Wonder Tools

I go to conferences just a few times a year. To make the most of the frenzied days, I rely on a suite of tools. Read on below for those worth trying, and then read my follow-up post: What’s in My Conference Bag 💼 I. The Week Before 1. Mine Your Network Goldmine Clay | This personal rolodex enhances your contact list with info from LinkedIn and whatever other social platforms you choose (Instagram...

AI assistants are surprisingly conservative by default. Push them to be unconventional, and you’ll get dramatically different results. This updated guide shares my favorite techniques for getting fresh, useful responses instead of predictable pablum. [Editor's note: Are you actually reading these episode notes? If so, I'd love to hear from you. Are they useful? Would you prefer they were shorter s...

Four new AI tools caught my attention recently for solving specific problems well. They're free to try, quick to learn, and point toward where AI is heading. 1. Lovart 🧑‍🎨 Create a brand kit or marketing campaign with an AI design agent Lovart ’s conversational interface allows you to generate posters, social posts, branding kits, storyboards — even packaging. Unlike other image generation tools...

If I could use only one app, I’d pick Craft . Craft is my favorite multipurpose document + notes tool. It looks and feels nicer than Google Docs or Apple Notes. It’s easier to use than Obsidian, Coda or Notion. And it’s flexible enough for everything from shopping lists to client proposals. Read on for why it’s so useful, new features, limitations, and more. Craft’s 8 best features 👍 * Visual: El...

Tally is the best free tool for creating surveys. They’re better-looking and more flexible than Google Forms, and they’re just as easy to create in 60 seconds. Use it for any kind of survey, whether you’re getting feedback from clients or students, collecting RSVPs, or gathering ideas. Get Started: Pick a template or a blank page. Add questions: multiple choice, open text, ranking, or many others...

Most bookmark tools feel like cluttered digital filing cabinets—full of folders, tags, and organizational overhead. mymind is a minimalist alternative. It’s a clean, simple online hub for saving anything you find online. Create a gorgeous private scrapbook of images, links, articles or anything else you want to save, without the hassle of labeling. It’s an opinionated tool that’s not for everyone...

The audio for this post was generated by feeding the text of this Wonder Tools newsletter post into NotebookLM's new Audio Overview feature. Read the full post on the Wonder Tools Substack page Perplexity is the most useful new search tool I’ve used this year. It uses AI to answer your questions using online sources. You get specific citations so you know where the info comes from and can dig deep...

Chronicle is a promising new tool for creating compelling visual presentations. Prioritizing design and full control over bullet points or speed, Chronicle offers a valuable alternative to PowerPoint and other popular online slide services like Gamma , Beautiful.ai , Canva , and Pitch . Because Chronicle just launched its public beta this week, some of its features aren’t full developed yet, like...

Google’s AI Studio and Labs let you experiment for free with new AI tools. I love the way these digital sandboxes — like the one from Hugging Face — let you try out creative new uses of AI. You can dabble around then download and share what you make, without having to master a complex new platform. Read on for a few Google AI experiments to try. All are free, fast, and easy to use. 1. Transform an...

One of the best AI models just got even better. Claude 4 launched yesterday and I’ve been using it for everything from analyzing files and planning projects to copy editing and creating visual dashboards. Read on for my take on its most useful features, limitations, and five ways to use it. 🚀 What’s new with Claude 4? 💭 More nuanced reasoning. Claude’s “extended thinking” mode is now even braini...

I’ve been curious lately — how might AI help my former students — and so many others looking for new jobs — in a challenging & complicated market? My conclusion: AI tools can serve as patient assistants. They can help you organize your search, reflect on career goals, and convey your strengths persuasively. Whether you're pivoting careers or moving up in your field, here's how to leverage AI to st...

The AI search landscape is transforming at breakneck speed. New "Deep Research" tools from ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity autonomously search and gather information from dozens — even hundreds — of sites, then analyze and synthesize it to produce comprehensive reports. While a human might take days or weeks to produce these 30-page citation-backed reports, AI Deep Research reports are ready in min...

I wrote the first Wonder Tools post in April 2020 to help journalists and educators navigate the pandemic shift to remote work. I was sick and feeling isolated. I wanted to focus on something bright in that dark moment. Five years, 265 posts, and 200,000 words later, the newsletter’s archive documents what I’ve found useful for creative productivity. My aim has been to be relentlessly practical, n...

Last week I shared the tools that power my mornings. Now let's explore what I rely on from lunch to bedtime. Below you’ll see sites, apps, and gadgets that carry me from noon to night. From a niche workshop platform to my quirky 'invisible' clock, these are the tech companions that help me wrap up a fruitful day. Catch up on the first part of this post 👇 12pm Lunch and thinking break 🍽️ I often a...

Curious about my actual tech toolkit? I'm sharing the apps and tools that powered me through a recent morning, from wake-up alarm to lunchtime break. This builds on my recent focusing and timeboxing posts. I’d be delighted to hear about the tools you’re relying on today in a comment below or an email reply. [Check out part 2 of this post ] 7am Get ready for the day ☀️ I welcome the morning by gett...

Raycast is one of my favorite free apps. It’s a hidden gem that helps you do almost anything on your computer—add to your calendar, list tasks, search files, do math, or control apps—without touching your mouse. It’s free for Mac and coming soon to iOS and Windows. I use Raycast dozens of times daily for tasks that might take seconds individually, but cumulatively interrupt my flow. It saves me ha...

OpenAI just made the most significant leap in image generation I've seen over the past year. You can now type a simple prompt using ChatGPT 4o and create a remarkable photo illustration, infographic, cartoon, or just about any other visual. What makes this special? * Versatility. Create nearly any kind of visual you can imagine. * Intelligence . The AI understands your intent based on an ongoing c...

Today’s post grew out of a lively conversation I had with Mahan Tavakoli on his Partnering Leadership podcast . Listen to Mahan interview me about AI and its impact and you’ll hear my enthusiasm spilling over. His podcast focuses on leadership; my take is that this tech is of tremendous potential value to all of us, whether we’re leaders, specialists, or independents. Listen to the full podcast ab...

Hundreds of AI tools emerge every week. I’ve picked five new ones worth exploring. They’re free to try, easy to use, and signal new directions for useful AI. 1. Sesame ⚡️ Talk with a surprisingly lifelike AI  Of all the AI bots I’ve communicated with, this one sounds the most lifelike. Pick either Maya or Miles to talk with for free in Sesame ’s conversational demo. Try one of these topics . You...

I like thinking on paper. That’s why I’ve got a box under my desk with 27 old idea notebooks. But when I’m looking for a specific note scrawled early in 2020, digital notes are helpfully searchable. Given that paper and digital have distinct advantages, I’ve been experimenting lately with hybrid approaches. Read on for what I’ve found to be most useful. My current notebook of choice is a sleek dig...

Summary: New AI models emerge weekly, but useful prompts are surprisingly stable. I’ve found nine versatile templates to be consistently useful after experimenting with hundreds. They work well even on the free versions of ChatGPT , Claude , Gemini , and Copilot . Read on for the templates and tactics. How to benefit from this post: Adapt these prompts as foundational formulas for getting help fro...

Books offer a compelling, slower alternative to the onslaught of negative news. With terrific new free tools, it’s increasingly easy to access print, digital and audio books. Read on for an update on my favorite book sites and apps. Thanks for reading and sharing. Libby lends out free ebooks and audiobooks through libraries in 78 countries. It works for 90% of U.S. libraries. You can search for an...

When’s the last time you fielded a tech support call from a parent? You want your parents — or anyone you support — to benefit from email, photo sharing, and video calls. You also have to protect them from scams, malware, and unnecessary complexity. Or maybe you are that parent and want to stay safe online. Either way, today’s post aims to support you. I periodically help my parents make sense of...

Imagine turning your reading history into a treasure map. By feeding a list of your favorite books and movies to an AI assistant, you can uncover hidden patterns in what you love. From your subconscious attraction to unreliable narrators to your love for stories that begin at the end, you may be surprised by what an AI assistant can reveal. Building a personal “taste atlas” helps you understand yo...

A dozen tabs open. Notifications pinging. I just opened my laptop and unread emails are already calling my name. Sound familiar? To break this routine, I’m relying on a carefully chosen stack of tools and tactics that protect deep work from daily distractions. Rather than hunting for a perfect productivity app, I've curated a three-layer system for planning, focus, and analysis. In today’s video a...