People often say that tinkering with productivity tools only gives you the illusion of being productive, and I largely agree. In my experience, setting up the perfect workflow can be time-consuming, but the benefits accumulate over time as long as you consistently use the system.
Long story short, here’s my digital productivity setup (mostly software) for 2025. This system has significantly helped me in both my studies and work.
Note-Taking
Obsidian
I use Obsidian for most of my note-taking now. In the past, I experimented with Craft and Notion for their visually appealing interfaces, but I’ve stuck with Obsidian for its flexibility. One noteworthy theme is Cupertino, which is inspired by Craft. It’s much cleaner and more responsive on both desktop and mobile—it truly makes a difference.
For publishing notes and articles, I use Quartz 4, which integrates seamlessly with Obsidian. The final published content closely mirrors what I see in the editor, making the process smooth and predictable.
Reminders
I use the default Reminders app on my iPhone and MacBook. I particularly like the Today view, which organizes tasks into morning, afternoon, and evening sections. This keeps tasks actionable and structured without being overly rigid.
Development
VSCode & Cursor
I’ve always been a Vim user, but VSCode is simply too powerful to ignore. To get the best of both worlds, I use the NeoVim extension in VSCode, making it lightning-fast while retaining Vim keybindings.
I also rely on VSCode’s integrated terminal. By using “Create New Terminal in Editor Area,” I can open the terminal in an editor tab, making it much more usable.
Cursor is possibly the only AI coding assistant that truly lives up to the hype. It’s fast and accurate for making code edits, and I now even use it to draft research papers and create Beamer slides.
Research
LaTeX Workshop in VSCode
I also use VSCode for academic writing, thanks to LaTeX Workshop. It’s practically a full-fledged LaTeX editor on its own, and when combined with VSCode’s auto-completion and AI-assisted editing from Copilot/Cursor, the experience is seamless.
MindNode
Before I start writing, I like to create a mind map to outline my thoughts. MindNode just works—it’s simple and effective.
Personal Tools
- 1Password – Expensive, but hands down the most polished password manager I’ve used.
- Paste – A clipboard history manager with a satisfying sound effect.
- Raycast – Easily the most used app on my Mac.
- Reeder – A clean and well-designed RSS reader for news.
- Swish – A gesture-based window management app that feels intuitive.