Powertools, Tips, and Tricks Notes:
User experience monitoring tools:
- Fullstory - JS you drop on your page that records user session.
- Integrates with other services (like bugsnag) so, for example, when you see an error appear in bugsnag you can go and watch to see how the user created that error.
- Is an external service that you need to log in to to view user sessions/videos/etc.
- Ahoy - User metrics on which parts of your app they are interacting with.
- You have full control of the data it records -- you can send it to your database, kinesis, etc.
- Heroku sends data through a proxy (if you are worried about adblockers preventing you from getting user metrics) and then feeds the info into segment.io
- Kiss metrics - Another tool for getting user interaction data.
- They send the data to their service that you need to log in and view it.
Email tools:
- Airmail email client - Fully customizable email. You can set alarms for things that you expect to happen. So if someone doesn't respond it a certain time it can notify you.
- Markdown Here - Chrome extension that allows you to write in markdown in emails (or anywhere else in your browser) and then convert it into beautiful text. You can even alter the markdown stylesheets with it.
- Vim Anywhere - Similar to markdown here you can open up a vim editor anywhere.
Utility Launchers:
- Quicksilver - Quick search your computer, browse your computer, manage content and lots of plugins.
- Alfred - Tons of integrations that make everything wonderful -- Searching, text completion, dash integration, stack overflow, and so much more.
Window Management:
- Tmux - Terminal organizer with multiple windows with tmuxinator to manage your tmux sessions.
- Spectacle - Window management for OSX to easilty organize, resize and customize your windows.
Calendars, Todos, and Other Productivity:
- Event Merging for Google Calendar - Merges your events in google calendar.
- Pomodoros for managing your time.
- Google tasks for maintaining a todolist
- Todoist for lists - Gamifies your todo lists by giving your karma for completing tasks.
- Omnifocus and Things for keeping you focused on your work and helps keep your non-work stuff separate from your work.
- Wonderlist - Another awesome todo app that you can share your lists with other people.
- Use your calendar for your todo list. Paste all your todos into your calendar and whatever isn't finished gets cut and pasted into the next day. That way you also have a record of what you did and when.
- Google Keep - Another easy way to make todo lists.
- Momentum - Chrome extension that turns chrome into a personal dashboard with build in todo lists.
- Getting Things Done - Book with lots of excellent tips for doing things.
- Journal - Vim shortcut for opening a markdown file with the date that you can journal your notes. Having it in text files like this makes it easily
grep-able and easily pushable to github or elsewhere.alias journal='vim + "$(date +%Y%m%d).md"' - Moleskin Notebooks - Analog FTW! Writing things down helps you remember it.
- Google docs - Low weight, easily searchable.
- PM Tools - Asana, Jira, Pivotal Tracker, Trello, Bugzilla, Track, Mingle
- Github projects, Milestones, closing issues with PRs
General Advice:
- Don't let your work track your time. They'll turn it into a cudgel to abuse you with later.
- Tell people what personal projects or learning goals you are working on. It helps keep you accountable and if your friends know what you are working they are able to offer your help and advice!
Thanks a ton for the outstanding notes!