Software I use, gadgets I love, and other things I recommend.

I love my tech, and having the right tools for the job is so very important. Spending a lot of time in from of your computer can be difficult. So why not treat yourself to the good stuff? Here’s a big list of all of my favorite apps and gadgets.

Workstation

  • Custom Desktop Build (2022)

    There is nothing better than a custom build. That is just my opinion but it is also correct. I went with AMD prodcuts this time and equipped this puppy with a Ryzen 9 5900X processor and Radeon RX 6800 graphics card. The thing hauls and scoffs at my multiple instances of VS Code.

  • ASUS - TUF Gaming 34" Ultrawide Monitor

    An ultrawide monitor will save your life. In college, I loved using three monitors but one ultrawide replaces the need for all of them. Highly recommend.

  • Dell S2721HS 27" Monitor

    Why get rid of every other monitor, right? Call it a bad habit but working from a single monitor seems so very wrong. This monitor was an experiment but has contiuously paid dividends. I have it rotated to portrait and use it to for discovery articles, file mangers, videos, music or whatever other support apps I need. It has been a bigger upgrade than I thought it ever could be.

  • Apple iPad Air 10.9" (2022) with Apple Pencil

    An iPad is a useful tool when it comes to sketching and whiteboarding. This setup with the Concepts app is extremely helpful for real-time brainstorming and collaboaration. A bit of a pricy tool for sketches but, hey, might as well enjoy the premium tech this industry provides.

  • Eureka Ergonomic 60" L-Shaped Electric Standing Desk

    I LOVE a good standing desk and this one more than delivers. Most standing desks have paid addons for basic features like cord management but not the Eureka. I've been really impressed with this desk and the extra L adds much more room than I would have thought.

  • Razer Iskur XL Gaming Chair

    I try to stand as much as possible but when I need to get off of my feet, nothing works better than a gaming chair.

Design

  • Figma

    Figma quickly took over as my primary design tool and I won't be looking back. Not only that, but it's whiteboarding, prototyping and community make it second to none.

  • Concepts

    I was never much of a doodler but Concepts has made it easy to become one. I really enjoy this app for my iPad and it has quickly become my go to for product sketches.

Development tools

  • VS Code

    It's just the best. If you can't format it yourself, you can find an addon to do it for you. Straight magic.

  • Tailwind UI

    Tailwind makes frontend development so easy. It's worth the investment into their components. Their extensive library lets you start building the fun part of your app instead of boiler plate.

  • Vercel

    Jeez Vercal makes deployment easy. Nothing like contiuous deployment with a commit to git.

Productivity

  • Notion

    How can you not love templates? Notion is extremely good for many things but capturing and organizing test results is my favorite use.

  • Evernote

    Weird to start thinking of an online tool as old school but Evernote helps me orgainize much of my content and written projects. It also helped house my journal when I was abroad!