Software I use, gadgets I love, and other things I recommend.
I get asked a lot about the things I use for analytics, programming, staying 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
27” Apple iMac, M1, 64GB RAM (2021)
I use the iMac in my home setup when I want a large screen to work. It's a great machine for programming and design. Also, it's amazing for watching YouTube when I'm feleing less motivated.
13” Apple Macbook Air, M1, 8GB RAM (2022)
My main workhorse. It goes with me everywhere and is the perfect size for working on the go. I love the M1 chip and the battery life is amazing.
12” Apple iPad Pro, M1, 8GB RAM, (2021)
The iPad Pro is my go-to device for reading, writing, and consuming content. I also use it for design and prototyping on the Figma app. It's a great device for getting work done on a lazy day.
FlowLyf Standing Desk
I mostly work on it sitting down but I love having the option to stand up and work when I need to.
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.
Development tools
VS Code
Its popular, there's a lot of extensions, and it's free. What's not to love?
Copilot
I'm not sure if I'm allowed to talk about this yet but it's amazing. It's like having a co-worker who's always available and never gets tired. It's increased my productivity by a lot.
Github
I use Github for all of my projects. It's a great place to store code and collaborate with others.
Design
Figma
I started using Figma as just a prototyping tool but now it’s become my virtual whiteboard. Never would have expected the Figjam to be the real hook.
Productivity
Asana
I use Asana for managing my work projects. It's great for keeping track of tasks and projects.
Notion
I use Notion for managing my personal projects. It's great because it's so flexible and I can use it for anything.
Whimsical
I use Whimsical for it's mind maps. It's great for brainstorming and helping structure conversations at work.
Analytics
Google Analytics
I use Google Analytics to track my own and my client's websites. It's great for understanding how people are using my website.
Google Search Console
I use Google Search Console to track organic search traffic to my website. It's great for understanding how people are finding my websites.
Google Tag Manager
It helps me manage all of my tags and scripts on my website. It's great for keeping my website fast and clean.
Looker Studio
Looker Studio works for me as a visualization tool. I've worked with Power BI and Tableau but the shareable links and the ability to embed Looker Studio dashboards into my website is what makes it my favorite.
Google BigQuery
I use Google BigQuery to store all of my analytics data. It's great for querying large amounts of data and it's free.
Google Sheets / Microsoft Excel
My go-to tools for managing data. I use it for everything from tracking my finances to running ad-hoc analyses.
SQL
My bread and butter as a data scientist. I use it for everything from querying data to building machine learning models.
Python
The first real programming language I learned to help me automate the boring stuff at work. Nothing beats the simplicity and efficiency of Python & Pandas.
Google Apps Script
The JavaScript runtime I use for building automations on Google's suite of products. It's great for building automations on Google Sheets, Google Docs, and Google Slides.
Communication
Google Slides / Microsoft PowerPoint
These tools are the lifelines of business. I use them for communicating ideas to seniorleadership and for clients.
Google Meet / Microsoft Teams
The pandemic suercharged the adoption of these tools. I use them for all of my virtual meetings.
Gmail / Outlook
I use Gmail for personal communication and Outlook for work communication. I like the Gmail UI better but Outlook is better for managing my work email.
Advertising
Google Ads
I use Google Ads for running ads on Google Search and Youtube. It's great for lower funnel campaigns.
Facebook Ads
I use Facebook Ads for running ads on Facebook and Instagram. Depending on the client, it's great for both upper and lower funnel campaigns.
LinkedIn Ads
This has niche use cases but it can be great for the right client.
DV360 Ads
It's the best tool for running programmatic ads on Google's Display Network. It's great for upper funnel campaigns.
Google Campaign Manager
It's a great tool for managing ad campaign performance across multiple channels for upper funnel campaigns. It's more suited for larger advertisers.
Web Development
JavaScript
The language I fell in love with and the language I use for most of my web development. I use it for everything from building websites to building automations on Google Apps Script.
React
The JavaScript library I use for building websites. It's great for building interactive websites.
Next.js
The React framework I use for building websites. It's great for building static websites and server-side rendered websites.
Node.js
The JavaScript runtime I use for building server-side applications. It's great for building APIs and web scrapers.
MongoDB
My go-to database for building web applications. It's great for building applications that require a lot of data.