What Marcus uses

4 min read

Here’s what each of the labels mean:

Desktop apps

❤️ VS Code
❤️ Raycast has replaced Alfred for me.
❤️ Obsidian
❤️ ️️ 1Password
❤️ Mullvad VPN
❤️ Signal
❤️ Affinity Designer — An excellent (and cheap!) alternative to Adobe Illustrator.
❤️ CleanShot X
👍 Brave
👍 Screenflow for screen recording and video productions.
👍 Pixelmator Pro — For everyday image editing. I mostly use Affinity Designer most of the time though.
👍 Little Snitch
👍 Spotify
🤷‍♂️ Audacity for when I need to record my voice.
🤷‍♂️ Slack
🤷‍♂️ Discord
🤷‍♂️ Zoom

❤️ ️ Omnivore — Works wonderfully with my Obsidian flow.
❤️ You Need A Budget — Wish I found this when I got my first job. Now I know where my money goes.
❤️ Headspace — Probably the biggest contributor to my mental health.
❤️ ️ Endel — Music to help me focus.
❤️ ️ In Your Face — Shows meeting notifications that block your entire screen.
❤️ ️ Day One — My favorite way to journal.
👍 Buy Me A Coffee — For projects I’m working on outside my day-job. Honestly, it’s more for managing my imposter syndrome than to generate income.
👍 LanguageTool — Not quite as good as Grammarly, but I prefer their privacy policy.
👍 Synology C2 Storage — Cloud storage where I back up my Synology NAS.
👍️ Fastmail — Switched from HEY, but I’ve somewhat managed to replicate the HEY model with labels and rules.

❤️ MacBook Pro 16-inch, 2023 (M2 Pro)
❤️ ZSA Moonlander with Kailh Copper switches — Best keyboard I’ve experienced so far.
❤️ Logitech MX Vertical — I keep this between the Moonlander splits.
❤️ HÅG Capisco — I shift around a lot and this desk chair is still comfortable.
❤️ YETI Rambler 14 oz Mug — Holds my liquid black gold during the day.
👍 Grovemade Wool Felt Desk Pad — Looks good, but also keeps the Moonlander in place as it does tend to slide away from me otherwise.
👍 twelve south Curve — Elevates my MacBook from my desk.
👍 Dell UltraSharp U2718Q 27" — I use this as my primary display with the MacBook on the side.
👍 Multibrackets M Deskmount Basic Single — Holds my primary monitor.
👍 Jarvis Standing Desk Frame with a BEKANT table top — Reused a table top I already had, but I dream about replacing it with a slab of walnut wood one day.
👍 JobOut Standing Mat Classic
Philips Hue Play light bar — Mounted at the back of my monitor.
❤️ Synology NAS DS220+ — Self-hosted solution for documents and photos. Backs up to Synology C2 Storage. Replaces Tresorit for me.

❤️ Sony Alpha a6400 Mirrorless Digital Camera — I use this as my webcam for webinars, daily check-ins, and other calls.
🤷‍♂️ Sigma 30mm f/1,4 DC DN — Bought this lens with the camera, but I’m not quite happy with the field of view. Looking at the 16mm version.
❤️ Elgato Cam Link 4K — Lets me use my camera as a USB webcam.
👍 Audio Pro Addon T14
👍 Elgato Master Mount — For mounting the camera behind the monitor.
👍 Sony ACPW20 AC Adaptor — powers the camera so that I don’t need to charge any batteries.
❤️ Elgato Key Light — I have two of these, but I tend to only use one during daily calls. Basically only turn on both when I’m doing webinars or other recordings.
👍 Samson Q9U with the RODE PSA1 Arm.
👍 Sennheiser HD 560S — Headphones for music and video calls.
👍 6amLifestyle Headset Holder — Holds my Sennheisers when I’m not in a call.
👍 Sony WH-1000XM4 — Headphones for when I travel.
❤️ Sony Linkbuds S

❤️ Fjällräven Ulvö 23 — For shorter travels.
❤️ Pakt Travel Backpack — For longer travels.
❤️ Patagonia Atom Sling 8L — For when I don’t need my laptop. Pairs well with the Pakt Travel Backpack when I’m flying.
👍 Aer Split Kit — This keeps all my cables and adapters in one place.
👍 Kindle Paperwhite (7th Generation) — Still holds up!
👍 Logitech R500s Laser Presentation Remote — Mostly using this for in-person conference talks.