).

Along with great company, canapés and champagne we threw in a little bit of usefulness as well. ‘Useful Tapas’ provided our guests with bite-sized pieces of usefulness they could learn and take away. Here’s some more about each item on the menu.

Making better lists

Action Method by Behance is an intuitive task management methodology for people and teams. There’s a set of useful best practices for writing action lists and tools to manage lists on paper, online, mobile and iPad.

On the right: a better list about to happen. Styling and photography by Tim Neve.

Taking better iPhone photos

When you use your iPhone to snap a picture of an object up close, did you know that you can adjust for camera shakes and a moving subject? Check out these few small tips on taking better iPhone photos.

Google effectively

To Google more effectively and search specific sites, include related words, exclude keywords, restrict searching to date ranges and look for certain authors, check out this ‘Get more out of Google’ infographic.

Reading body language

Can someone’s feet reveal how honest they are? For an honesty reading from feet, to give your confidence a boost or stimulate good feelings, check out these simple and powerful body language tips.

What colour should you wear?

Wearing a colour that suits your skin tone and hair colour helps you look your best. Check out Color ID, an iPhone App for finding your complementary colours.

Memory tips

Visualisation, the name game and chunking are handy methods for accurate recall and memory enhancement. Here’s ten ways to improve your memory.