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.