4/27/23, 10:04 AM My complete toolkit for design, life, and productivity 🍱 — 2023 edition | by Thu Le | Bootcamp

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My complete toolkit for design, life, and

productivity 🍱 — 2023 edition

My home office setup, sans keyboard and stand I’ve added shortly after

A lot has changed in the last three years since I first compiled what’s in my toolkit in
2019. So many new tools have been added. Several have left my arsenal, probably for
good. Some remain my trusted go-to every day as I strive to be more intentional
600 10
about the tools that I use and the resources I consume.
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Here is a selected list of what I use daily and weekly and why I use them.

Hardware

MacBook Pro Intel 16" + Thunderbolt Display

My work laptop and monitor combo. I don’t have much to say about the laptop other
than thank goodness the butterfly keyboard is gone, but the Thunderbolt Display —
it’s rare to find this beauty of a monitor here in Vietnam in pristine condition.
Thankfully my office has around ten of them reserved for designers. After owning 4K
27" LG and Dell monitors, I find the decade-old solid piece of tech still rocking, and
the matte display and plastic monitors simply cannot compare to it.

My less immaculate workspace at the office

MacBook Pro M1 14”

I got the base model in March 2022 after not really needing a personal laptop for
almost two years. I use this laptop for browsing, watching YouTube, reading,
journaling, planning, and coding my portfolio site. I love everything about it — the
design, the screen, the performance, the speakers, the keyboard, and the compact
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size compared 16" laptops I’ve used since 2016. It’s still heavy compared to, say, the
MacBook Air, but I like how solid it feels. This is my favorite item in the workspace
and probably the best MacBook I’ve ever owned in terms of value.

Magic Keyboard with Touch ID

I used the Space Gray Magic Keyboard 2 from 2020 to 2022. While I loved every
second of typing on it, the number pad messed up the ergonomics, and I didn’t need
it in my workflows. So I sold it, got the Logitech MX Keys Mini, loved using it for a
couple of months, and then I realized that the keys require more force to press and
slow me down when I type. So after watching and reading reviews, I decided to get
the Magic Keyboard with Touch ID for the Touch ID and because it is much lighter. It
also provides a consistent typing experience between my work setup and home
setup.

MX Master 3S for Mac

I’ve been using a Logitech mouse since 2018, starting with the MX Master 2S, and
I’ve been upgrading to every subsequent version. I still love how it fits my palm well
and that there are dedicated buttons and a physical scroll wheel.

iPad Pro 12.9" 2020 with Magic Keyboard

One of the reasons I decided to buy this iPad in 2020 with the magic keyboard is to
see if I could replace my laptop with it. Unfortunately, with all the apps I use and the
workflows I perform, it seems only a computer allows me to get stuff done efficiently.
I also wanted to make the iPad a reading device but realized that while the big screen
is gorgeous, I get eyestrain after an hour of reading. So now I use it mainly as a
second monitor via Sidecar (one of the best features ever, in my opinion) when
working from home or a cafe and for entertainment like watching movies and playing
games.

iPhone 11 Pro

This one is a few years old and still functions well. As I work with and primarily design
web apps, I haven’t needed to use my phone for testing or anything work-related on a
regular basis. I also have been taking photos less. I do notice it gets a little slower
after every software update, but I will wait to see what the iPhone 15 will offer.

AirPods Pro

I finally upgraded almost a year ago from my AirPods 2, and I don’t know why I didn’t
invest in the Pro in the beginning! The difference in sound quality is evident. Also, its
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size and noise canceling feature are super convenient for going to cafes and
traveling. After getting the AirPods Max, I use the Pro more for meetings.

AirPods Max
I used the Sony WH-1000XM3 headphones for a couple of years to listen to music
while I work and for traveling. After a while, I felt the sound quality was not up to par. I
had the chance to compare in person the sound quality + build + long-term value
between the Bose 700, the new Sony WH-1000XM5, the B&O Beoplay H95, and the
AirPods Max. I ended up upgrading to the AirPods Max in 2022 because it makes the
most sense to me in terms of value. These headphones get pretty heavy, and I find
my neck a little tired after wearing them for 2–3 hours straight. I’ll bring them along
with my AirPods Pro on my 17-hour flight to California to visit my family next week.
I’m already not counting on them being the most comfortable and compact for
traveling, but we’ll see.

Kobo Clara

I’m finally using a proper e-book reader after all these years. My girlfriend gave me
her old Kobo Clara from 2018, and I’ve immensely enjoyed using it to read some of
the many e-books I downloaded but have yet to open. About to wrap up chapter 4/18
of The Laws of Human Nature by Robert Greene. Comparing the Kobo to her new
Kindle Paperwhite, the letters are rendered sharper, and it feels more pleasant for me
to read, even though the Kobo is older, slower, and lacks newer features.

Software

Apps

Figma — Since early 2020, I’ve been doing all my design work here, from project
documentation and research to prototypes. It’s one of the apps that will likely remain
in my toolkit for a while.

Arc — This app has been my default browser since September 2022 and has made
me enjoy using the internet a lot more. I love having different Spaces for work and
personal and being able to organize sites I frequently visit into groups with a much
better UX than most conventional browsers.

Notion — I’ve been using Notion for personal documentation, from journals to
drafting articles and managing weekly to-do lists since 2019.

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Grammarly — I finally got into the habit of double-checking my writing before

publishing a doc or sending that Slack message in a public channel. This tool is
worth every single dollar and likely the best investment I made in 2022.

ChatGPT — Before being able to create a ChatGPT account since I don’t reside in the
US, I tried out YouChat briefly because it is more accessible. ChatGPT feels more
developed, and I like their chatroom-style UX better. At the same time, I’ve gotten
more generic answers and incorrect results from YouChat. I’m looking at these tools
as a research buddy, and it’s intriguing to see where we’re headed with AI.

Brackets — After hearing about the sunset of Atom, the editor I’ve been using ever
since I started coding, I was dreading downloading VS Code. Thankfully I came
across this app when I was looking around for alternatives. I’m a big fan of the Live
Preview function and how easy Brackets is for front-end development.

Spark and Mimestream — My favorite email apps in the last couple of years. I use
Spark for personal inboxes and Mimestream for work email because it’s faster and
cleaner than Apple mail, which still feels a little bland.

Apple Music — I switched from Spotify to Apple Music in the summer of 2021
because of the noticeably better music quality that Apple Music offers. I still think
Spotify has a much better music recommendation and app UX, and I wish Apple
would invest more and iterate faster on this front.

PixelSnap 2 — Still my favorite app for taking measures of anything I see on the
internet.

CleanShot X — I finally ditched the default macOS tool in 2021 for a more capable
and well-designed screenshot and annotation tool. Another excellent investment I
made in 2022.

Rectangle — One of the best apps I can’t go without that I can’t believe is free. I
wanted to find a replacement after Spectacles was no longer maintained in late
2020. Between Rectangle and Magnet (I paid for and was using this app briefly
before discovering Rectangle), I think Rectangle has a better value because the way
it works is closer to Spectacles. Hence, the transition was smoother for me than
when I switched from Spectacles to Magnet, and it’s free.

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Raycast — This app’s design and UX are way more enticing than what I’ve seen in
Alfred. I mostly use it as a replacement for Spotlight, and I don’t use many
commands or complex ones besides opening different apps and adjusting my
computer’s system preferences.

Dashlane — I switched to this one from LastPass a little over a year ago because
LastPass’s free plan no longer offered cross-device syncing, and I’ve always liked
Dashlane’s design and UX better compared to LastPass.

Hotspot Shield — My go-to VPN tool after I switched from TunnelBear. It comes with
my Dashlane plan for free, so it’s a no-brainer.

Numi — I’ve been using this beautiful macOS calculator for planning trips and
budgets in 2022.

Contrast — I continue to use this for both personal projects and work.

ColorSlurp — I found this after wanting more capabilities from the basic macOS
color picker.

AppCleaner — Another free app I recommend for deleting apps and their residual
files from your Mac.

Extensions

Muzli — Still my primary source of news in tech, business, and design since 2018.

CSS Peeper — Still my primary tool for inspecting a website. I’ve been using Chrome
dev tools more lately, but this extension offers a quicker way to find the specs
without having to dig into the code.

Fontanello — After trying different dedicated extensions like Fontface Ninja and
WhatFont, I find this one the most minimal as all you need to do is right-click to see
all the specs like the typeface name, size, see height, color, etc.

Window Resizer — Somehow I still like to resize my browser viewport manually. If

you’re using a much more effective tool, please let me know!

Modern for Wikipedia — This extension makes me enjoy reading wiki pages more.

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Scrnli — Simple browser screenshot tool that I recently switched to from FireShot
after noticing that the screenshot quality from it is much better.

Bonus!

Websites

Mainly for design inspirations and trends for reference.

Land-book

Siteinspire

One Page Love

HeyDesigner

Curations

Godly

Sidebar.io

YouTube Channels

People I follow for their content or storytelling. Most categories are about
productivity, design, and coding, and some are simply for entertainment.

Ali Abdaal

femke.design

Fireship

Hyperplexed

Kevin Powell

Matt D’Avella

Mayuko

Never Too Small

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Productivity Game

Selected.

Podcasts
Podcasts about product, design and UX that I enjoy listening to while I’m taking
walks.

Awkward Silences

How to Be a Better Human

Radio Headspace

Lenny’s Podcast

NN/g UX Podcast

The Optimal Path

The Product Experience

The Product Podcast

UI Breakfast

Newsletters & Publications

Writings from people or companies I follow to read about their perspectives on
what’s happening in design, tech, and business.

Anton Sten

Jorge Arango

NN/g

Proof of Concept by David Hoang

Robinhood Snacks

Stone Mind by Juan J. Ramirez

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Tanner Christensen

The Beautiful Mess by John Cutler

UX Collective

Workspaces

That’s all for now. I hope you enjoyed this list and find some of these tools useful in
your workflow. Let me know what other apps you’re using that you can’t go without!

Productivity Tools And Resources Technology Design Toolkit

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