I believe great tools can truly improve your life 🛠

I’m not just saying that. As I’ve honed my craft both personally and professionally, I’ve landed upon some great go-to tools to help make my life more productive, more organized, and more rewarding. Finding the right digital and handheld tools to make things easier on you is a simple life hack I’m all about—and now I’m giving you unfettered access to my personal faves.

Many of these tools have been out there for a while and they’re already available for anybody to find on their own. But I figured it would help the people I love if I centralized all my recommendations in one place. This way, I have somewhere to point people when they say, “Jonathan, how do you…?” Perhaps that’s even how you arrived on this page in the first place. 😉

Tools don’t solve everything, of course, but they sure can help a whole lot. I hope these bring you value in the same way they have for me.

Happy exploring.

Whether it’s storing my work items, keeping me connected, fixing something around the house, or reminding me about what I have to do later in the afternoon, these are the tools I use on the regular.

If you know me, you know that I really, really, really like finding the perfect tool for the job at hand. But when it comes to a backpack, that’s one everyday need that I simply can’t live without. Some people prefer slings, others, a briefcase. But for me, a backpack is where my daily work and travel needs collide, and I need something that gets the job done—and looks good while doing it. Enter, Aer backpacks. In my opinion, there’s no better backpack manufacturer on the market (and many would agree). It looks sharp while remaining minimally branded, every pocket is well thought out, the zippers are incredibly sturdy, and that’s just the beginning. My personal pick is Aer’s black City Pack Pro backpack, but you’d be well served by any of their bags.

🎒 Strap one of their sexy backpacks over your shoulders

I get it—we all have different ear sizes, preferences, etc. But I think that AirPods are one of the best products Apple has ever made. They just…work. And beautifully, for that matter. From that fancy little swirling graphic on your iPhone when you open up the case to the magnetized “click” when you slip each bud back into its cozy home, I love it all. It’s worth mentioning that I also tried the AirPods Pro, but I just didn’t like them as much. The noise canceling component made me a little dizzy based on how they locked into my ear. Every now and then, I still use the Pros when I’m in louder locations (airplanes are probably the best spot for them), but personally, I still prefer the O.G. AirPods over the Pro version. I hope that helps you save a little cash.

🎧 Slip those dainty, elegant AirPods into your earholes

Siri, Hey Google, Alexa—they’re all pretty comparable. That said, with as much as we order from Amazon, I’ve found Alexa and her Amazon Echo devices to be the most helpful throughout our home. My kids love asking Alexa questions. Paired with some smart outlets, I also use the “Routines” feature in a few places throughout our house. For example, at Christmas time, when I say, “Alexa, Merry Christmas,” she turns on our tree’s Christmas lights and responds, “Now I have a machine gun, ho-ho-ho!” She doesn’t get Hans Gruber’s accent right, but hey, you can’t have everything.

🙊 Pickup your next Alexa assistant and learn all she can do

Labeling things is a great life hack. I had read a book a while back about how to develop a more organized mind and clear more mental space. One of the author’s tips was to create a designated space for as much as possible. I do that virtually with LastPass and Dropbox. But when it comes to the real world—especially in a family of five—things can get a little out of order at times. By labeling where everything should go on your shelves and in your drawers with the Brother P-Touch Label Maker, I’ve helped curb that issue dramatically. If you ever come by my house, I’ll show you the proof.

🔤 Get nerdy with your organization and start labeling stuff

I’m a big fan of James Clear and his book, Atomic Habits. I truly do believe it’s the most helpful, practical guide to building good habits and breaking bad ones. But at its heart, it’s all about continuous improvement, and that’s one of the principles by which I try to operate my entire life. All that to say, that’s what led me to buying and using the Clear Habits Journal. Of course, you could track your habits many other ways, but I like to set this well designed hardbound journal right by my bedside so I don’t forget to fill it out each night. I think it’s a great way to intentionally go about improving your life, one tiny step at a time.

📝 Start building (and breaking) the habits you want

I admit that it’s boring for me to label the iPhone as my favorite tool in the everyday category, but here’s the deal: other than my computer, it’s the tool I use most. I know it may sound a little snobbish, but whenever I hold somebody else’s Android phone or even see somebody using one, I find myself aghast. Apple’s iOS is such a far superior experience, I honestly just think it’s the best hardware and software combination available on the mobile market. You may disagree—and that’s perfectly fine if you do. I just love my iPhone, and it’s that simple.

📱 Ring ring—your next phone is calling

Look, I was a PC guy for a long time. I stuck with it for as long as I did for a few reasons. Namely, I was a Microsoft Office power user and, for a long time, the Mac version of that software just wasn’t comparable. Plus, the price was right. But in 2019, I finally made the long overdue switch—and let’s just say there’s no going back. While it takes a little getting used to (hello command button), overall, Apple delivers far more intuitive software than a PC could ever imagine offering. My concerns weren’t as valid as I thought. Also, the performance of my Macbook Pro feels like a 10x improvement over my previous laptops. We’ve moved our whole family over to Macbooks, both Pro and Air versions, and I can’t recommend them enough. Don’t wait as long as I did—you can thank me later.

📱 Get rid of that clunky PC and get a Macbook

Honestly, I’ve never been a tool guy. While I will do some small DIY projects and handyman jobs around the house, I’m not the kind of guy that has just the right tool for every job. Still, everybody needs a good electric drill—and that was my gateway into the land of Milwaukee Tools. After getting their M18 Cordless Drill, complete with its bright red bag, charger, and drill bits, there was no going back. Since then, I’ve picked up their cordless leaf blower, hedge trimmer, and I’ve even repacked all my hand tools in a nifty Milwaukee Packout Tote. Heck, even their handheld screwdrivers are nicer than most. Just note that, for those larger cordless tools, you’ll also need to get the M18 High Output Battery Starter Kit—but once you do, it works for all your tools. I really do value my toolset, now.

🧰 Get the best handling (and looking) tools available

Since I’m constantly working on design and products in my day-to-day efforts at work, I need high quality pens to sketch concepts with. As much as any pen could do the trick, there’s just no pen like a Sakura Pigma Micron. Personally, their 05 (0.45MM) is my favorite, but it’s worth getting a whole pack of various sizes. And let’s be honest: it’s probably because they’re Japanese—Japan does everything right.

✒️ Doodle away with the best pen you can get

Growing up as privileged as I did, my family and I barely even locked our house. But being married to a woman who’s obsessed with true crime and murder shows, I just couldn’t seem to pursuade her that we didn’t need a security system. So, after much research, we landed on SimpliSafe. The price is right for all sizes of homes, the system is quite easy to install, the cameras are pretty high quality, and the mobile app gets the job done. It’s nice to be able to see and talk with the kids over the camera even while we’re gone at times, too.

🔐 Protect your home with SimpliSafe

There’s peanut butter and jelly, milk and cookies, and perhaps most importantly, Post-it Super Sticky Notes and Sharpies. I use this good old fashioned pairing for just about everything, but especially for reminders about what I have to do each day or week. I also use them for my larger goals, noting actions that map to the larger goals I’ve established for each quarter or year. And of course, they’re exceptional for brainstorming sessions with teammates when you’re trying to get your ideas up for everyone to see (hello design thinking). There’s just no end to the use of these simple, yet powerful tools.

✍️ Stock up on your Sticky Notes and Sharpies

Communication is a large part of what makes us human. So, naturally, we should find the tools that help us do it better, more often, and with greater clarity. These are the ones I use to do exactly that.

I had never used Confluence until later in my career, but as soon as I did, wow—I instantly got it. For teams looking to collaboratively organize their documentation and share knowledge, there are few better tools available on the market. Especially for documenting product requirements, team processes, and other items that are highly iterative in nature, it’s extremely helpful.

🧠 Share a brain with your team using Confluence

In the age of remote work, there are two types of teams—those who use Microsoft 365, and teams who use Google Workspace. I’m a Google Workspace kind of guy (as is the majority of the market), and all of my teams rely heavily upon the software for Gmail, Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, and the rest of their software suite. That said, it’s Gmail, Google Docs, and Sheets that are the standout software. I had a brief work stint where I had to use Outlook on the web a few years back and, OH MY GOSH 😭, how do people do it? There’s no going back, viva Google Workspace!

✉️ Leverage Google Workspace for you, your family, or your team

Full disclosure: I had recommended Mindup prior to Hypercontext. I was biased, because I was the one who has led the design and development of Mindup from the ground up. You can even read about all I learned building this thing. Regardless of my participation, though, I truly enjoyed eating my own dog food on this and harnessing Mindup to make my meetings more productive. It worked beautifully. As much as this was a collaboration tool to improve how teams work together and achieve more when they meet together, though, I also considered it a humanitarian effort in that regard.

With Mindup now no longer available on the market, however, I point to Hypercontext instead. Become a hero at work and join the fight to end terrible meetings around the world!

📅 Make your meetings more valuable with Hypercontext

If you are in the business of managing a website, app, or any other type of software product, stop what you’re doing and check out Intercom immediately. It is the most essential tool in my arsenal when I’m leading product efforts, helping me get data and feedback from my users and customers, connect with them, and iterate. If you have a website or product, use Intercom—it’s that simple.

💬 Start talking with your users and customers

When communicating with people asynchronously, things can easily get lost in translation. Text just doesn’t always hold up—plus, it takes a lot longer to write with clarity. Enter Loom. Besides Slack, this is my go-to remote communication tool in the teams I work with and I can’t imagine a day without it. Whether you’re reviewing somebody else’s work, providing a quick tutorial, or simply sending an encouraging message, Loom’s recording and sharing is as fast as being in the same room with somebody. Play.

🎥 Communicate better and faster with Loom

Emailing may be easy, but email marketing is a far more complex operation. That’s exactly where Mailchimp comes in, offering the very best email marketing solution on the market. From email automation and drip campaigns to simple newsletters and email blasts, it’s easy to get your emails looking great and delivering well to your opt-in lists. Whether it’s customers, partners, users, employees, or even just a personal email to family and friends that you’re looking to start, monkey see, monkey do.

🐵 Use Mailchimp for your next email newsletter

This may sound boastful, but I don’t mind saying it—I’m amazing with PowerPoint. Since my career started, I’ve been responsible for crafting presentations for Fortune 500 companies that visually and compellingly communicate strategies, plans, data, ideas, marketing messaging, and much more. I can also put together a killer pitch deck. But my biggest specialty of all is putting together templates that are true templates (most decks aren’t), making it that much easier for anybody to craft an amazing presentation. PowerPoint is a powerful (ha!) tool—far more so than Keynote or Google Slides—and I’m on a mission to eliminate bad slide designs everywhere.

🎞Create an amazing presentation with PowerPoint

In a remote, virtual working world, I can’t really imagine doing it without Slack. It’s become my companies’ #1 tool. In fact, we don’t even allow for internal emails, and we only use email for external communication. What I especially love about Slack is that it encourages asynchronous communication in a way that just wasn’t possible in the past. It even cuts down on meetings, too. Got a sec? Absolutely.

#️⃣ Communicate better with your people on Slack

Voice Memos is a wonderful built-in app on the iPhone, and it’s really nice to have in a bind. I use it for lots of things. Sometimes, when I wake up in the middle of the night and want to remember a dream or idea I’ve had, I record (because, the middle of the night is rarely the time to write). Other times, it’s to record conversations with friends. If you want to take it even a step further, I’ve also used Voice Memos to prepare for my death and save goodbye letters to my loved ones. Whenever you need to grab a clip of something that’s being laid down, just record.

🎙 Use Voice Memos to record anything as you go

I sincerely hope you bought stock in Zoom during before the 2020 pandemic. But even if you didn’t, it’s still the best tool on the market for video conferencing and, if you do them, webinars. I’ve used Skype, WebEx, Google Meet, too, and I’ve even given Slack’s video feature a try. But the video quality and functionality of those other tools just don’t compare. Zoom keeps it simple and focused on the task at hand—talking with people while you look at them. Ring ring.

🎥 Use Zoom to conduct your next video call

We all know that music, books, and movies make life better. What would we do without the emotions and stories that these media art forms convey? As a film nerd, especially, I know I need these tools.

While I’ve shared my life hack elsewhere for turning my phone into a book, Audible is one of the chief ways I’ve done that. Whenever I’m driving, or sometimes if I’m just out and about by myself, I love turning on an audiobook to listen to and learn from. In fact, since leaders are readers, I’ve instituted it so that all of my employees have a free Audible subscription. The mobile app itself is nothing to write home about, but it gets the job done, and I like have my library of listening history available at any moment. I probably like it even more because Amazon is so easy to buy audiobooks from in one click (or tap).

🔈 Listen to your next book on Audible

As I’ve stated all over this website, I love movies. All kinds. All genres. All periods. Black and white or color, foreign or domestic, hilarious or tragic—well, you get the idea. The Internet Movie Database (IMDb) makes it easy to watch trailers and get the full scoop on who’s in front of and behind the camera. But even more powerfully, I’ve been using IMDb’s list feature since 2012 to track all of my film watching. Each year, I create a unique list for all movies I watch, new movies I watch, and the best movies I watch. That way, it makes it easy for me to put together my “Best of” list when the time comes. The iPhone app makes my list management really easy. Action!

🎬 Create your first movie list on IMDb

I only have three apps visible on my phone at all times, Kindle being one of them. This is how I’ve gone about turning my phone into a book, encouraging my reading habit even further. While I understand that many people love the feeling of a real book in their hands, Kindle’s highlighting feature has been a game changer for me. At the end of reading a book, I can go back to find the exact passage I’m looking for in a few seconds. This has been a huge help for me, and it’s my favorite feature of the Kindle app.

📚 Turn your phone into a book with Kindle

In the age of remote work and virtual meetings, a good webcam is a must. While nearly all laptops have one built-in these days, since I also have a home office with a monitor, I needed to find a webcam that would work for my setup. With over 20,000 solid ratings and reviews for just $79.95 on Amazon, Logitech HD Pro Webcam was the clear winner from an internet standpoint. Now, having used it for myself, I can confidently say it’s a solid camera with a good mic, too. If you’ve shared a virtual meeting with me, you can see it for yourself.

🎥 Go lights, camera, action with the Logitech HD Pro

Mmhmm, you read that name correctly. The founder says that he believes all good names are those that you can say while eating your food. But that’s not the only area that Mmhmm succeeds. In the age of Zoom, it’s never been more important to have a way to make virtual meetings more entertaining. With their wide array of filters, backgrounds, and other presentation tools, it’s been a valuable tool in my arsenal to create some much better webinars and videos than I could with just my webcam alone. I even used Mmhmm to craft my first-ever online course offered through Be Do Go You. Make your next virtual meeting or webinar leave an impression with Mmhmm.

😜 Make your virtual meetings more entertaining with Mmhmm

In 2009, my family and I unplugged our cable box and made the move to all streaming, with the occasional DVD-by-mail offering, thanks to Netflix. This was when Netflix’s offerings were still the obscure only, but I didn’t care. As much as I miss entering Blockbuster and searching for a good DVD or endlessly channel surfing, Roku has made the switch to streaming far more pleasant than the other options out there. It’s consistently gotten better, too. When they started offering their voice command for search on the Roku 3, I was a happy camper. I highly recommend their products—but you probably already have one, so, there’s that. After all, it’s long after 2009 now.

📀 Get Roku to setup your streaming

Do you like listening to music? Then you probably already have Spotify. There are some other options out there, but I just can’t imagine them being any better than Spotify. You probably can’t either. If you want to listen to something, this is your ticket. Plain and simple.

🎵 Get your music with Spotify

I hate the look of YouTube and Vimeo video embeds on webpages. I don’t think I always hated it, but Wistia is probably what did me in. Their white label video players, interactive call-to-action options, and backend analytics make it the very best video player software on the market. I don’t use anything else when it comes to showcasing videos on the products and websites I help build, because they’re hands down the best. Rather than explain it all to you, though, do yourself a favor and just go signup. It’s free to start, and it’s the best option out there.

▶️ Embed your videos with Wistia