Become a Patron!Support our reviews, videos, and podcasts on Patreon!
Cool tools really work.
A cool tool can be any book, gadget, software, video, map, hardware, material, or website that is tried and true. All reviews on this site are written by readers who have actually used the tool and others like it. Items can be either old or new as long as they are wonderful. We post things we like and ignore the rest. Suggestions for tools much better than what is recommended here are always wanted.
Amazon Kindle Paperwhite: I was stuck in a helluva queue the other day—one of Ibiza’s biggest hardware stores, peak summer. Our tiny island of 142,000 residents suddenly swollen by 3 to 5 million tourists, with infrastructure snapping under the strain. Queues like this? A full-body test of patience. I grinned, reached into my bag, pulled out my Kindle Paperwhite—and got lost in Every Time I Find the Meaning of Life, They Change It.
Anker Soundcore Space A40 Earbuds: Cicadas start singing above 28 °C—these days, they’re at it before sunrise. By the time I step out to work the land, the heat’s brutal. Sweat streaks white on skin and clothes. Even ears sweat. I like to catch up on podcasts while I work, but most earbuds haven’t survived my summers—until the Anker Soundcore Space A40s. Brilliant sound, unbeatable battery, and sweatproof enough for Ibiza. Bonus: noise-canceling so good, I forget the cicadas exist.
Apple iPad Mini: Each morning, I check messages from friends around the world—fellow animal carers, often living alone and off-grid. These check-ins matter. If something went wrong, the animals would suffer. So we message morning and night, sharing news, stories, and quiet reassurances. I press play on my iPhone, pick up my iPad Mini and Pencil, and scrawl notes as I listen—fast, paperless, and grounding. It's the first of many ways I use my iPad Mini each day—for journaling, photo edits, and staying connected. But it starts with knowing my friends are safe. And letting them know they’ve been heard.
DIGITAL
Routinery: We wear a lot of hats—family, work, home, life admin, pets, plans, people. It’s a lot. For me, it’s also six-plus projects a day. A schedule built for burnout—if not for Routinery. Designed for ADHD brains (mine isn’t), it’s hands-down one of my favourite apps. My day starts in it—make bed, feed pets, make coffee, write—and ends in it. Every time block, every task. No wobbling plates, no dropped balls. Just flow.
Readwise: I read eBooks and paperbacks, annotating like a magpie hunting gold. When I find a nugget—a line that lands, a thought worth keeping—I don’t toss it aside. I store it in Readwise. eBook highlights sync instantly; paperback quotes I type in by hand. Revisiting what once stopped me in my tracks is one of the best parts of my day.
INVISIBLE
"Do the next right thing the right way."
My life is built upon two guiding principles. The first—impossible to achieve but wonderful to aspire to—is "To help; not to harm". But in moments of overwhelm, of doubt, of confusion, "Do the next right thing the right way" steers me true.
Sign up here to get What’s in my NOW? a week early in your inbox.
04/15/05
