Everything on this page is something that I personally recommend and I have used, or currently use, everything listed here. Hover over each item for a short description.
- Breaking the Time Barrier
A really fantastic, and small, book that gives you ideas for pricing your work based on value instead of time.
- Digital Nomad Academy
A nice program by my friend Cody McKibben that offers lots of material related to becoming a digital nomad.
- FreshBooks
Online Invoicing, Accounting, and Billing Software. I've been using them for years as a freelancer and I couldn't be happier. The service lets you track billable time, generate professional-looking invoices, and even accept payments by credit ca
- How To Become a Freelance Web Designer
Tons of great advice from my friend Niall about becoming a freelance web designer. I learned all these lessons the long and hard way.
- How to Make Money on the Internet
Lots of really good advice from Chris Guillebeau about making money on the Internet
- How to Quickly Pay the Bills
The comments on this post have lots of amazing ideas for quickly making some money, many of which are non-Internet based ideas.
- Leadership Lessons from Dancing Guy
If you haven't seen this video, it's a must-see. Even more important are the lessons on leadership that Derek Sivers shares in this post.
- MailChimp
I used Aweber for years but switched to MailChimp when I finally got tried of Aweber's bad business practices. MailChimp has a truly dedicated team of developers that are constantly adding features.
- The co-op business model
This is the model of business that I follow. Derek Sivers, a self-made millionaire, gives some examples from his own life (I started a web hosting company the same way he did)
- Carbon Copy Cloner
The best backup tool for the Mac. I use this to clone my entire Mac hard drive to an external drive every two weeks. If anything goes wrong, I can literally boot my Mac from the cloned backup.
- Dropbox
This is what I use for continuous offsite backups. I keep all my documents, music, and even software configurations stored here. (I use symlinks to make sure things software configs point to Dropbox.)
- Bartender
This lets you clean up the Mac menu bar and control the menu bar items. Extremely useful! Like a breath of fresh air!
- commandlinefu.com
If you use the command line--and you should if you're interested in productivity--this site is great for discovering new commands.
- Disk Inventory X
This is a fantastic Mac OS X tool for identifying exactly what is taking up space on your computer.
- F.lux
Must-use tool for Mac (and iPhone/iPad if you jailbreak it). Automatically dims the screen brightness at night, reducing stress on your eyes and helping you sleep at night.
- Full-Text RSS Feeds
This is a fantastic tool for converting summary-only RSS feeds into full-content RSS feeds. Saves time by keeping all content in your RSS reader.
- Getting Things Done
The book that started it all. I have the audio version that I listen to a few times a year. Lots of really great organizational ideas here and even if you don't use the GTD method exactly as prescribed, the ideas behind it are very useful.
- InsomniaX
Mac tool that allows you to disable closing the lid from putting the laptop to sleep
- OmniFocus for iPad
OmniFocus for the iPad -- fantastic for doing the weekly review!
- OmniFocus for iPhone
OmniFocus for the iPhone
- OmniFocus for Mac
A fantastic tool for staying organized. Designed around the GTD method, but extremely flexible. You can design your own organizational method! Has a companion iPhone and iPad app and a free service for keeping everything in sync.
- Productivity Anywhere
An ebook by my friend Fabian Kruse (feat. an interview with yours truly). If you're interested in productivity, there's lots of great advice here!
- Quicksilver
The application launcher for the Mac that I used for years (I now use Alfred instead). It comes with loads of features that can help improve productivity.
- ShortcutFoo
Great web app for practicing keyboard shortcuts in vim, emacs, TextMate, Photoshop, and the *nix command line.
- KeePassX
The password manager that I used to store passwords, logins, and financial info for years. (I now use Pass: The Standard Unix Password Manager.)
- Little Snitch
My favorite firewall and network monitor for the Mac. It's the first thing I install on a new Mac.
- VPN Service
I use the VPN tunnel from Private Internet Access to protect all my wireless connections when traveling. I consider using a VPN an absolute requirement for security.
- BlueHost
I don't personally use BlueHost, but I've heard lots of great things about them. If you want cheap hosting, this is who I recommend.
- Digital Ocean
A great hosting service for geeks!
- GoDaddy
I've used GoDaddy in the past for cheap domain registration. If you're looking for cheap domain registration, this is who I recommend.
- Instant Domain Search
Really cool tool for quickly checking the availability of domain names. I use this when brainstorming domains for new projects.
- Kinsta WordPress Hosting
The best managed-WordPress hosting there is!
- LiquidWeb
This is the data center where I lease the dedicated server for ActualWebSpace; LiquidWeb has excellent support and they’re very reliable. They also have shared hosting which starts at $15/mo. If you want great support, this is who I recommend.
- Advanced Permalinks
Useful when migrating an existing site to a new permalink structure.
- Efficient Related Posts
Great for generating a list of related posts. Works great on sites with a large number of posts.
- Google Analytics
Adds Google Analytics code to your WordPress site; also allows for preventing the tracking of logged in admins.
- Postie
Great plugin for extending the WordPress Post-via-Email feature. I use this to publish Thoughts and sometimes Journals from my phone via Email.
- Quick Cache
I've found this to be a better caching plugin than WP Super Cache. Also, I'm the lead developer!
- Redirection
Plugin for setting up site redirections. Useful for creating affiliate link redirections and other site redirections.
- s2Member
The membership plugin that I use for the Journal; the free version is very feature-complete as well.
- Subscribe to Comments
Allows visitors to subscribe to comments, including only replies to their own comments.
- SyntaxHighligher Evolved
If you post code examples on your site, this is great for highlighting the syntax.
- No Excuse List
A huge collection of really great sites for learning everything from biology to computer programming, absolutely free. I've used many of the sites listed here.
- Scott H Young
Scott really knows his stuff, and practices what he preaches, when it comes to learning and his blog posts, books, and courses are excellent.
- Teach Yourself Programming in Ten Years
If you want to learn programming overnight, take a look at this article and understand why that's a silly goal.
- Flickr Pro
This is the service I use for photo storage. The features are limited, but I’ve been using them for so long that switching would be difficult. I have photography friends who swear by SmugMug and if I was starting over, I’d probably go with them.
- Fuji X100
A fantastic, fixed-lens camera.
- Panasonic Lumix 20mm
Fantastic micro-four-thirds lens
- Panasonic Lumix GX1
Fantastic travel camera; shoots great video as well!
- SmugMug
- Mou App
An awesome Markdown editor for Mac OS X
- Notational Velocity (alt)
Notational Velocity: This is the app I use for managing all my notes. I use an alternate build by Brett Terpstra called nvALT that includes several improved features.
- Scrivener
The best writing software I've found.
- TextMate
The text editor I use for writing code.
- Typinator
Invaluable text expander. Speeds up typing commonly used phrases and snippets, even things like HTML tags.
- f.lux
[Requires Jailbroken iOS] I use this free app on my laptop to automatically adjust the screen color. It's must-have on all devices IMO.
- MyWi
[Requires JailBroken iOS] A great app for tethering the iPhone to your laptop/iPad for sharing the iPhone Internet connection. Download/purchase through Cydia.
- Pull to Dismiss
[Requires Jailbroken iOS] This app allows you to hide the iOS keyboard whenever you want. Especially useful when reading long bits of text in editable areas.
- Star Walk
Beautiful app for exploring the night sky and learning exactly what you're looking at!
- Gumtree
This is the Australian equivalent of CraigsList. I've found short-term apartment rentals through here.
- Rail Passes
If you have a non-Australian passport, this is absolutely the cheapest way to see Australia. I used the 3-month Ausrail pass ($700, unlimited train travel) to travel more than 16,000km (10,000mi)! This sites give best overview of passes.
- Telstra
Largest mobile phone carrier in Australia with the best coverage country-wide. Get a pre-paid SIMs with talk and data. If you have an unlocked iPhone, get the 'pre-paid SIM for iPad data' and use that in your iPhone.
- Whirlpool
Whirlpool – Like CraigsList on steroids; the forums here are quite popular and active.
- Airbnb.com
It's like CouchSurfing, except you pay your host like renting a hotel. Great for short-term rentals. Some hosts offer a lower weekly and monthly rate.
- CarRentals.com
Cheap rental car search; searches multiple rental car companies for the cheapest price.
- CheapOAir.com
Great site for cheap tickets!
- HostelBookers.com
Find cheap accommodation; I’ve found this site particularly useful in Central and Southeast Asia. Despite the name, many of the listings are not hostels but hotels, motels, and guest houses and they nearly always include reviews from guests.
- Hotels.com
If I'm just looking for a hotel for the night, this is what I usually use.
- Kayak
Search for flights; searches multiple airlines (but not all airlines) for the cheapest price.
- Uber
Uber is a private driver service that lets you request a car (like a taxi, but better) via your phone. Cool stuff!
- Award Wallet
Great service for viewing all your frequent flyer miles from one place. Most, but not all, frequent flyer programs are supported.
- Fear Crushing Travel Guide
Fear Crushing Travel Guide by my friend Farnoosh Brock (feat. a contribution by yours truly). If you're terrified about traveling but also thrilled at the prospect of it, check out this book!
- How to Live a Life of Travel
This ebook, by my friend and fellow nomadic traveler Earl Baron, is a great place to start if you're interested in learning how to live a life of travel. Earl has been living and working nomadically for more than a decade and is an amazing resource.
- Reclaim Your Dreams
Fantastic ebook on living your dreams. I read this during my first month in India in 2010 and it was pivotal in helping me move forward.
- Seat61
Fantastic resource for information on trains and train travel around the world; includes descriptions and photos of various seat classes and cars.
- Travel Hacking Cartel
If you're interested in Travel Hacking, this is the place to start! Tons of resources, many articles for beginners, and a service that alerts you about new travel hacking deals.
- VisaHQ
Great site for quickly researching Visa requirements for various countries. I haven't used their Visa service, so I cannot comment on it.
- Wikipedia
After researching my next travel destination with Wikitravel, I usually dig into the details of the place with Wikipedia. It's great for learning more about the history.
- WikiVoyage
Free Worldwide Travel Guide: It's like Wikipedia, except for travelers. I always start my research here before traveling somewhere (then I usually look up the place with Wikipedia).
- Oahu, Hawaii Camping
Great site for checking availability and getting permits for camp sites on Oahu
- StraightTalk Prepaid SIM
Prepaid SIM with unlimited data/phone/text for $45/month. Uses the great AT&T network. Works on AT&T and T-Mobile unlocked GSM phones.
Webmentions
@raamdev Hey buddy, can you please tell me what plugin you used on this page: raamdev.com/resources/ thinking about creating 1/2