I have listed below some tools I use regularly, or compilations I have put together myself. I will continue to keep this list updated. If you feel I am missing out on something very useful, do let me know!

Writing Mathematics

  • Overleaf: For collaborating on LaTeX files.
  • TeX Stack Exchange, of course.
  • Detexify: For quickly getting the LaTeX command for symbols.
  • Mathpix Snip Tool: For extracting LaTeX from images and webpages (when it was free); now they require you to have a paid plan or limit to 10 snips per month.

macOS/Unix utilities

  • Rectangle: For easy “window” management on macOS; free altenative to Magnet and a replacement for Spectacle.
  • Fish Shell: Great alterative to Bash/Zsh! Excellent for those of us who live inside a Terminal for a good chunk of the day.
  • Emacs: I use Doom because I prefer to use Vim keybindings.
  • Logseq: A great tool to approach note-taking with graphs and relationships in mind, inspired by RoamResearch.

Research

  • Zotero and ZoteroBib: A tool for organising scientific literature and managing bibliographies, and an alternative web-based tool for generating smaller bibliographies easily.
  • For notes, an iPad: I can’t function without mine when it comes to my research since I take extensive notes. My primary notes app is Notability, but Goodnotes is great too! An equivalent tablet will do, but the iPad and the Pencil are well worth the investment. I recommend the iPad Air and Apple Pencil 2nd Gen.
  • Inkscape: Great way to produce vector graphics for all sorts of applications. I have a created a summary of what to learn first to get started here.
  • Trello: An upgrade to to-do lists to stay organised for larger projects.

Programming and Development

  • Exercism: This is a fantastic website for learning a programming language, especially for those who already know one language. They are currently running the #48in24 challenge that encourages learning programming concepts for even those who know some coding already.
  • Jekyll: I’ve used this Ruby based static site generator for nearly all my web development needs, and I’ve created a primer on how to get started here. There’s also a version of me giving a live demo. I’ll be sharing the link here soon.

Books

I read regularly, and Goodreads is helpful for me to keep track of my reading lists and reviews.

Finance

  • Actual Budget: Super powerful finance management software. You will have to self-host it, or use something like Pikapods.

Carnatic Music

  • Carnatic YouTube Collection: An excellent tool to find recordings in YouTube of any song or ragam! It’s also sorted by artists, and has links to expositions on the ragam. This is fantastic and indispensible to a beginner like me.
  • Kuyil Apps: They have an app called Sadhakam that lets you practice swarasthanas at a pitch you can sing in. It’s only available on Android though.
  • Many artists have YouTube channels that are really great resources. For instance, check out musiquebox and SaMa moments. I especially get inspired by the second channel since it’s that of someone who isn’t a very famous professional carnatic singer, but she is very talented and has many educational content.

Sanskrit

I am passively learning some Sanskrit when I get time. I maintain a separate blog called Pragnya where I am documenting my journey and keeping track of resources.