Random Productivity Tools

Weeell it’s been since 2016 that I posted anything. May as well. A short list of random tools and things that help me in the day-to-day.

Cross-Platform Tools

Espanso – text expansion tool. I use it for lorem ipsum and a few other neat pet tricks such as getting the current date or converting the date to/from UNIX timestamp. I have a private GitHub repository and some bash aliases I use to sync this easily with commands such as espanso-push and espanso-pull. It also has a really neat CLI.
Obsidian – neat Markdown based journaling and knowledgebase tool. I use it to keep track of my day-to-day work as well as log things for longer-term storage. I have a private GitHub repository and some bash aliases I use to sync this easily with commands such as obsidian-push and obsidian-pull.
KeePass – open source password manager I use for personal things, which comes in cross-platform flavor as well as Android flavor.
OBS Studio – screen recorder. There are other ways to make screen recordings, for sure, but I’ve found OBS to be reliable and extensible with oh-so-many options and configurations.

Stay – neat macOS window management tool that really helps with multiple monitors by sticking your stuff to where you intend it.
Rectangle – neat macOS window management tool that also really helps with multiple monitors and moving windows around your different monitors.
Vanilla – neat macOS menu bar management tool that keeps your menu bar from exploding with way too many icons.
Hazel – neat macOS automated file management tool that helps you manage files with automated rules.

CLI tools for various things, mostly used at my current employer.

WP-CLI – WordPress, but via typing.
GitHub CLI – version control.
GitLab CLI – version control.
Harvest CLI – time tracking. Here’s a neat one-liner to get all your stuff for today (requires jq): hrvst time-entries list --fields=id,notes,hours --user_id=$(hrvst users me --fields=id --output=json | jq .id) --from=$(date +%Y-%m-%d);
1password CLI – password management.

CPU-Z – gets information about your current hardware, without prying the case open.
Open Hardware Monitor – temperature, fan speed, loads, and more — oh my.
CrystalDiskInfo – a hard drive/solid state drive health utility.
Dual Monitor Tools – a utility for — you guessed it — using multiple monitors on Windows.
Magical Jelly Bean KeyFinder – find your Windows product key easily.
d ban – nuke data from hard drives before reselling them or throwing them out. Drilling through the drive a la Mr. Robot is still suggested with extra-sensitive data, of course.

I use Firefox so I’m linking to that version, but you can probably find Chrome versions.

Stylus – make certain sites suck less with custom stylesheets.
Greasemonkey – make certain sites suck less with custom JavaScript.
Leechblock – make timesuck sites suck less time.
AdBlock Plus, Ghostery, uBlock Origin – begone, ads.
CapitalOne Shopping – yes, it’s probably stealing all of my data. But it occasionally saves me $10 on a purchase, worth.

That’s all for now. See you again soon, hopefully not in a seven year interval.