Tools I Actually Use (and Recommend)

I’ve spent years building systems, some elegant, some held together with duct tape, and along the way, a few tools have earned permanent spots in my toolbox. These aren’t affiliate links (yet). Just real ones I use to save time, reduce headaches, and occasionally feel like a wizard.

dataSmarts is built on beehiiv, so if you like what you see here, you should check it out. With its clean design, seamless editor, built-in referral system, and audience segmentation tools, beehiiv makes it easy for us to deliver high-value insights on automation, AI, and system integration directly to your inbox.

Whether scaling a startup or optimizing enterprise workflows, we recommend beehiiv for anyone looking to build, engage, and grow their audience without the clutter.

Airtable is like Excel’s cooler, more flexible cousin who learned to code and build apps. I use it for everything from project planning to tracking client workflows. It’s a database disguised as a spreadsheet, and once you get the hang of it, it changes how you think about organizing information.

Make is like the secret control room behind a lot of what I do. It lets you build complex automations that feel like flowcharts and behave like magic. Great for visual thinkers who want their apps talking to each other without writing a single line of code.

Open-source and surprisingly powerful. If Make is the iPhone, n8n is the Linux box you tinker with at 2 a.m. It’s not for everyone, but if you like control, customization, and keeping things local or self-hosted, n8n is worth a look.

For managing leads, marketing, and keeping your team on the same page, HubSpot is hard to beat. It’s an entire growth platform that—once you wrestle it into shape—can be the difference between reactive chaos and proactive clarity.

Zapier was my gateway drug into automation. It’s simple, reliable, and integrates with just about everything. I still use it for lighter-weight tasks when I want something up and running in five minutes. If automation were coffee, Zapier is your daily drip.

FME is like a data Swiss Army knife—especially when you’re dealing with spatial data or messy integrations. It’s a bit of a niche tool, but if you’ve ever tried to convert 14 different file types into something usable (and visual), you’ll appreciate what it can do.

Notion is my digital brain. Notes, project docs, dashboards, SOPs—if it’s got text or structure, it lives here. It’s flexible enough to handle both big-picture strategy and random Tuesday brain dumps. Bonus: it makes you feel like you’ve got your life together, even when you don’t.

Slack is where the async magic happens. Conversations, decisions, inside jokes—all in one place. It’s better than email, but only if you set boundaries. (Seriously, mute those channels.) It keeps communication flowing without meetings swallowing your whole day.

Got a favorite tool you think I should check out? I’m always looking for the next unfair advantage.