How I work
This is an outdated article. Since quite a lot has changed last months, I am going to make a new, 2018 version of How I work soon.
I get asked quite frequently about which tools and devices I use. What editor and color scheme I prefer. So, in this post I will try to answer these questions.
Office devices and accessories
My primary development machine is 2017 15" Macbook Pro with Touchbar. I have an additional 27" 4K monitor with usb c, which allows me to connect my Macbook to the monitor and charge it with just one single cable.
I use Apple’s Magic keyboard 2. I also own Apple’s Magic mouse but I only use it as a backup mouse when travelling. My primary mouse is Logitech MX Master 2S which is a better choice in terms of comfort.
When I work in coffee shop, plane, openspace or other louder environments and I need to focus, I put my Bose QC35 noice cancelling headphones.
I also have one Windows machine — Lenovo Thinkpad T460 when debugging specifically on this platform, or you know, just in case.
For testing and debugging on smartphones and tablets (where simulators are not enough), I own iphone 7 and one simple Lenovo Android tablet.
Lightning is everything. So obviously I bought few Philips Hue lights to please my eyes while working. I have Hue bulbs in my desk lamp, on the ceiling and I also have one Lightstrip mounted behind the desk and one Hue Wireless lamp.
When I need to work outside of my office, I pack majority of these devices (except the lights, I am not THAT weird) in this Samsonite backpack.
I don’t make any compromises when it comes to comfort and ergonomy. It’s not a surprise that I sit A-LOT, so I wanted something really nice. I was testing a lot of chairs and the ultime winner for me is Herman Miller’s Embody chair. I would never thought how a chair could affect my performance.
The day when I lost one day of work by accidentally deleting a folder was the day I bought WD Cloud NAS which I use as a time machine backup but also as a personal cloud storage — good when I need to access old data when working outside the office.
Development Tools
Editor
My primary text editor is Sublime Text 3. I primarily use the Monokai theme. I use SublimeLinter to get PHP syntax checking in Sublime.
For larger projects I love using PhpStorm.
Terminal
I use Oh My Zsh with the built-in “robbyrussell” prompt. I use the Arthur color scheme.
Databases
I use Sequel Pro to interact with any MySQL database I need to work with. On Windows I use HeidiSQL
Version control
As for versioning I use GIT — both github and bitbucket, depending if I am working on something where I could benefit from the community (github) or not.
Usually I can manage with commands and Terminal but sometimes SourceTree can come in handy.
Other development tools
When I am dealing with APIs, I cannot imagine not opening PostMan.
To soften the pain using regular expressions I found a great app — Patterns (macOS only thought).
For local environment I chose MAMP Pro.
My FTP client is Transmit which is by far the fastest client I tried (and probably the best looking too).
Productivity
I primarily use Evernote, Wunderlist, and Trello to stay organized.
For large notes, meeting minutes or writing down ideas Evernote is best choise for me. To keep track of the daily and weekly tasks I use Wunderlist. I have a Trello board for each project, even for the projects where I dont collaborate with anyone. I use SCRUM approach to build Trello columns.
The chat app I use most is Slack mainly because it’s powerful integrations (Github, E-mail, Trello etc.).
For time tracking I use Toggl. Also for the projects/tasks where I am not paid for — just to get the idea how much time I spend on each tasks.
Music
I use Spotify to listen to music throughout the day.
