The Tools I Use
Some of the most common questions I get asked are about the tools I use.
I'm often left trying to remember everything I use, so I thought it would be useful to create a "Master List" instead.
So here's everything I use to build my businesses and optimize my life.
Note: Some of these links are affiliate links. If you purchase a product through one of them, I will receive a commission (at no additional cost to you). I only share links of products I have personally used and recommend. Your support helps me keep this site going. Thank you for your support!
Tech
- Microsoft Surface Book 2 15" (Intel Core i7, 16GB RAM, 512 GB) - Powerful and light 2-in1 Tablet & Laptop
- Logitech Solar Powered Bluetooth Keyboard - No battery, lasts 3 months in a pitch black room. Super thin and light
- Logitech M570 Mouse - No more wrist pain, works on any surface thanks to ball on top
- Anker PowerCore 26800 - Charges an iPhone 10 times. The Digital Nomads go to power bank for a reason
- Google Chromecast - Watch your phone on any screen with a USB connection
- iPhone 7 256gb - My day-to-day phone
- iPhone 7+ 256gb - Backup, mainly used for better camera than main phone
- Bose QuietComfort QC35 - Single best purchase of my life. Allows you to work even in busy airports.
- World Plug Adapter - 2 USBs plus fits any plug
- LiveScribe 3 Black - Smart pen that transfers my notes to my phone and Evernote. Never lose your notes again.
- Kindle Paperwhite - A library in your pocket. Lightweight and can be used in direct sunlight (e.g. the beach)
- Bluetooth Selfie Stick - For shooting walking videos mostly
- Shure SM58 Mic - For at home audio recording e.g. podcasts/courses
- Lavalier Mic - For on-camera audio recording
- Two Person Recording Kit - For "on the road" interviews where speed is key
Software
Basics
- Office 365 - $65 a year for access to the full office suite
- Google Apps - I use Calendar, Drive, Docs, Sheets, Maps and Translate most
- 7-Zip - Free, open source software that opens zip files
- Dropbox - Store your files securely and access on any device
- Skype - Free calls and chat - I use a Skype number to forward office calls to my cell phone while travelling
- Zoom - Video conferencing, webinars and screensharing tool which records sessions for you
- Teamviewer - I use this for remote access to other peoples laptops when they ask for my help
- Truekey - Used to save all my passwords securely. Never have to remember or enter another password again
- AdBlock - Chrome extension to stop ads showing up on websites I browse
- Google Translate - To quickly translate any language to English. I use this during Spanish lessons mostly
- WhatsApp Web - My go to messaging app with my teams, friends and family.
- Xe Currency Converter - Web based currency conversion
Content Creation
- Vimeo - To host all my videos for my websites and courses
- Sony Vegas - Pro video editing software (I use the old Platinum 10 HD)
- Canva - Drag & drop graphic design with amazing templates. Mostly free.
- Screencast-o-Matic - Affordable screen recording and screenshot capture and markup tool
Scrivener - Used every day by best-selling novelists, screenwriters etc to get their words down quickly - Audacity - Free, open-source digital audio editor and recording software
- Mindmeister - Free online mindmapping tool - I mindmap during flights on my iPhone with this
- Market Samurai - Discover the best keywords and your competitors weaknesses with this tool.
- Pro Writing Aid - A grammar checker, style editor, and writing mentor in one package.
Productivity/Health
- Freedom - Stop being distracted by your phone with this app and website blocker.
- Evernote - Remember everything, even years later, on any device or computer.
- Focus 10 - Pomodoro Technique timer to get more work done (windows)
- Flux - Stops your computers affecting your sleep by adjusting screen brightness settings automatically
- Spreeder CX - Let's you read 3x faster - I use this for webpages, documents and eBooks.
- Amazon Assistant - Chrome extension to get order/delivery notifications without having to go to Amazon
- Momentum - Personal homepage/dashboard that eliminates distraction and provide inspiration and focus
- Tabs Outliner - Never lose a website again when your browser or computer crashes
Entertainment
- Spotify - Stream millions of songs from your laptop, phone or web browser.
- Netflix - Stream hundreds of thousands of movies - I use this mostly for offline movies while flying
Finances
- Buxfer - How I manage my finances. Syncs to (most) accounts and gives me a 360 degree view of my money
Apps (I'm an iPhone user)
Note: This list doesn't include the app versions of software I've already mentioned above e.g. Google Calendar - if its in my software list and an app is available, you can assume I already have it.
Travel Apps
- Uber - For easy, safe travel whatever country I'm in
- Uber Eats - I'm lazy. This brings food to me while I work. Like a wife, but better
- Maps.me - Mobile maps with search, tourist routes and navigation all offline
- Waze - See where the traffic is ahead of time to save wasted time and excess hair loss (I sat in traffic a lot)
- Flio - Flight tracking, wifi codes, flight status and airport discounts all in one app
- TripIt - Organizes all my travel bookings into a single "timeline" and makes my life easier
- Expedia - For finding cheap flights. 24hr cancellable for free helps a lot.
- Kiwi.com - For cheap flights when I want to do multi-city trips - I use the "Nomad" option
- My TSA - I use this to avoid long airport queues when travelling in the US
- AirBnb - For booking apartments while travelling
- Booking.com - My go-to for any accomodation. Free Wifi and 10%+ discounts when you use often
- Net Analyzer - I use this to diagnose problems with wifi and Internet connectivity
- Visited - Tracks the countries I've been to, want to go to and how much of the world I've seen
- Places Around - Shows me what's around me from coffee to clubs to crossfit gyms
- Speed Smart - I use this to test the internet speed of apartments before I agree to stay there
- Wifi Map - Gives me the passwords to free wifi all around me
- Instabridge - The same as Wifi Map, if one doesn't work I use the other
Health Apps
- Hussle - Find places to workout that let you book through the app and pay per session
- MyFitnessPal - Calorie, macros, exercise and progress tracking for free. I've used this for over 10 years.
- Pedometer++ - Track your daily steps. Prefer to iPhone version because this has a widget for "swipe left" screen
- Interval Timer - For the rare moments I decide to do cardio - I use this to set intervals or rounds
- Map My Ride - For the even rarer moments I get to ride a bike - I plan my route and get data after the ride
Learning/Productivity Apps
- Audible - Audiobooks for learning on the go. New members get their first book free (no catches)
- Done - Simple Habit Tracker - The only one to ever get me to be consistent
- Kindle - For reading my Kindle books from my phone(s), web or laptop
- Numerical - Faster calculator (no equals needed) that also shows calculation history
- Yousician - Sometimes I use this to learn new songs on the Guitar
- Ultimate Guitar Tabs - Where I get the tabs (which notes to play) to songs I want to learn
- Sleep Cycle - How I wake up refreshed every single day
Other Apps
- PromptSmart Pro - Teleprompter app that moves the script based on the speed of your voice. Good for filming
- VoiceRecord Pro 7 - I record voicenotes after every meeting and for anything I'll need to come back to later
- Gboard - A faster way of typing (swiping), Google search within the keyboard and other awesomeness
Building Websites
Basics
- WordPress - The "engine" that powers your website. Used by over 30% of all sites on the web.
- Siteground - Easy, affordable and super fast website hosting
- Go Daddy - Where I buy my domains
- Mass Image Compressor - Free tool to quickly compress images so your websites load quickly
Look & Feel
- Beaver Builder Theme - Visual "drop and drag" webpage builder for WordPress
- Social Sharing Plugin - Adds good looking social sharing buttons to your blog posts
- Facebook Comments Plugin - Lets users comment on your blog posts using their Facebook login
- Depositphotos - Where I buy images for my websites (don't just take them from Google, trust me.)
Other Plugins
- WooCommerce - Free eCommerce software that turns your website into an online store
- Click To Tweet - Help your readers tweet quotes from your blog post easily
- Really Simple SSL - Make your site secure. Essential if you want Google to send you traffic.
- Ultimate Member Pro - Turns your website into a membership site so you can charge for access
Marketing
- Google Analytics - Understand how users experience your site and improve it.
- ActiveCampaign - Affordable but powerful marketing automation and CRM system.
- Google Adwords - Drive high-quality, qualified leads to your website.
- Facebook Ads - The cheapest way to drive traffic to your website.
- Google Optimize - Run experiments and refine your site to increase conversions (leads/sales etc)
- Zoho Analytics - Get real-time dashboards for your business data.
- Zoho CRM - The #1 CRM for businesses - manage your customers effortlessly.
- Zapier - A "bridge" that goes two softwares "talking to each other" so you can pass data between tools
- Gramto - Instagram post scheduler and automate building your following
- Yoast SEO - Trains you to make sure your blog posts are optimized for Google
Business
- LastPass - To share passwords securely and easily with my team
- Color Picker - Chrome extension that lets you click on any part of a webpage and know the colour code
- Xero - I use this for my business finances and accounts
- Brightpay - I use this for my business to pay staff salaries (via PAYE in the UK)
- TransferWise - My business bank account. Low fees, multiple currencies all managed from my phone.
- Trello - How I manage my projects. Free to use and awesome for teams collaborating on projects together
Travel Gear
I travel the world for most of the year, so after much trial and error, this is my go to kit that allows me to get work done and still look presentable wherever I am in the world.
Basics
- eBags Backpack - The best backpack for your tech, that can also double up as a smart briefcase for meetings
- Delsey Hard Case - Taken a good beating, but still holding up. My everyday "main" piece of luggage
- Roost Stand - To keep my neck and back in good health and avoids me looking like (more of) a neanderthal
- Daypack - A cheap (300 Mexican pesos = $15/£12.50) backpack for everyday use at the beach or in public
- Padlock - For your daypack. Essential in most South American cities if you like your stuff
Travel Clothes
- Rayban Erika Polarized - My 4th pair, this time I went polarized and they're awesome and unisex
- Zara Travel Shirts - Amazing fit, 90% non-iron and makes me look good wherever my luggage lands
- Hugo Boss Chinos - Comfortable when flying, can be dressed up or down so super versatile
- Generic White Trainers (Sneakers) - Go with anything from swimming trunks to tailored trousers
- Uniqlo Airism Boxer Shorts - They let the air out where its most needed. Dry quickly, comfortable