Best Productivity Software

Most people use the native Spotlight search within MacOS, and most are totally happy with it. If that's you, you probably don't care much about this space, but I'm here to tell you that you should.

Search is the main way to navigate the OS, and imagine this search box with superpowers. Do you open up the calculator? Raycast has that built in. Have a separate window resizing/manager tool like Rectangles? Yeah, Raycast does that too.

Just about anything you can think of, Raycast can do, or they have an app/integration for it. I'm not kidding—I literally compressed the image to the Arc + Raycast integration using a Raycast plugin:

Never again do you need to navigate to a sketchy "image conversion" website again—you can now do it all through your favorite ⌘ + Space shortcut via Raycast.

Now for the more technical crowd... I'm here to tell you that it's better than Alfred in every way. It's beautiful, free, has deeper native integrations, and the developer community is next-level.

Skeptical? I hear you—so much in-fact that I've debated (for hours) with just about every single one of my power-user friends about why Raycast is far-and-above better than Alfred. They didn't believe me, fought me tooth-and-nail on it.

And guess what? Every single one of them are now using Raycast (and Arc 😉). They just needed to download it and give it a genuine shot. It does everything better, and looks 10x as good (UI/UX).

It's free, just give it a shot yourself. If you're skeptical, come debate me on Twitter—happy to convince you as well 🦾

For years, I used the native Mac screenshot tool (which saves your screenshots to your desktop, and then you need to drag the image into your email or wherever you're trying to get it). I didn't think there was a better option out there.

Then I met Alex and he introduced me to CleanShot X that auto-copies the screenshot you take so you can paste it directly where you want. Whaaat? Let me tell you, this saves me so.much.time on a daily basis.

Want to screenshot a few images? No problem. All the images will auto-appear on the side of your screen and you can pick and choose which ones you want.

It's also super easy to annotate and draw on each image if you want to point something out, or blur out important information.

In summary, if you screenshot often this will make you MUCH more productive. Try it for a week and you won't be able to go back.

I'll preface this by saying that I've used LastPass, 1Password, Bitwarden, and even—only IT companies would recognize—IT Glue & MyGlue (a premium solution starting at $150/mo).

I first started using LastPass over a decade ago, got most of my family/friends on it, and eventually even customers as well (as a way to securely share passwords between companies).

The thing is, LastPass got acquired by LogMeIn and started becoming stagnant. It also went through what felt like a never-ending series of major data breaches over the years to follow.

This was when I started seriously evaluating alternatives (like Dashlane), as I knew it was going to be a heavy lift to switch—consisting of migrating myself (personal + work), family, friends, and even some customers all over to it from LastPass and MyGlue respectivel

For those more technical (or running an IT company) and considering IT Glue/MyGlue—it's great, but as a password manager, it's overkill. It's more of an IT infrastructure documentation tool, which they acquired a password manager, and rolled it into the mix. So you're paying a huge premium if you're planning on only using it as a password manager (as I was during the later years of pivoting away from the MSP side of the business).

Dia Browser is the latest AI web browser from The Browser Company (the same team who built Arc Browser).

After The Browser Company got acquired by Atlassian for $610M, they were given the full resources to double-down on their AI browser, Dia.

Dia is for those who are super excited about agentic browsers (think of a baked-in AI chat sidebar, that can co-pilot the browser with you at times).

Dia is currently totally free, with an optional $20/mo tier, that unlocks unlimited AI chat limits.

That said, you'd be hard-pressed to hit limits on the free tier, I only hit it once, and I was doing some pretty deep shopping research, referencing dozens of tabs and YouTube video content.

Dia is one of the leading AI browsers in the space, arguably with the most talented and thoughtful product and design team behind it (and now with Atlassian's backing, nearly infinite resources at their hands).

Dia is definitely worth giving it a try, the only question is really whether or not you're open to switching browsers or not. As that's likely the largest blocker. Although, if you're on this page right now, that's likely exactly what you're looking to do, so yes, Dia is worth giving a shot, especially if you've never tried and AI browser.

There’s a big difference between perceived productivity, i.e., trying new apps, color-coding everything, reorganizing your system for the fifth time, versus actually finishing meaningful work. Motion leans into the second camp.

It's more focused on taking away the busy work that silently eats up all your time and less about making everything look perfectly organized.

It does this through its AI auto-scheduling feature, which works by taking all the tasks on your calendar and using AI to create a schedule that makes sense. Meaning you log on for your workday, and all your tasks are scheduled. You know exactly where to jump in with no guesswork.

It's built for people who actually want to get work done and not just tinker with productivity tools.

Motion's AI assistant basically takes the place of an assistant who would plan your day for you. So, instead of rearranging tasks or deciding what to work on next, you open your calendar, and it’s already mapped out.

Motions prices range from $19 to $34 per month (Individual to Team plans).

Sunsama is a daily planner built around intentional, manual time blocking. The very first thing it asks each morning is "What do you want to get done today?" so it's clear that making mindful use of your time is what Sunsama was going for. It’s also very intuitive and easy to navigate, giving you a full view of your tasks on one side and your calendar on the other. You have the ability to drag tasks onto your schedule and then reflect on obstacles. Then, at the end of the day, you go through a shutdown ritual and review what you completed. It’s not a tool that's trying to automate your life, but trying to help you be more mindful about it.

Sunsama is going to be excellent for people who love pen-and-paper planners but want a digital version. So, if you enjoy sitting down for 10–15 minutes each morning to thoughtfully plan your day, you'll likely love this. Students, solo operators, and professionals who value calm over speed tend to resonate with it.

It's beautifully designed, very focused, and does daily planning extremely well. However, that does mean it’s fully manual. There’s no AI auto-scheduling or project management tool built in. You can connect something like Asana, ClickUp, Monday, or Linear if you'd like. But overall, most busy founders or executives could feel that the daily ritual is one more thing to maintain.

When we look at other tools, it's clear that Sunsama sets itself apart. It doesn't have the fast task triage of Akiflow or the full AI, automation-first capabilities of Motion, but it's a solid middle ground that helps users become intentional and purposeful with their time.

• Yearly Subscription: $16/month (Save 20% when you pay up front)
• Monthly Subscription: $20/month