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, M3 Pro

    I was using an Windows Laptop from HP 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.

  • Keychron V3

    They don’t make keyboards the way they used to. This is my first Keychron and I’m already a fan. I love the feel of the keys and the backlighting is a nice touch.

  • MX Master 3S for Mac

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

Development tools

  • JetBrains IDEs

    I’ve been using IntelliJ IDEA for years and I’ve never found anything that comes close to the productivity I get with it. I also use WebStorm for my JavaScript and TypeScript work.

  • 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.

  • DataGrip

    I’m not sure why I like using Datagrip so much but I do. It’s just the best way to interact with databases.

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.

  • Excalidraw

    I’m not a designer but I do like to sketch out ideas and Excalidraw is the best tool I’ve found for that. It’s like a whiteboard but better.