The Tools I Use for Work (June 2025)
Published Jun 12, 2025
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Updated Jun 12, 2025
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2 minutes read
Preface
As someone who spends the majority of my working hours in front of the computer, I gravitate towards tools that are:
- Thoughtfully designed and frictionless
- Uncluttered and unobtrusive
- Fast and performant
- Privacy-respecting
This stands in stark contrast to the majority of tools I see others using and getting frustrated with (for good reason).
To improve my working experience, I’ve explored and experimented, with the goal of finding the set of tools that match my work needs and personal taste.
The following list of tools covers 99% of my needs:
Tools
| Tool | Plan | Monthly Cost (USD) | Why & How |
|---|---|---|---|
| ChatGPT | Plus | $20 | o3 is my daily driver. Deep research is helpful. Memory is interesting. |
| Chorus | Frontier | $100 | Consult with multiple AI models at the same time for important tasks and brainstorming. |
| Granola | Individual | $18 | My favourite meeting notetaker after extensive testing. Peak user experience. |
| Superwhisper | Pro | $8.49 | Privacy respecting MacOs speech to text tool. The fastest way of working with large language models is via dictation. |
| Raycast | Pro | $10 | This app transformed the way I use my computers. I find it incredibly useful and I’m barely scratching the surface. Maybe that’s a good thing. |
| Kagi | Pro | $10 | Privacy respecting search engine with optional AI enhancements. I can’t go back to Google search and if your work depends on your ability to access quality information, you shouldn’t either. |
| Cursor | Pro | $20 | The AI-assisted IDE where I do my coding. Claude Sonnet 4 is SO GOOD with it. |
| Readwise Reader | Full | $13 | This is where I save the articles and blog posts I come across to read later. No more stressing over losing track of tabs and browser history. |
| MyMind | Student of Life | $7.99 | If Reader is for articles, MyMind is where I dump everything else I want to revisit later: Reddit threads, Youtube videos, design inpso, dev tools, products and more. |
| Todoist | Beginner | Free.99 | I need a simple and discrete space for one-off todos that syncs with each of my devices. Todoist does just that. |
| Obsidian | Sync Standard | $5 | The GOAT software for private, personal notes. Cupertino theme. |
| Cal.com | Individual | Free.99 | The GOAT software for calendar links. |
| Dub.co | Pro | $30 | The best designed link shortener. Bar none. I use it for branded links like jonathon.link/... Easy to remember, easy to share. |
| Screen.studio | Per month billed yearly | $9 | For product demos, walkthroughs and tutorials. |
| CleanShot X | One-time purchase | $29 | All my screenshots & annotations, gif recordings. |
| Arc Browser | Free | Free.99 | Exactly what I need in a browser: vertical tabs, collapsible sidebar, profiles and auto-archiving inactive tabs. |
| 1Password | Business | $10 / user / month | I only need to remember one password. Ha. If you struggle creating and remembering secure passwords, do yourself a favor and use a password manager. Trust me. |
PS: In case I'm not already working with you, the next cohort of my AI literacy for business course starts on July 8th.