Uses

I’m always fascinated to see how others work, and which tools they use. Using great tools has a massive impact on my work enjoyment. So let me share the stuff I painstakingly picked to use for achieving my goals. Inspired by uses.tech.

Random

  • Dopper Steel: I think it’s pretty much a requirement to own at least 1 Dopper if you’re Dutch. I got 3 of these, pretty banged up, to always have water at hand.
  • Wake up Light: I have a pretty rough time waking up normally, but this alarm helps a lot by simulating a sunrise.
  • Whiteboards: We’ve got 3 of these things throughout the house. Nice for taking a quick note, hanging stuff, and doing some brainstorming.
  • AquaNotes: I tend to have loads of ideas in the shower, sadly these would flush away as quickly as the water does. So I’m using Aquanotes to write stuff down in the shower.

(Home) Gym

  • X3 Home Gym: Nice as a compact home gym. You can do all you need to, without needing a bunch of heavy, bulky, metal. I’ve been working out on-and-off with rubber bands for a long time.
  • Kettlebells: Pretty much just cannonballs with a handle. Nice for a full body workout. I’ve got the 12 kg, 16 kg, and 24 kg.
  • GHAccelerator: Not fully convinced this works. It should enhance the X3 workout by adding vibrations. I acquired this by making a deal with a guy from YouTube to trade some (unused) gear for this thing.
  • Split Squat Resistance Band Belt: Squats with resistance bands are a bit tricky to get into, so I got myself one of these belts to help with that. Plus, it’s a great help when my grip is exhausted.
  • Pull-up bar: Multi-grip. Wall-mounted. Also great as an anchor point for resistance bands.
  • Wooden gymnastic rings: Great for dips, and static holds.
  • Crossrope: Haven’t quite mastered double-unders, but I’m pretty decent with the boxer skip. I like the feel of a heavier rope.
  • Vibram FiveFingers: I prefer to workout barefoot, but this is the next best thing. These toe-shoes have been the only workout shoes I’ve worn for over a decade.
  • Hayabusa fight gear: Boxing gloves, MMA gloves, Hybrid gloves, got the lot of them. Vintage brown leather style.

Hardware

  • MacBook Pro (14-inch, 2021): Best computer I’ve had in a long time. Finally Apple knows how to make hardware again. Using it on at my desk, with a riser, 99% of the time.
  • Jabra Evolve2 75: Pretty nice headset (although it’s starting to fall apart), with good mic and noise cancelling.
  • Dell UltraShark webcam: Significantly better quality webcam (4K) than anything built in. Plus it can do some magic with auto-framing.
  • Magic Trackpad 2: Multi touch trackpad with custom gestures. I can’t live without. I never use a mouse.
  • Crush 80 Reboot Pro: This keyboard sounds, and feels, amazing.
  • Keyboardio Model 100: Heavily modded with a silicone pour, weights, poron foam, and Gazzew U4Tx switches. But still struggling with the learning curve of a split keyboard.
  • Eizo FlexScan EV395: To be productive, you simply need a bunch of space to make a mess. Both in the physical world, as well as the digital one. With a built-in USB-dock so that I can connect all my stuff into the monitor, and only have a single cable to go into my laptop.
  • iPhone 13 mini: After 6 years I was pretty much forced to upgrade my iPhone SE, the battery was getting bad. I still miss the old formfactor.
  • Apple Watch (SE): Primarily useful during workouts. To check if I’m actually pushing myself, or it only feels that way. Or doing the intervals for a run. Other than that, I don’t really use any of the “smart” features, and it’s not that great as a watch.
  • Apple AirPods Pro: I would never have splurged on these myself (coming from cheap Chinese non-brand earbuds), but my girlfriend got them as a gift from her employer, and she doesn’t want to use them. I will admit, they’re pretty good.
  • Elevation Dock: The main principle for decluttering. Make sure everything has a place. So I got a nice dock, so that the phone always has a place where it charges, and there’s no hassle with cables.
  • Kobo Glo HD: I sold all my physical books, and pretty much only read eBooks. I take this thing everywhere, it even fits in my jacket pocket.
  • Synology DS214: At home NAS server. Due for an upgrade, but still going strong.
  • Herman Miller Aeron: Ergonomics are important. So when I’m not standing at my sit-stand desk, I’ll sit on this great desk chair.
  • Senz Sports M500: Under-desk treadmill, so I can do walking meetings.

Software

  • iCloud Passwords: Can’t live without a password manager in the modern digital world.
  • Firefox: Free, open source, privacy-friendly. And really the only viable alternative to Chromium.
  • MindNode: To think in multiple directions at the same time. Mind mapping really helps to move from random thoughts to some structured idea.
  • Things 3: Beautiful task list app. I’ve spent 7 years training people in time management and Getting Things Done, I’ve tried them all but never encountered any app that’s as nice to work with as Things (although OmniFocus is a great 2nd, if you need a bit more power).
  • Alfred: As an application launcher, to run some workflows, and to expand text snippets.
  • Ice: Cleaning up the menu bar, even on a 38“ screen. I like minimalism.
  • BetterTouchTool: 99% of the time I’m using a trackpad. Using this tool, I’ve set up my own custom gestures.
  • Keyboard Maestro: Automate all the things.
  • Hazel: File management, automated.
  • Rectangle: Moving and resizing windows with keyboard shortcuts.
  • Obsidian: Building out my notes to become my own personal internet. All based on local, plain-text files, pretty fast, and with no lock-ins.
  • VSCodium: My code editor of choice. All the good parts, with less of the big tech.
  • News Explorer: Native RSS reader, with built-in filters
  • Rocket: To type emojis by describing them.
  • Shottr: Screenshots, fast. Even scrolling ones that normally wouldn’t fit on your screen. With great annotation tools.
  • Balsamiq: To sketch out ideas without worrying about making it pretty. I’ll focus on communicating my ideas, and let the designer pick it up from there.
  • Cold Turkey Blocker: Working from home requires some discipline. When I’m working, I’ll block distractions.
  • MarkChart: Mermaid editor for macOS. Writing flowcharts in code. Don’t waste time dragging shapes around.
  • Linear: Such an amazing breath of fresh air when compared to their major competitors. Fast, works offline, and can do pretty much anything using only the keyboard.
  • Brain.fm: Focus “music”, or “sound”. My brain tends to zone out music, so this works pretty great for me.
  • Overcast: For all podcast listening. Double speed. With a smart speed algorithm, so it mostly accelerates pauses between words and sentences, not blindly accelerates everything.
  • Firefox Focus: Great on iOS. No multiple tabs. Blocks ads. Constantly deletes all history.