Tools

Apps, services and products that I use for personal productivity.

Essentials

Chrome - Browser.
- I used to use Arc and loved it. But it ran into some security vulnerabilities and was later sunset by The Browser Company, so I switched back to Chrome.
- Haven’t been able to find a replacement that is secure, private and has the same usability features.
- Chrome now has vertical tabs, which gets it a lot closer to the Arc experience.
Bitwarden - Password manager.
- Everyone should use a password manager. Reusing the same password across sites means one leak can compromise all your accounts.
- Open source and end-to-end encrypted - your vault is encrypted on your device, so not even Bitwarden can see your passwords.
- Works across platforms (Mac, Windows, iOS, Android and all major browsers) and syncs seamlessly.
iCloud+ - Cloud storage.
- I’m on the 2TB plan, shared with family through Family Sharing.
- Costs INR 749 per month.

Things 3 - For personal/work planning and tracking.
- A beautiful, simple and powerful to-do app to manage tasks and projects.
- Requires a one-time upfront investment (~INR 5K) and works only on Mac and iOS.
Obsidian - For all forms of note-taking and personal knowledge management.
- Steph Ango’s ‘File over app’ philosophy inspired me to adopt it. Notes are markdown files that reside locally.
- Extremely low switching cost - the import from other apps (Apple Notes/Notion etc.) functionality is ridiculously good. One of the best first run experiences that I have gone through.
- Requires you to be a tech purist to understand and appreciate it. Community contributed plug-ins make it incredibly powerful and customizable.
- Free to use.
reMarkable 2 - Paper tablet (e-Ink).
- Amazing device for journalling, reading and annotating PDFs.
- Use it for distraction free thinking and digitisation of handwritten notes.
- Costs ~INR 44K.
Day One - Digital journal.
- Very well designed app for journalling - supports attachments, maps to location and syncs with photo library.
- Sends useful daily prompts to think and reflect.
- Costs $2.92 (~INR 250) per month for premium version.

Apple Watch - For fitness tracking.
- Apple Watch SE (2nd generation), bought in 2022.
- Closing the three rings (Move, Exercise and Stand) is a simple daily nudge to stay active.
- Tracks workouts, heart rate and daily activity, and syncs everything into Apple Health.
- For runs, I use the Nike Run Club app along with the Apple Watch to track them - pace, distance and run history. Free to use.
Ultrahuman Ring - For sleep tracking.
- Lightweight smart ring that tracks sleep, recovery and heart rate without needing to wear a watch to bed.
- One-time purchase of ~INR 28.5K (I use the Ring AIR). No subscription fee.
Streaks - For habit tracking.
- Clean and simple UI/UX.
- Syncs seamlessly with Apple Health and screen time.
- One time purchase fee of ~INR 500.
Freedom - For managing screen-time and increasing focus.
- Blocks apps/websites across your devices and browsers. Uses VPN.
- The Locked Mode functionality makes it impossible to bypass.
- Costs $3.33 (~INR 280) per month for the subscription.

Claude, ChatGPT and Gemini - AI models, in that order of usage.
- Everyone should pay for at least one of these.
- Claude is my daily driver. I use it predominantly via Claude Code and Claude in Chrome, along with the regular Claude chat. I’m on the Pro plan (~INR 2K per month).
- ChatGPT and Codex come second. I alternate between Go (~INR 400 per month) and Plus (~INR 2K per month) based on the amount of work I have. If I’m coding a lot that month, I take Plus.
- Gemini stands third. I’m on the ~INR 650 per month plan, which also gives me 2TB of Google storage. Google AI Studio is great for a lot of experimental stuff, e.g. generating voiceovers for videos.
herdr - For managing coding agents.
- Lets me run and monitor multiple Claude Code and Codex sessions from one terminal, and see at a glance which agent is working, blocked or done.
- Free and open source.
Wispr Flow - For dictation.
- Speak instead of type, anywhere on your computer or phone. Cleans up filler words and formats the text as you go.
- Costs ~INR 400 per month (~INR 320 per month if billed annually).

IKEA desk - Study desk.
- TROTTEN, 160 x 80 cm. The largest one that I could find.
- If you have multiple devices and use a monitor, a large desk is such a productivity upgrade.
- Costs ~INR 14K.
Featherlite chair - Office chair.
- Helix high back mesh chair with headrest.
- Very comfortable to sit on. The cushioning is amazing.
- The back support, even though it is designed ergonomically, is not the most comfortable in my experience. Of late, I’ve realised that chairs with headrests are worse than chairs without them.
- Decent, but not great for the price that it comes at. Costs ~INR 30K.
LG monitor - External monitor.
- LG 27MR400-B. 27 inch FHD IPS display with 100Hz refresh rate.
- Not the best in terms of display quality, but it does the job. Having an extra screen is a real productivity unlock.
- Costs ~INR 10K.
IKEA pegboard - For sticking and hanging stuff.
- SKÅDIS, 76 x 56 cm. Keeps the desk clutter free.
- Costs ~INR 1.8K.
Amazon Echo Dot - For music.
- The version with the clock. Doubles up as a desk clock.
- Costs ~INR 5.5K.
Muji stationery - Pens and A6 notebooks.
- Notebooks: spiral, dotted and one with two boxes (one on each page).
- Simple, minimal, high quality and inexpensive. Costs ~INR 100 each.

Matter - For all short-form content consumption. The best app that I have paid for.
- Allows saving links for later, reading newsletters and following writers directly from the app.
- Parses web pages and renders them in a reader view. Supports highlighting, note taking, and listening to articles. Highlights sync with Readwise and popular apps (e.g. Notion, Obsidian).
- Now also offers podcast and YouTube video transcriptions.
- Costs $8 (~INR 640 per month) but is totally worth it.
Mint - Newspaper.
- I read the print edition. Keeps me up to date on business, economics and tech.
- Reading it at night has become a calming ritual. There is something about the feel of paper that a screen can’t replicate.
- Costs only a few hundred rupees a month.
Overcast - Podcast app.
- Clean, fast and built by an indie developer. Smart Speed and Voice Boost make listening noticeably better.
- The free version works well.
Quartr - Investment insights.
- The best resource for consuming investor presentations and earning calls data.
- Offers audio and transcripts with highlighting.
- Free to use.
Audible - Audiobooks.
- Audiobooks don’t quite work for me as a primary way of reading, but they are great company at the gym or on longer drives.
- I subscribe only when they run a discount (often 50% off) and use the free credit on a book that I’d enjoy listening to passively.
- Costs ~INR 200 per month at full price.