Before we dive in, I want to share a personal observation: I have too much “stuff”. I have always enjoyed being an early adopter and trying out new tools. I'd figure out workflows to sync between one tool and another and I'd obsess over these "systems" to my detriment.
Moving from an apartment to live in a van and downsizing my wardrobe was so refreshing. Similarly, downsizing my digital tools has simplified my life significantly.
Operating system
Starting off strong with a product which weaves itself into almost every aspect of my day — I have continued to find even more use cases for Raycast than before. Raycast has been a game-changer in simplifying my workflow. I'm using it daily to:
Search for and capture design tickets (via Linear) without losing context or focus
Find files and screenshots on the fly saving lots of time
Grab various snippets from my clipboard history
Translate on the fly
Jump into meetings at lightning speed
Stay focused on the task at hand
Jump into daily notes with a key press
Chatting with various AI agents
Plus so much more...
Another core part of my daily operating system is of course a solid browser, and after being an early adopter, I am still a huge fan of the Arc browser. Reluctantly making the switch from Android to iPhone, I now appreciate a far more seamless handoff between devices. If you still haven't heard of Arc, it's definitely worth checking out.
Design tools
Still holding strong this year is Figma + FigJam. I am interested to see what the team at Penpot deliver over the coming months and years but with so many useful features, I am really enjoying being back in the weeds with this powerful piece of software.
Sure, it has some funky quirks and suboptimal workflows but the pros far outweigh the cons for me. For example, leaning into the evovling Dev Tools has changed how I document and handover design files to my Engineering team.
FigJam is useful to keep everything together under one roof but I did enjoy using Whimsical for white-boarding last year for some time.
Note taking (+ personal todos)
After a number of years tweaking and customizing Obsidian, I had a brief stint with Bear notes (now that I was fully on the Apple ecosystem) but I found it to be a little too lightweight coming from Obsidian.
I have finally landed on Craft in 2025 as my go-to note-taking app. It's lacking in a lot of ways when it comes to shortcuts and organization but one thing that has been a real game changer with their v3 is the way that they have handled daily notes and tasks in the product.
Previously I would use a todo app, and a writing app which would often overlap but in messy ways. Now, Craft has really helped to streamline those two needs into one app.
Calendar
Notion Calendar (formerly Cron) has been a powerful addition to my working day. The keyboard shortcuts, speed and design make this a pleasure to use each day.
Email
After many years and some trials and tribulations with other email platforms, I always find myself coming back to Spark. It's a powerful combination of great design, great shortcuts that helps me to keep on top of my inbox.
Coding
Call it a sunk-cost fallacy, but I have spent a bunch of time finding the best workflows and setups when I need to do some coding and VSCode is still coming out on top this year. With integrated terminals, git and an ability to heavily customize it to suit your needs, I have yet to find something better.
Honorable mentions
These apps may not be front-and-center of my day-to-day work but they certainly help to keep things swimming along when needed
EagleApp continues to be a great for capturing and organizing visual goodies from the internet
Grammarly continues to keep my spelling in check
LastPass because my memory sucks (though I am keeping an eye on Apple's new standalone password app)
CleanMyMac continues to keep my machines running smoothly
Loom continues to be a solid companion to my remote workflow
Wrapping up
As I embrace a simpler digital life, these tools have become essential in streamlining my workflow and enhancing my productivity. I’m excited to see how these tools evolve and how they will continue to shape my creative process in the year ahead.
What tools are you using to simplify your digital life? Feel free to reach out and share!
okay okay, i'll try raycast ;)