Setup

I always find it fascinating to learn what tools other people use. So in that spirit, I thought I'd share my main tools and gadgets here.

Computers and Software Development 🖥

• iPhone 13 Pro. This phone is from 2021. There's a bit of a running theme that most of my tech is not brand new, and still works really well, exemplified by a phone that I've had for half a decade and don't feel a need to upgrade.
• Mac mini (2020, with the M1 chip) for personal use. Not the most powerful, even when it was first released, but from the moment I got it, it was significantly more powerful than the Intel-based MacBook Pro I had at the time. And almost 6 years on, it still works really well for me.
• MacBook Pro 16" (2021) for work. I have this on a stand, next to a 27" 4K LG monitor. I use my work laptop for more resource-intensive work than my Mac mini, but I'm still impressed that this is not feeling like a bottleneck in my work.
• Keychron K8. I love the clicky keys and the RGB backlighting. I use my MacBook laptop quite a lot too and think I'm probably more productive and make fewer mistakes on that, if I'm being honest, but I just really enjoy using this keyboard.
• Xcode. It's getting a lot better. I still don't love it, or feel like it's as powerful or reliable as I'd like it to be.
• Fork. I mostly use git on the command line, but as a simple client that lets me quickly cast an eye over diffs in files, and exclude what I don't want from a commit, it's pretty good.
• Ghostty, with a zsh shell, using tools like OhMyZsh, Atuin, and a light amount of Neovim.
• Dark Noise. I hate hearing other peoples’ conversations when I’m working. I’m far too easily distracted. But music often ends up being distracting to me as well. Dark Noise, an app that plays a variety of white noise-like sounds, such as a murmur of coffee shop background noise, or waves crashing on the beach, is perfect in these situations.
• Todoist. I use this to track all of the work on my personal projects, as well as just my tasks around the house. If it's not in Todoist it's probably not happening. I've tried lots of alternatives over the years but nothing matches my brain as well as Todoist does.
• Plain A4 paper. I used to use iPad apps for notes, but I’ve found I’m way more likely to actually make notes in the first place if the paper and pens are just sitting there. And there’s something nice about not only using screens all day.

Running 🏃‍♂️

• Hoka Arahi 7. These are the comfiest shoes I've ever run in. They feel a bit odd at first, but it's like running on a cloud, they feel fantastic. I previously had the 3s and there was no hesitation when I refreshed them this year.
• Apple Watch Ultra. I've had an Apple Watch since the first day it was released and I've very rarely taken it off since. It's the perfect combination of fitness tracker, running watch, and remote notifications device. I still use the first generation Ultra and it's still a solid watch, 4 years on, which is longevity that I would not have expected when the Apple Watch first came out.
• AirPods Pro, first generation. I've also got some AirPods 4 that I was given by my work but they don't fit very well. The Pros, with the different sizes of ear tips, are very comfortable, and actually feel like they won't fall out while I'm running.
• Workouts app on Apple Watch. I've never found a run-tracking app that I like. I dislike how all the big names are more of a social network than a run tracker, and other apps just don't have a nice feel to them. So I use the Workouts app, which integrates quite nicely with Siri and the Activity app on my iPhone. But there's definitely space for something nicer, both visually and functionally.