Favorite Tools
Tools I use and recommend. Where I have a referral link, it usually gets you a discount or a free trial.
Essentials: most highly recommended
- uBlock Origin: the best ad blocker
- fmhy.net: the most up-to-date links to free-media sites
- NotebookLM: engaging interactive audio podcasts (and more!), for free
- Granola: AI-native note-taking app for meetings 2 months free
- I signed up with my .edu email a while back.
- My favorite features: AI-enhanced meeting notes, and asking AI questions about the meeting transcript in real time.
- Curius: a shared library for your bookmarks; annotate cool readings with friends. My profile.
- Reflect: second-brain-style note-taking. No referral link, but free for .edu via reflect.app/student.
- Note-taking app comparison
- I also love Google’s tools for commenting and Notion for more complicated things.
- Forfeit: habit contracts with a variety of penalties (e.g. texting friends)
The picks below are older, so prices and offers may have changed.
Focus
- Flow Club: excellent coworking space and body doubling invite link
- Enter code STUDENTFLOW50 at checkout for 50% off a monthly or yearly subscription.
- Join my Messenger group!
- Fav me as a host! :D
- Focus Blocks: I saw this in an Instagram ad and was impressed by the pitch. 2000books.com/superfast
Reading & research
- Free books: find them via fmhy.net (see Essentials above). Please use uBlock Origin to block ads.
- Google Play Books for reading and annotating (supports e.g. .epub)
- Anara (formerly Unriddle): AI-powered reading and research, with citations back to the source referral link
- Perplexity: AI search, like ChatGPT + Google
- Google Gemini: Google’s AI assistant, built into its other products
Health
- Finch: the first habit-tracking app I’ve stuck with. Very cute, with personality and aligned incentives. referral link
- Or use my friend code KA2XECW2TM1 for a special reward!
- Superpower: 100+ lab tests in one membership, often for less than a handful of them (testosterone, vitamin D, thyroid) would cost elsewhere. They make their money on upsells. referral link
- JoiAndBlokes: an affordable men’s hormone panel, usable at any Quest lab. referral link
- Viome: gut microbiome test referral link
- X3 Bar: a convenient sub-10-minute workout I do while waiting on the air fryer referral link
Self-help
- My favorite podcasts
- Pi: an unusually empathetic AI chatbot for talking things through
- GrowthDay: course and community platform, the “Netflix of personal development” referral link
- Pathless Path community: email me for a gift!
- Small Bets community: email me for a lifetime membership under $100!
Business
- Senja: collect testimonials referral link
- Fathom: free AI-powered meeting recordings. I use it for all my Zoom and Google Meet calls. referral link
- tl;dv: an alternative to Fathom referral link
Travel
- ITA Matrix: more powerful than Google Flights, includes fare classes
Software engineering
- Warp: a super cool terminal, with AI built in referral link
- Taro: lots of SWE courses 20% off
- CodeCrafters: lots of cool SWE project exercises (haven’t tried personally) 40% off
Software engineering interview prep
- Exponent: lots of SWE-related courses 10% off
- Also offers peer mock interviews, like Pramp below.
- Check out their course previews. Much more worth it than I expected; it clarified things through a new framework and perspective.
- Initial impression is stronger overall than e.g. DesignGurus (more expensive, less content) or Educative (more things to click through).
- Pramp: free peer-to-peer mock interviews invite link
- AlgoMonster: algorithm problem prep 20% off Premium
- I’m a fan of their approach: patterns → templates → speedrun.
- Highly recommend checking out their free pages.
- Automated application systems (old, non-referral): RippleMatch, which I used back in 2018; useful for intern and new-grad roles