All the things I like to use that make me productive
I like to be productive when I work, so these are the tools of my trade and most of them I use on a daily basis.
Hardware
Apple Macbook (M2 Pro 32GB)
I do everything on this machine and it goes most places I go. I have no performance issues with it, when I need it to do some heavy lifting, it will absolutely do it. It's also the machine I use to play World of Tanks.
Apple Magic Mouse
I use this daily, but only when I'm playing games. When I'm working, I prefer to use the Macbook trackpad.
Apple Airpods Pro
These go everywhere with me and I use them daily to either listen to music and video or take calls. I love how I can switch them easily and quick between my Macbook and my iPhone and the battery is life is really good. I usually have to charge them up once every 3 days or so.
Development
PHPStorm
My IDE of choice and it has been for years. I love how it looks and it's really nice to work in, it works fantastically with Git. Oh, unrelated, but I'm trying to get my hands on the PHPStorm Elephpant, so if you have one to trade, let me know!
Terminal
I use the default terminal on MacOS for any CLI based tasks I need to do. I know there's alternatives out there but I've never really needed what they offer, MacOS terminal just works for me 🤷♂️
Postman / Aspen
I work with a lot of APIs, and work with them frequently so Postman allows me to work with them effortlessly. I've recently been trying out Aspen by Treblle though and it's pretty good!
SequelAce / SequelPro / TablePlus
I use these three programs for whenever I need to do something in a database. SequelPro is used for databases that are MySQL8 and SequelAce is used for anything lower than that. I use TablePlus for if I ever need to interact with a Postgres database, for example. Really I should just use one program for all of them 😆
Colima / Herd
Depending on what application I'm working on, I either have it running in Laravel Herd or have it running in Colima. I much prefer Laravel Herd though as that requires a lot less faffing around to get an application up and running.
DBngin
This is the tool I use to create local databases. It's got a really nice interface and allows you to create local Postgres, MySQL and Redis instances. It pairs really well with Laravel Herd.
Productivity
Google Workspace
I use Google Workspace for Email, Chat, Calendar, Sheets, Docs, Slides and much more. I'm really productive using it because it's all in one place and it syncs nicely with my phone too.
Dashlane
I uses Dashlane as my password manager, not much else to say! It does the job I pay it to do, although it definitely doesn't remember to keep me logged in for 14 days. I also use it as my 2FA authenticator.
Spotify
I use Spotify religiously for most of the day. Whether it be for music or podcasts. I've really started getting back in to Podcasts and I'm currently making my way through some of the older Laravel Podcast episodes.
Design
Canva
It's rare that I ever actually need to design something, but I have a Canva subscription for those times that I do. It does everything I need it to do and probably a lot more stuff I don't really need it to do!