Gift Egwuenu
Nearly every developer works with different tools on a daily basis to help them achieve their goals or complete specific tasks. In this post, I’ll outline the tools I use for my day to day activities. First thing I’ll like to do is define a workflow.
What is a Workflow?
A workflow is a series of event or task that processes a set of data. Workflows occur across every kind of business and industry. They are the paths that describe how something goes from being a work in progress to complete or raw to processed. Here's an example I have a workflow for writing articles, I start by looking for ideas for a post, to creating an outline and then writing the actual content of the post to publishing all these are series of event to achieving a task.
As a developer, I tend to make use of certain tools that help speed up the process of completing a specific task. Even though a lot of these processes might be different for everyone I still feel the need to share this with you. In the end, no knowledge is lost right!
Tools I use to help speed up productivity
This is going to be a broad list so I’ll try and split them into different categories, I’ll be highlighting the tools I use when coding, writing, and other tools I think you will find helpful in general.
Coding Tools
GitKraken
I found out about this tool recently from a friend and I really love using it. I’m a big fan of using the command line over using GUI but this tool is so much different. GitKraken is a GitHub client application that works just like the command line you are already used to but with intuitive UI/UX that makes for a great experience when you using this over the command line.
Insomnia
This tool is another one I really like using. It is similar to Postman but also allows your query GraphQL endpoints which are cool right. Insomnia is a Powerful HTTP and GraphQL tool belt that is available on Mac, Linux and Windows platforms. Its features include GraphQL support, SVG and image previews, AWS authentication etc.
Visual Studio Code
Visual Studio Code is a code editor that I really love using. I have been using for over a couple of years now and I’ve not found any reason to stop, with constant improvements and new features added regularly this is my goto choice for a code editor.
Dash
Dash is a Mac application for developers that give you access to over 200+ API documentation offline for free. You can create your own docsets or even request for docs that are not included. For Windows users, an alternative for this app is Zeal App.
SourceTree
Ever wanted to use GUI instead of the command line for Git. Then SourceTree is your best bet. I already mention GitKraken and they both do the same job I usually alternate between both apps occasionally. So I’ll say use what works best for you they are both great apps.
Postico
Postico is one client app for Postgres. It has a beautiful UI and it’s easily accessible I prefer using this to other apps I’ve found or even using the Postgres command line.
Hyper
Hyper is one tool I love using, it is, in fact, my default terminal for coding. Hyper is easily customizable with a lot of plugins to integrate into it making it a great choice for me.
Writing Tools
Notion
Notion is a tool for almost everything you need. I’m yet to come in contact with anyone with negative thoughts about this tool. It is super helpful. You can write, plan and collaborate with Notion.
Dropbox Paper
Paper by Dropbox is a great tool for writing. I frequently used this in creating notes, writing a post and a lot of other things. It supports markdown formatting.
Bear App
I like variety so pardon me If I have shared a lot of apps that perform similar tasks. Bear App is an app for crafting and writing anything possible. It can be used for writing articles, jotting down notes and also as a todo list app.
Caret
Caret is a markdown editor for Mac, Windows and Linux users, It enables you to write content in Markdown and also ships with quite a number of features that are really useful like dark mode which I really love.
Deploying
Netlify
Netlify is a tool I love using for deploying my apps, it is a unified platform that automates your code to create high-performant, easily maintainable sites, and web apps.
GitHub Pages
GitHub Pages is quite useful when you need to spin up a deployed version of your website for free and with a few steps of setup from your git repository, you have a deployed website. I use this a lot.
Zapier
Zapier is an automation tool for automating virtually anything you can think of. I use it for automating tweets sent out when I publish a new article by creating a zap with my twitter account and my RSS feed.
Miscellaneous
Rocket
Rocket is a slack-style emoji for your Mac. It works just like the emoji finder in Slack Enter a colon when you want to use an emoji, type its name, and hit enter again to insert. It’s much more convenient than using Mac’s built-in emoji keyboard.
Numi
Numi is a calculator app for your Mac. This is not just a calculator I must say because it features are much more than that, It blew my mind when I discovered I could convert virtually anything with it i.e convert dollars to naira my local currency! 🤯
Taskade
Taskade is an application with a lot of features, I use this for todo lists, weekly planner and also for creating notes. Meanwhile, there are a whole lot of things that can be done with this app. No wonder It is tagged as an Instant collaboration tool for Agile teams.
RecordIt
RecordIt is an application for recording screencasts. I find this really helpful for when I need to create a quick demo or show how a particular thing works in gif format.
Aware
Aware is a Mac application that helps you keep track of how long you've been actively using your computer. I use this keep track of the time I spend working or completing a particular task.
Conclusion
I hope you find all these tools listed useful and start using them to make your job a lot easier. The idea is to share with you tools I found helpful and really I’d like it if you can also share with me tools you have found useful that are not listed here. Let’s all stay productive!
