So I’ve stumbled into this bad habit of looking up other blogs and websites when I’m in need of inspiration. This morning’s ultimate find was UsesThis.com, a blog that interviews people to primarily sus out what hardware and software they use to make them successful at what they do. I also saw where Matt Mullenweg, the creator of WordPress (the software that runs this blog!), created a post of his favorite apps instead of sharing what was in his backpack again back in 2020. These two things got me thinking about doing a post of my own. I spend nearly my entire life online between working remotely, going to school online, and streaming and gaming in my free time. Needless to say, I’ve got a lot of tools to share!
Without further adieu, here’s everything that I use in a given day:
- Social Media: Twitter and Instagram are probably the two platforms that I spend the most time on, though I try to live-stream directly on Twitch whenever I have the time to do so. Twitch streams can also sometimes lead to recycling content for TikTok and other platforms.
- Chat & Communication: My family has widely adopted Discord for almost all chatting, web sharing, video conferencing, and screen-sharing, though I also still utilize Messenger and plain ol’ phone calls and texting for some friends and family. Very rarely I’ll also need to use Zoom for virtual meetings.
- Design: I love the Adobe Creative Cloud suite of products that includes Photoshop, Illustrator, Premiere Pro, etc., but I’m also no professional when it comes to design, so I’ve been known to throw together quick graphics and documents in Canva, especially since Adobe is SO expensive.
- Web Presence: I use WordPress pretty much exclusively for all my web development needs, but my main “hub” is generated through the quick-and-easy one-page maker Carrd.
- Music & Podcasts: Spotify is pretty much our one-stop shop. We have a family account. I’ve been known to throw on some tunes from YouTube in a pinch though.
- Productivity: If I don’t need to use Microsoft for some reason, I tend to prefer Google’s ecosystem of products: Drive, Gmail, Docs, Sheets, Slides, etc. If you need to write it down by hand, make sure you grab yourself a Rocketbook. I own two of them along with a rainbow assortment of FriXion writing utensils to go with it!
- Note-Taking: In addition to the aforementioned Rocketbook, there are also digital note apps. I’ve made major use of both Evernote and OneNote for all kinds of facets of my life.
- Twitch Streaming: I use StreamElements and their version of OBS to broadcast to Twitch. Along with my NZXT PC, I also use a Logitech Brio webcam, Sony ZX110NC noise-canceling headphones, Elgato Stream Deck, and the Elgato Wave:3 microphone as hardware. I get my copyright-free music from Pretzel Rocks and the Wave:3 allows me to use Elgato’s proprietary WaveLink software as a digital audio mixer as well.
- On-the-Go: My mobile device is a Google Pixel 4 XL, which is no longer one of the current Pixel phones. I’m thinking of upgrading to the Pixel 6 Pro soon, but I’ve heard rumblings that the Pixel 7 is coming soon, so I may need to wait. I’ve been without earbuds for a little while, but I’ve got my eye on a sharp set of RayCons that I just may purchase soon…
- For When I Just Can’t: DoorDash or GrubHub for meal delivery, Shipt for grocery delivery, GreenPal for yard work, and TaskRabbit for everything else.
- For Gaming: Steam is primarily where I keep my digital library of video games, but I’ve also got accounts on the Epic Games store, Battle.net, and Origin.
- For Work: At work, we use Microsoft Office 365. You know the deal: Word for documents, Excel for spreadsheets, Outlook for email, Teams for chat and communication, etc. We also use some Cisco and Adobe products, but pretty much everything else is contained in Office.
- For School: I highly suggest installing Grammarly on your web browser and everywhere else it’s possible. It will make your writing better almost overnight. As for solving complicated math, which I’m completely horrible at, there’s thankfully a mobile app called Photomath. Take a photo of those math equations and it will not only tell you the answer, but it will also tell you how to get the answer, which is the most important part! I’ve also got to give Khan Academy and their video tutorials a glowing recommendation!
And since Matt Mullenweg’s post also included his favorite purchases from Amazon, I’ll share that mine from this first half of 2022 has been my new Keurig K-Duo Coffee Maker. It makes single-serve cups of coffee from K-cups and an entire carafe if I’m really needing to fuel up. The only other two favorite items I’ve acquired from Amazon so far this year are my NZXT Lift & Function keyboard and mouse to match my PC. I love the experience both peripherals provide while I’m working at my computer!
There you have it! Let me know what you use in the comment section. Especially if you think it’s superior to what I’m using here.
Until next time…