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PODCAST

Wonder Tools

Wonder Tools helps you discover the most useful sites and apps. Building on one of Substack"s most popular productivity newsletters, each episode of the podcast includes specific tips on how to make the most of these new tools to work creatively and productively. wondertools.substack.com

technology how to

All Episodes

9:17

5 Years of Wonder Tools 🎂

Wonder Tools ·

2025/04/25

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, not theoretical, and to help people make the most of technology. Here’s a snapshot of some numbers,

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7:32

My Afternoon-to-Night Tech Stack 🌙

Wonder Tools ·

2025/04/17

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 abandon screens for my midday pause. Other times I use apps like these:* Healthy Minds 🧠 Short audio

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3:27

7am to noon: my digital workflow ☀️

Wonder Tools ·

2025/04/11

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. 7am Get ready for the day ☀️I welcome the morning by getting my body and brain moving, picking a few words of gratitude, and gauging my wellness. When I’m exhausted, running late, or otherwise 🤪

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8:23

Raycast: My favorite hidden gem 🚀

Wonder Tools ·

2025/04/03

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 half an hour a week I can reallocate to deep work or family time.Read on for seven of my favorite ways to

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7:35

Wonder Tools 🎨 7 ways to use ChatGPT's new image AI

Wonder Tools ·

2025/03/28

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 chat thread and its understanding of the world, rather than just focusing on prompt phrases. That means you

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51:44

Essential AI Tools for Better Work 💫

Wonder Tools ·

2025/03/20

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 above, watch it on YouTube, or read on for key points and my quotes in black and white.AI’s impact as a

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4:43

5 new AI tools you'll actually want to try⚡️

Wonder Tools ·

2025/03/14

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 can download your conversation afterwards. It’s deleted from the company’s servers within 30 days to protect

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14:12

Paper vs Digital 📓 What finally works for me

Wonder Tools ·

2025/03/07

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 digital device that feels like paper: The reMarkable Paper ProWhat it is: A specialized paper tablet

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12:01

9 useful AI prompts ❤️

Wonder Tools ·

2025/02/28

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 from your AI assistant. They’re customizable recipes rather than rigid scripts. Experiment with them. Improve

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7:11

Wonder Tools 📚 Find terrific books

Wonder Tools ·

2025/02/14

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 and check out nearly anything, instantly, for free, on any device.* Audiobooks Check out and listen to

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6:22

Voice AI 🎙️ say it, don't type it

Wonder Tools ·

2025/01/30

Typing isn't always the best way to get your thoughts down. Sometimes talking through an idea leads to better clarity. New AI tools can reliably transform those spoken thoughts into clean, organized text. I've spent months experimenting with voice AI tools — first on my phone, and now on my laptop. They’ve been helping me pull ideas from my brain onto paper. The tools below have become crucial to my workflow. Read on for my five-minute guide to making the most of voice AI.Why voice AI beats

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7:05

Help your parents stay safe online

Wonder Tools ·

2025/01/23

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 confusing WebEx conferencing instructions or Microsoft Word settings. So when Wonder Tools reader and

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16:29

Create your AI taste atlas ❤️

Wonder Tools ·

2025/01/16

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 your reading self better. It can also surface blind spots in your cultural diet and point you toward

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13:09

Protect Your Focus: A 10-Minute Guide 🎯

Wonder Tools ·

2025/01/10

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 and the post below I’ll show you how it works. Feel free to steal any of these tactics as you’re refining

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7:08

Wonder Tools ⏰ Try Timeboxing

Wonder Tools ·

2025/01/02

I’m starting this year with a focus on tactics, not just tools. Timeboxing is the tactic I rely on to plan my 100 weekly waking hours. In this post I’m sharing tips and tools to help whether you’re new to timeboxing or a pro.To read this full post online, visit https://wondertools.substack.com/p/timeboxing Timeboxing is the practice of scheduling tasks and deep work directly onto a calendar. By specifying how long to spend on each task, timeboxing helps you create a realistic plan taking into

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5:15

📚 Wonder Tools 2024 Favorites | Mini Apps and Podcasts

Wonder Tools ·

2024/12/19

💎 In retreating from 2024’s chaotic news, I appreciated the niche apps and podcasts below. Consider today’s post a holiday care package 💝 with little bites. 🔮 Looking ahead: As 2025 approaches, I’m exploring a bunch of surprising new AI services I’ll write about soon — from Sora’s video generation 🤯 and a whimsical new Google tool to 🧠 brain-measuring headphones 🎧 and an AI-powered, voice-recording pendant. 🤔 I’m also experimenting with tactics for coping with overflowing task lists… post

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7:27

Wonder Tools 🏆 Best of 2024

Wonder Tools ·

2024/12/13

I tested hundreds of new tools this year. Many were duplicative. A few stuck with me because they’re so useful. The dozen noted below are helping me mine insights from notes, summarize meetings, design visuals— even code a little, without being a developer. You can start using any of these in minutes — no big budget or prompt engineering PhD required. Check out my list and leave a comment below noting one of your own favorites. 👇Check out the full post online:

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4:44

🎬 Meet Eddie: AI that edits videos

Wonder Tools ·

2024/12/05

“Hey, can you cut that two-hour conference presentation down to a two-minute video for LinkedIn?”Two years ago, that request would have sent someone deep into video editing software, scrubbing through footage, setting careful cut points, and wrestling with export settings. Now you can simply tell an AI bot what you want and watch it begin to assemble your video.For the full newsletter post, visit: https://wondertools.substack.com/p/eddie-ai-video-editingEddie AI is the first tool I’ve tried that

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3:12

Wonder Tools — AI turns ideas into apps

Wonder Tools ·

2024/11/22

I don’t know how to code. So I was delighted this week to discover a new AI service, Windsurf Cascade, that helped me make several little games and apps right after downloading the free software. How it works: I draft a prompt explaining to the AI what I’m envisioning. It spits out code I can test, then I ask for revisions. I then publish and share an app. Why it matters: Windsurf is the first tool I’ve seen that makes it easy for absolute beginners to code full games and applications without any

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8:57

Wonder Tools 📈 AI for Data

Wonder Tools ·

2024/11/15

Julius is a promising new AI service for analyzing data. I’ve been using it to make sense of — and visualize — my analytics dashboard and find meaning in giant datasets. You can use it for virtually any type of business or scientific data, or simply to categorize survey responses or interpret spreadsheets. Read on for what’s notable about Julius and other new approaches to AI data analysis.How I’m using JuliusJulius has helped me make revenue projections and identify reader retention patterns. It

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61 results

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