Toolbox: Digital Productivity
A collection of software tools that have improved the way I organize and manage my life
Hey everyone!
In this issue, I’m experimenting with a new category of posts. Toolbox is all about techniques, tools and mental models that have helped to make my life easier. This specific piece focuses on the software that I use on a daily basis. My hope is that you’ll find some of them worth trying as well.
Productivity and self-help advice has probably been around since the start, but my sense is that the reason the field has grown so much in recent years is because of the increasingly asynchronous and individualized nature of modern work. Software has enabled greater autonomy in getting things done, and in some cases it’s possible for someone to completely automate their job. The dark side of this is that there really isn't anyone out there to teach you how to use these tools, and it's easy to feel anxiety over missing out on the “next big thing”. Less savoury individuals would take advantage of this to sell you things that you don't need, like an anti-virus or VPN software. But the truth is that if you’re willing to spend some time on it, you can get a lot out of software that’s mostly free.
I want to reiterate that my focus in this article is not to convince you to use any specific app, but explain why these tools are so useful. In all likelihood there will better alternatives down the line, but I believe they’ll end up fulfilling similar roles.
At the same time, the tools I use are well-fit for my own needs, but may not be for yours. I spend a lot of time writing and tinkering with software, reading, and saving content as fuel for future projects. If you’re like me, you’ll probably derive the most benefit from these recommendations, but otherwise your mileage may vary.
Without further ado, here are my recommendations:
Password managers
A good password manager gives you the peace of mind that all of your online accounts are fully secured with uniquely generated passwords, and can also help with filling out private information like personal and online payment details. I use Bitwarden, which comes with neat browser extensions for autofill (and also supports self-hosting). If you’re more technically inclined, you can also try out the command-line tool pass.
Calendar scheduling
Take away the fuss of back-and-forth communication when trying to set up meetings. If you’re the type of person who expects frequent ad-hoc appointments, you can share your calendar information (within whatever boundaries you’re comfortable with) and make bookings within a few clicks. I’ve been using Cal.com as a free and open-source option, but Calendly works fine as well.
Personal knowledge management
Knowledge management is the new kid on the block in many regards, and has mainly been popularized by independent creators like youtubers, freelancers and software folks. These are the tools you use to organize the information and notes you collect into something more immediately accessible and convenient to act on. I currently use Notion, but have been dabbling with Obsidian for my academic research.
Idea dump
The intermediate step before knowledge management - having a place to save random thoughts and content for future reference, or when inspiration strikes. I love using Telegram for this. It has chat folders and allows for creating unlimited private channels, which I’ve used to create dumps for various areas of my life (writing, tech, fitness, cooking, etc.). But for the sake of simplicity, a humble pocket notebook works as well.
Cloud storage
As a developer, I try to make sure that any and all important data is backed up, such that losing or bricking a device will never compromise anything I’m working on. There are many offerings out there, but I really like Dropbox for its multi-platform support and file explorer integrations.
Package manager
A package manager is a one-stop solution to install and manage most if not all of the applications in a desktop environment. The core concept is analogous to an app store for mobile devices, although most provide a much richer set of features. On top of security and assurance (software repositories are usually well-monitored and maintained), you get the convenience of writing scripts to keep software up to date, or being able to set up everything on a new device with minimal configuration. I recommend HomeBrew on macOS and Chocolatey for Windows. If you’re on Linux, you probably don't need me to tell you what to use.
Clipboard history
Most people are accustomed to using the copy/paste function to transfer bits of data, but it’s possible to have a clipboard with a saved list of previously copied content. Being able to copy multiple items at once instead of toggling between applications can save a lot of time and context-switching overhead. Windows has a built-in clipboard history that you can enable (the default shortcut is Win + V). I use CopyQ on Linux, and BetterTouchTool on MacOS.
Trackers
It’s a truism that what gets measured gets improved. If you’re looking to change a habit or achieve a lifestyle goal, there are plenty of apps that can make the process easier. I’ve used Strong for workout tracking, and MacroFactor for dieting, but there’s a multitude of options depending on your goals.
Generative AI
Yes it’s full of hype, but I do think that AI is useful for coming up with ideas and first drafts. I personally use phind a lot as a programmer - it references live links scraped from the web, which helps avoid hallucinations.
Summary
At the time of writing, these are the software productivity tools and categories which I feel are applicable to the widest audience. More generally speaking, I think that there are a few minimally important traits for any software product to be useful for everyday productivity:
Support and sync across multiple platforms. The application should be easily usable on desktop, mobile and any other device (wearables, tablets) that you interact with frequently. This makes it easy to reference what’s important and continue working on the go.
Facilitate sharing and embedding basic media. Nowadays we regularly share and embed data in the form of images, links, video, PDFs and location. Any app you interact with on a daily basis should have at least basic support for sharing and rendering this type of content.
Local storage and self-hosting capabilities. This is a bit of a bonus, since a high-speed internet connection can almost be taken for granted. But it’s always nice to have the option to continue working offline and be in control of your data as much as possible.
That’s about all I have at the moment. If anything, I hope that you’ve found some of this content useful. As usual, do leave a comment if you have any thoughts or feedback. Till next time!
Stay curious,
Emmanuel