Uses

A list of the various tools and services that I enojy or that improve my day-to-day computing life.

1Password (Paid)

1Password is the first thing I install on every new device.

Homerow (Paid)

Click anywhere, without a mouse. I'm not one who tries to avoid the mouse altogether, but I do find Homerow to be convenient especially in apps with poor keyboard shortcut support.

Raycast (Free)

Originally I used Raycast to replace macOS’s Spotlight feature for launching apps; it's since become one of my central tools. I currently use it for

  • Launching apps.
  • Clipboard history.
  • Window switching (bound to hyper + d).
  • Window management (bound to hyper + arrow left/right , it cycles between 2/3, 1/2, 1/3).
  • Browser and Finder bookmarks via quicklinks.
  • Searching Apple Notes.
  • Triggering Apple Shortcuts.
  • Changing my Slack status.

You Need A Budget (Paid)

I've tried many budgeting apps over the years, and YNAB has been the only app that I've been able to stick to long-term. One of the main complaints I've seen is that it's not a setup-and-forget tool and that it requires ongoing maintenance, but that's exactly what I need. I've found that if I don't have to think about my budget, I'm not actually budgeting.

Karabiner-Elements (Free)

Karabiner is my default tool for remapping keys on my mac, primarily for enabling my hyper key workflow. I've tried many other tools for adding hyper key functionality to my mac, but Karabiner is the only one that has just worked. I use the hyper key in conjunction with Raycast so that I can launch my most often-used apps via keyboard shortcuts. For example, hyper + t will launch or focus my Terminal window, hyper + c will open or focus my code editor, etc. You can find my personal config here.

CleanShot X (Paid)

CleanShot X quickly replaced MacOS's built in screenshot tooling for me. It's a one-stop shop and has everything I need for sharing what I'm working on with my team.

BetterMouse (Paid)

While I love my MX Master 3S, I don’t love the software that Logitech provides. BetterMouse is a great alternative that provides support for both Logitech mice and keyboards.

Apple Notes (Free)

There and back again – that's the story of my journey with Apple Notes. I've tried out many apps and systems for taking notes, but the only system that I've found long-term value in is a simple daybook. I use a simple shortcut to upsert daily notes and it just works on all my Mac and iOS devices. I pair Notes with the ProNotes app so that I can write using markdown!

I don't keep many other long term notes, but for those notes I use the method PARA for organization.