Digital Tools

Updated November 2022



A collection of the digital tools I use on a near daily basis.



Design

Figma

My primary product design tool. Features like Auto Layout and Component Variants are must-haves.

Sketch

My tool of choice for icon design due to the superior inspector and more streamlined custom vector editing.

Blender

I turn to Blender when I need to create 3D elements and textures for icons or just to roughly model a scene to get things in proper perspective.



Development

Nova

I've been on a native Mac app kick recently. Nova is great.

GitHub

I use GitHub for all my development needs. I hear GitHub also has a great mobile app 😉

Vercel

Blazing fast, incredibly easy to manage — Vercel hosts and deploys everything I have on the web.



Productivity

Tana

My go to note taking tool. Tana introduced some new paradigms that I'm not sure I can live without.

Things

A shining example of attention to detail, Things is what I use to implement Getting Things Done.

Cron

Cron is fast + keyboard driven — a recipe for a great app.

Raycast

Between integrations and custom scripts, everything I need is suddenly a few keystrokes away.



Reading

Feedbin

Long live RSS. Feedbin is the best combo of form + function for an RSS reader out there.

Matter

My recent favorite read later + highlighting app.

Readwise

Readwise is a fantastic tool to make the most out of your time spent reading. I review a handful of highlights that I save to it every day, and use the Markdown export to bring those passages into my notes.

Oku

I've been using Oku to keep track of what I am reading, what I want to read, and what friends are recommending I read. It's a great web app from an indie team.



General

Overcast

I've been listening to more podcasts recently and the new Overcast beta is already great and only getting better.

1Password

I get nervous when I hear a friend isn't using 1Password. Its autofill extensions make using secure passwords seamless.

Apple Music

Apple Music's focus on albums over tracks and playlists put it above Spotify for me.



Utilities

Cleanshot

By far my most used utility app. Cleanshot has an insane amount of great features and just works seamlessly. Not sure how I managed screenshots before it.

Bartender

I'm somewhat obsessive about keeping my technology neat and tidy. Bartender is a must.

AirBuddy

Another 'I don't know how I lived without this' app. It makes swapping AirPods over to my Mac 1 click, and seamless.



Have any tools you think I should try out? Send me a recommendation!

© 2023 Gavin Nelson