Thorsten Schminkel

Software I use, gadgets I love, and other things I recommend.

I get asked a lot about the things I use to build software, stay productive, or buy to fool myself into thinking I’m being productive when I’m really just procrastinating. Here’s are some of the things I use on a daily basis.

Workstation

  • 16” MacBook Pro, M1 Max, 64GB RAM (2021)

    I was using an Intel-based 16” MacBook Pro prior to this and the difference is night and day. I’ve never heard the fans turn on a single time, even under the incredibly heavy loads I put it through with my daily work 😉.

  • Apple Studio Display

    The display is beautiful and the built-in camera is great for video calls. The built-in speakers are also surprisingly good. I love the sharpness of the display and the colors are very accurate.

  • Apple Magic Keyboard

    Nice and slim keyboard with the right pressure point, I really like it.

  • Apple Magic Trackpad

    Since I switched to this trackpad I do not use a mouse anymore, even on my desktop computer. Something about all the gestures makes me feel very productive.

  • Apple Airpods Pro v2

    The noise-cancellation feature is incredible and helps me stay focused whether I'm in the office or working from home.

Development tools

  • VS Code

    I don’t care if it’s missing all of the fancy IDE features everyone else relies on, VS Code is still the best text editor ever made.

  • iTerm2

    I’m honestly not even sure what features I get with this that aren’t just part of the macOS Terminal but it’s what I use.

  • TablePlus

    Great software for working with databases.

Design

  • Figma

    I started using Figma as just a design tool but it is also very useful for collecting visual ideas.

Productivity

  • Obsidian

    I write my notes in markdown and it’s so easy to find things and keep everything organized. I also use it for my daily journaling as well. Having all my writings stored locally for me is essential for quick access and peace of mind.

  • Things

    One of those GTD tools, but from my point of view the one with the visually best looking interface and very nice effects.

  • Get Plain Text

    I use this to paste text without formatting. It’s a small thing but it’s so useful.

  • Magnet

    Window management tool that makes it easy to snap windows to the sides of the screen. I can’t live without it.