Work horses

The tools I use should »Do One Thing and Do It Well.«

The apps listed here champion this philosophy. I cannot live without them.

Sascha A. Carlin
Sascha A. CarlinList by Sascha A. Carlin, last updated 
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  1. Graphic icon
     Like

    My go-to vector graphics tool. It‘s small, simple and gets the job done perfectly.

    Cost / License

    • Paid
    • Proprietary

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • iPhone
    • iPad
    Graphic screenshot 1
    Graphic screenshot 1
    Graphic screenshot 2
    +8
    Graphic screenshot 3
  2. MacDown icon
     Like

    Simple, functional, well-developed Markdown workhorse for the Mac. Simple as that.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    What it looks like
    Preferences
    Syntax highlighting
  3. Viscosity icon
     Like

    Viscosity helps me to manage my VPN accesses. Lean, simple, just works.

    Cost / License

    • Paid
    • Proprietary

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    Viscosity screenshot 1
  4. Pixelmator is the part of my content creation workflow, that would be hard to replace.

    Cost / License

    • Paid
    • Proprietary

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • iPhone
    • iPad
    Pixelmator screenshot 1
    Pixelmator screenshot 1
    Pixelmator screenshot 2
    +7
    Pixelmator screenshot 3
  5. It‘s hands-down the best European banking app for MacOS.

    Cost / License

    • Paid
    • Proprietary

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    MoneyMoney screenshot 1
    MoneyMoney screenshot 1
    MoneyMoney screenshot 2
    +1
    MoneyMoney screenshot 3
  6. Tasks & Notes

  7. Notes icon
     Like

    Notes for iOS and MacOS solved all my note taking issues. Today I use Roam, see below.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Proprietary

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Online
    • iPhone
    • iPad
    Notes screenshot 1
    Notes screenshot 1
    Notes screenshot 2
    +2
    Notes screenshot 3
  8. Content Creation

  9. Drafts icon
     Like

    Amazingly simple tool to work with text. Syncs across your devices.

    Cost / License

    • Freemium
    • Proprietary

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • iPhone
    • iPad
    • Apple Watch
    Drafts screenshot 1
    Drafts screenshot 1
    Drafts screenshot 2
    +7
    Drafts screenshot 3
  10. Grammarly icon
     Like

    Grammarly helps me writing better English. Its suggestions are spot-on.

    Cost / License

    • Freemium
    • Proprietary

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Online
    • Microsoft Edge
    • Google Chrome
    • Microsoft Outlook
    • Safari
    • Microsoft Word
    • Software as a Service (SaaS)
    • Mozilla Firefox
    Grammarly screenshot 1
    Grammarly screenshot 1
    Grammarly screenshot 2
    +2
    Grammarly screenshot 3
  11. Sublime's search capabilities and overall performance are just amazing.

    Cost / License

    • Freemium
    • Proprietary

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    Sublime Text screenshot 1
    Sublime Text screenshot 1
    Sublime Text screenshot 2
    +2
    Sublime Text screenshot 3
  12. Knowledge Management

  13. Organizes and stores documents, notes, emails, and media with AI-powered search, OCR, syncing, encryption, web clipping, and offline access across devices.

    Cost / License

    • Paid
    • Proprietary

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • iPhone
    • iPad
    DEVONthink screenshot 1
    DEVONthink screenshot 1
    DEVONthink screenshot 2
    +10
    DEVONthink screenshot 3
  14. Hypertext as it should be. An amazing tool to organize thoughts without imposing any mental model on you. Love it!

    Cost / License

    • Paid
    • Proprietary

    Platforms

    • Online
    • Android
    • iPhone
    Roam Research screenshot 1
  15. Visual thinking

    A map says more than 1000 words.

  16. Mind mapping helps you organize your thoughts, remember information and generate new ideas. We've created a beautiful, intuitive app, so you can mind map wherever you are and whenever you want.

    Cost / License

    • Freemium
    • Proprietary

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Android Tablet
    • iPad
    SimpleMind screenshot 1
    SimpleMind screenshot 1
    SimpleMind screenshot 2
    +7
    SimpleMind screenshot 3
  17. Diagramming at its best. Really. Usually, I shy away from using non-native software. yEd's special status is earned by being the best diagramming software. Simple as that.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Proprietary

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Online
    • BSD
    yEd Graph Editor screenshot 1
    yEd Graph Editor screenshot 1
    yEd Graph Editor screenshot 2
    +2
    yEd Graph Editor screenshot 3
  18. Little helpers

    Specialized single-purpose apps that make my life easier.

  19. aText icon
     Like

    aText accelerates your typing by replacing abbreviations with frequently used phrases you define.

    Cost / License

    • Paid
    • Proprietary

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Parallels Desktop
    aText screenshot 1
    Basic Snippet
    Advanced variables
    +6
    Sync Preferences
  20. EasyFind icon
     Like

    Developed by the DEVONthink people, this little gem can find any file on my device, and fast.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Proprietary

    Platforms

    • Mac
    EasyFind screenshot 1
  21. Retrobatch is a unique application for automating actions to tens, hundreds, and even thousands of images at the same time.

    Cost / License

    • Paid
    • Proprietary

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    Retrobatch screenshot 1
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