Tools I would vouch for
What I actually use and what has proven itself. No second-hand tips - and, fairly, also what I have since dropped.
An editor where the AI sees the whole folder, not just the open file. I write the site and longer texts in it - and never copy anything into a chat and back.
My main AI assistant. Through Claude Code it keeps my second brain in order - sorts notes, archives finished projects, generates overviews. I approve, it does the rest.
How I use it →
Dictation that types into any app. I can speak a thought faster than I can write it - which means I actually capture it.
No-code automation. Connects tools that do not talk to each other. Good for the things I do repeatedly and hate doing by hand.
Mind maps. A map is how I think - and how I get back into context after a week away. Syncs Mac and iPhone through iCloud, so it is always at hand.
Tidies up the macOS menu bar. A small thing nobody talks about - but without it there is visual noise above everything I do.
Databases and shared pages for the things I do not do alone. My own system runs on markdown in git, but a client or a team will not open a .md file, so that is where Notion comes in.
Meditation guided by a single voice, not a library of hundreds of recordings to choose from. Sam Harris teaches you to notice the moment a thought takes over. Ten minutes a day, and the one app on my phone I do not want to make faster.
No longer using
Beautiful maps, my main tool for years. It broke down inside my Second Brain: AI could not read and write its format, so the maps lived outside the system. I moved to Xmind.
No longer using
Great for decks, and the previous version of this site ran on it. Then I built my own, and decks now come out of a Claude skill that holds my design system.
No longer using
Video editing by editing the transcript, came with my Lenny's Newsletter subscription. Great idea, but it kept stuttering and I ran out of patience for a buggy tool.
No longer using
Another one from the Lenny's bundle. It writes email genuinely well; if I kept one paid tool from it, this would be the one. But marking 100+ messages as read took minutes, and the value did not justify its own subscription.
No longer using
Everyone praises it; I did not last. I need to go back to details in the transcript, and Czech transcripts were not really there; my meetings run in Czech. Summaries and follow-ups alone are not enough for me.
No longer using
It has a bazillion features, but I only ever used the search, and Spotlight covers that. Windows and shortcuts I have handled with other tools for years, so we never clicked.