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 16” 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 like using Teams.

  • 3 x DELL P2719H 27” monitors

    Do I need 3 big monitors? Probably not, but it does look cool af though.

  • Apple Magic Keyboard

    I never bothered with those keychron series keyboard. Everyone I know raves about them but my magic keyboard does the job with no issues.

  • Apple Magic Mouse

    I hate those track wheels things that come on generic mice.

  • Generic chair

    It does the job.

Development tools

  • Jetbrains Webstorm / Rider

    No one makes IDEs like Jetbrains does. Take all my money !!! (Please don't).

  • Oh My Zsh

    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.

  • Jetbrains Datagrip

    Great IDE for working with databases. If you are not using this, what are you doing.?

Design

  • Figma

    For doodling and mocking stuff, not yet a designer.

Productivity

  • Display Link Manager

    M1's don't support 3 screens, so this allows me to do so.

  • Slack

    Use it for collaborating with my team.

  • Teams

    Sometimes I turn it on just to keep my mac on it's toes, oh and also meetings.

  • Focus

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