Software I use, my workstation, and other things I recommend.

This page is an overview off all 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.

It is inspired by uses.tech which is a directory (made by @wesbos) of people sharing specifics about the hardware/software they use.

Workstation

    14” MacBook Pro, M1 Max, 32GB RAM (2021)

    I was using an Intel-based 15” MacBook Pro prior to this and the difference is night and day. I’ve never heard the fans turn on a single time, the battery time is amazing.

    Dell U3821DW

    This is a 38 inch UltraSharp Curved USB-C Hub monitor with built in KVM. It's running at WQHD+ 3840x1600 at 60Hz. It's mounted on a Ergotron HX mount (VESA) which makes it super easy to move.

    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.

    Jean Prouve compas direction desk

    It's a pretty small desk (60x140cm) but it looks great. The wood top is made from oak with a natural finish and feels great. No mouse-pad

    Apple Magic Keyboard

    I'm using a dark version with a Numeric Keybpad but without Touch ID

    Logitech MX Master 2

    Favourite mouse although I'm carrying a Logitech everyday in my laptop bag.

    Logitech C920

    As the laptop is almost always closed I need an external camera. This camera can do Full HD video (1080p at 30fps). I'm considering upgrading my video setup at some point.

Development tools

    PhpStorm

    I never jumped on the VSCode bandwagon although the majority of the work I do now is Typescript/JS stuff. After years of using this IDE I come to know it inside out.

    Within PHPStorm I use Material Oceanic theme, the Git and Database integrations and lately I've been trying to use the terminal window so I don't have to Alt-TAB while in focus mode.

    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.

    Linear

    Since we switched to Linear we haven't looked back. We tried Asana, Clubhouse, Trello, Jira, and every other Project Management on the planet including self hosting Redmine. Linear is simple, fast, beautifully designed and has offline syncing. And it has the right amount of features!

Productivity

    BetterTouchTool

    This tool is so awesome and the first thing I install on a new machine. It pretty much replaces 3 or 4 tools I was using before.

    Since they started supporting the Hyper key I was able to also throw out Karabiner too. I use it for window management shortcuts, quick access to apps, setting defaults based on location and much more.

    Another neat trick is using BTT is to open links in the right app. This can be done by by setting BTT as the default browser and using URL inspection to launch the right app with Javascript. Wrote about it here

    Brew

    Most of the tools I install are automated using Brew and Brew Cask. I keep some shell scripts around and sync them to GitHub so I don't forget. It could/should have more maintenance though.

    Alfred

    It’s not the newest kid on the block but I have so many custom workflows that work for me.

    The most used are going to a website and autofill credentials (1Password) and doing searches on Github, DuckDuckGo, Twitter or Stack Overflow.

    Additionally I have some custom workflows like focus mode (turn off sounds, notifications, distracting apps) or tiling/positioning different windows based on some presets (development, customer support, Formula 1).

    UpNote

    After using Bear.app for a few years I switched to Upnote mainly because of Mobile Device syncing. I need my notes to be available offline on an Android device. Since I'm using it I notice how much better organised my notes are in the different collections.

    Also, I personally think Bear.app is overdoing it with the Markdown stuff :-)

    Notion

    As a Company we use Notion as our internal knowledge base. It has a Team directory, and is a write-up of pretty much how the company works.

    Because the company pitches are written in Notion (we started with the Shape-Up method a few months back) I find myself spending at least 30% of my time in notion.

Prezly tools & resources.

At my company we're trying to use our own platform for internal and external communication. I published a post about 'How Prezly uses Prezly to run Prezly' a year ago.

Additionally we're using a ton of other tools to support out work. I wrote a reddit post 'The cost to run my SaaS' a while back on the different tools we use and the cost of each. The post ended up being the all-time /r/SaaS most favourite post 💯 so I ended up posting it on the blog too.