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

  • 14” MacBook Pro, M1, 16GB RAM (2021)

    I was using an Intel-based 14” MacBook Pro prior to this and the difference is night and day. I’ve never heard the fans turn on a single time, even under the incredibly heavy loads I put it through with our various launch simulations.

  • Dell D2721H Display

    Best 27" monitor I've used so far, usually just put my code editor on the monitor. No need for new shinny monitors, I just need to see my code.

  • Apple Magic Keyboard

    I very much like the feel of apple macbook keyboards that I prefer to use Apple Magic Keyboard whenever I am connected to my monitor.

  • 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 Aeron 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

    I don’t care if it’s missing all of the fancy IDE features everyone else relies on, VS code is still the best text editor ever made.

  • 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

  • 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.