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

  • 15” MacBook Pro, Intel, 32GB RAM (2019)

    Still a good portable computer on overall. Waiting for M3 before upgrading.

  • Mac Mini, M2 Pro, 16GB RAM (2023)

    Probably the best deal Apple produced in 2023. Powerful little machine at a great price.

  • Apple Pro Display XDR (Standard Glass)

    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 MX Keys Mini Keyboard

    Compact keyboard with a great typing experience. I’m a big fan of the MX Keys and I don’t need the numpad. I like the smaller footprint of the Mini.

  • Logitech MX Master Wireless Mouse

    Something about all the buttons makes me feel like a wizard with special powers.

  • Standup Desk

    I bought the frame and the engine from Amazon and installed an IKEA tabletop on it. I love it.

Development tools

  • Visual Studio Code - Insiders

    Blazing fast code editor with tons of plugins. The Insiders build supports the new Github Copilot AI assistant.

  • PHPStorm

    Great IDE for coding in PHP.

  • 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.

  • TablePlus

    Great software for working with databases. Has saved me from building about a thousand admin interfaces for my various projects over the years.

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.

  • Focus

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