In this post I’ll be sharing the apps, websites and tools I use on a day-to-day basis. What’s the point? Well, I’d like to look back to this lineup on a yearly basis and see whether I can improve the way I work online.
Moreover, maybe you’ll find a new app/website listed here and you’ll decide to try it out based on my recommendation.
Software & Online Apps
Day One – where I keep my personal journal.
Trello X – visually organize my business and personal life.
Dropbox – backups of my work files and sharing with the rest of my family and team.
Evernote – save any important (or trivial) pieces of information I come across for perusal at a later stage.
Chrome – my favourite browser (including many awesome extensions).
1Password – no more lost passwords.
Skype – video conversations (masterminds, family, team).
Sunrise – calendar app.
GoodSync – backups.
Recordit – quick screencasts saved as GIFs.
Rescuetime – know where you’re spending your time online.
Sublime Text – text editor.
Snagit & Awesome Screenshot – Screenshots and simple annotations.
Cloudup – easy uploading and sharing of any kind of file. I use it exclusively for temporary shares as it has no organisation facilities and is still in beta.
Slack – real-time communication with my team.
Adium – use Facebook chat without having to login to that time sucker.
MAMP Pro – local server.
Camtasia + Screenflow – screencasts.
Audacity – recording podcasts.
SizeUp – arranging windows on Mac.
Adobe Audition – editing podcasts.
FileZilla – FTP.
Alfred – find and open files and apps faster.
Hazel – automated organisation for Mac.
Avira – antivirus for Mac.
Backblaze – online backups for my laptop.
Boomerang for Gmail – scheduled sending and email reminders.
MailPlane – manage all my Gmail accounts from one app.
Tweetdeck – management of multiple Twitter profiles.
Focusatwill – online app providing streaming music that aids productivity.
Time Machine – wireless backups to a Time Capsule when I’m not on the road.
Todoist – todo lists.
WordPress – CMS powering all my websites.
Pocket – all clipped articles go to Pocket first, then I save the ones I want to keep in Evernote.
Photoshop – image editing.
Bartender – lets you organize your menu bar apps, by hiding them, rearranging them, or moving them to Bartender’s Bar.
Blogo – desktop blog publisher.
Cornerstone – management of WordPress.org SVN plugin repositories.
SourceTree – management of Bitbucket Git repositories.
WordPress – all my sites run on this CMS.
ManageWP – multi site management and downtime notifications to my phone.
GrandPerspective / DaisyWheel – cleaning out big files on my laptop.
Calibre – ebook format conversions.
iSkysoft iTube Studio – recording videos from YouTube and Vimeo.
Ecamm Call Recorder for Skype – does what it says.
Airdroid – management of my Nexus 5
IFTT & Zapier – online task automation.
Workflowy – lots of lists and quick notes, in the process of moving away from it.
Canva – faster and simpler designing when compared to Photoshop.
Social
Facebook – connects me to several groups revolving around my interests.
Twitter – my source of quality real-time news.
Pinterest – mainly private boards where I save handy image-based data such as wish lists for products.
Quora – when I need a complex question answered.
Goodreads – discover new books to read.
IMDB – movie reviews.
AirBNB – renting apartments when traveling.
YouTube – how to videos and publishing through the WP Mayor and WP RSS Aggregator channels.
Vimeo – private video uploads
LinkedIn – maintaining a professional network (don’t get much value from this though).
Flickr – my photography (stagnant account at the moment)
Chrome Extensions
- Awesome Screenshot
- Evernote Clipper
- ZenMate
- Muzli
- Momentum
- Clearly
- Goodreads
- Pushbullet
- OneTab
- 1Password
Music
Spotify Premium – no more need for an mp3 collection.
[email protected] – music for focus.
Of course I use a ton of other apps, websites and software during a typical day, however, these are the ones that are most important to me. Am I missing out on anything you use? Let me know in the comments.
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feisal says
June 24, 2015 at 7:33 amHi! How do you work the hazel and alfred? im relatively new to mac, so perhaps these can help me improve some workflows?
and what about dayone? only ios? how (much) do you use it? and would you recommend both phone and mac app?
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Jean says
July 4, 2015 at 9:27 amI use Alfred as a launcher mostly, although it has many other useful features that you might want to look into. I haven’t used Hazel much lately, but it’s very useful if you want to automate some tasks. For example if you tend to take screenshots and leave them lying around your desktop then you can set it to automatically put them all in one folder once a week, so your desktop stays clean.
Day One is set up on my Macbook and I use it 2/3 times a week to keep a record of what I’m going through both personally and professionally. I also use Evernote exclusively for monthly business goals, but Day One is where I can drop an informal few paragraphs every now and then. I prefer doing this activity on my Mac rather than the phone, so that’s why I haven’t gone for the iOS app.
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Chris Ward says
June 22, 2015 at 8:26 amYou’ve turned me on to quite a few great apps here, Jean. I’ve been looking at backup solutions recently and will be choosing between Backblaze, Crashplan and Arq. Any reason in particular that you chose Backblaze?
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Jean says
June 22, 2015 at 2:19 pmI chose Backblaze over Crashplan because it works out cheaper, and also because Crashplan had no native Mac app.
What I don’t like about Backblaze is that it only retains files for 30 days, so in the case of my external drive (which is usually disconnected) I have to remember to connect it once a month else I will lose all the backed up files (and those are 95% of my files).
I read about Arq on one of Pieter Levels posts and looked into it briefly, however the convenience of Backblaze won out in the end.
In any case, Cloudwards had published an excellent comparison post which can help you decide between Crashplan and Backblaze.
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Chris Ward says
June 24, 2015 at 12:48 pmI hadn’t picked up on the 30 day thing about Backblaze. Arq would save your files for longer and it’s extremely cheap if you use Amazon Glacier. How quick you want to defrost them should you need to restore will affect how expensive it is.
Thanks for the links, I’ll have a read of those two posts. Pieter’s post about when his hard drive was stolen is also a good one!
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amurepinho says
February 28, 2015 at 9:04 pmJean, I’m glad to see Blogo on your list of tools! Thank you for being user and believe in our vision 🙂 @amurepinho
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Jean says
March 3, 2015 at 6:24 amWelcome Amure!
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Shaggy Hairstyles says
February 8, 2015 at 8:13 pmAh yes I see how that can be useful. I tend to dump everything in Evernote but now that you mention it it would be better if I put that kind of visual stuff onto Pinterest. Thanks!.
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Matt says
January 29, 2015 at 3:19 pmCool mix Jean… some new things to try out.
Interesting that Dropbox is not in your list though!
My main power tools would be: Dropbox, Evernote, Gmail, Chrome, Facebook groups, FB messenger, Whatsapp, Evernote, Trello, Pinterest, Flipboard, Spotify, Pocket
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Jean says
February 2, 2015 at 3:14 amThe omission of Dropbox was a mistake, rectified now. There are some tools that have become so ingrained in my workflow that I have trouble remembering them when compiling such lists. Thanks for reminding me.
How do you use Pinterest? Is it for personal or professional use?
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Matt says
February 2, 2015 at 11:17 amI use Pinterest for work stuff to get ideas – web layouts, mobile UI, colour schemes, fonts etc… I keep mostly these as private boards not to flood followers.
I also have personal stuff on Pinterest too, but that’s mostly fashion and design related.
It’s a great tool for inspiration
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Jean says
February 3, 2015 at 8:24 amAh yes I see how that can be useful. I tend to dump everything in Evernote but now that you mention it it would be better if I put that kind of visual stuff onto Pinterest. Thanks!
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Robert Abela says
January 29, 2015 at 2:47 pmWhat about Google Plus? As in do you find it useful / get as much feedback from it as you get from Facebook?
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Jean says
February 2, 2015 at 3:12 amI have a profile there and publicize the latest posts automatically, but I am not an active user. Facebook is my social network of choice.
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Jean says
February 28, 2015 at 5:13 pmNo I don’t use Google+, I just publish stuff there on autopilot but I use Facebook almost exclusively in terms of social media, both personally and professionally.