Software I use, gadgets I love, and other things I recommend.

I get asked a lot about the things I use to build software, stay productive, or buy to fool myself into thinking I’m being productive when I’m really just procrastinating. Here’s a big list of all of my favorite stuff.

Workstation

  • Mac Mini 2023 M2 (MacOS)

    I was using an Intel-based 16” MacBook Pro prior to this and the difference is night and day. This is my first Mac Mini device and I’m loving it.

  • Custom built Windows PC RTX 2070, 32 GB, i7 (Yes, I know I'm due for an upgrade)

    I’ve recently started using my Mac Mini as my primary workstation, but I still use this for gaming and other things.

  • Samsung 49" Odyssey G9

    The only display on the market if you want something HiDPI and bigger than 27”. When you’re working at planetary scale, every pixel you can get counts.

  • Logitech G915 TKL Tenkeyless LIGHTSPEED Wireless

    They don’t make keyboards the way they used to. I buy these any time I see them go up for sale and keep them in storage in case I need parts or need to retire my main.

  • Apple Magic Trackpad

    Something about all the gestures makes me feel like a wizard with special powers. I really like feeling like a wizard with special powers.

  • Herman Miller Embody Chair

    If I’m going to slouch in the worst ergonomic position imaginable all day, I might as well do it in an expensive chair.

Development tools

  • Visual Studio Code

    Extensions I use: GitLens, Prettier, Tailwind CSS IntelliSense, and much more.

  • iTerm2

    I’m honestly not even sure what features I get with this that aren’t just part of the macOS Terminal but it’s what I use.

  • Github Co-Pilot

    This is the best for coding when you’re feeling lazy.

Design

  • Figma

    We started using Figma as just a design tool but now it’s become our virtual whiteboard for the entire company. Never would have expected the collaboration features to be the real hook.

Productivity

  • Alfred

    It’s not the newest kid on the block but it’s still the fastest. The Sublime Text of the application launcher world.

  • Reflect

    Using a daily notes system instead of trying to keep things organized by topics has been super powerful for me. And with Reflect, it’s still easy for me to keep all of that stuff discoverable by topic even though all of my writing happens in the daily note.

  • Notion

    I use Notion for all of my personal knowledge management. I’ve tried a lot of different tools over the years but Notion is the only one that’s stuck.

  • Focus

    Simple tool for blocking distracting websites when I need to just do the work and get some momentum going.