I just counted the tools in my creator workflow. Twenty-seven. Twenty-seven different platforms, apps, and services involved in creating content, managing projects, collaborating with others, and organizing the digital chaos that is modern creative work.
Some people would call this tool overload. And they’d be right if half these tools were redundant or if I was constantly switching between them just to do simple tasks. But each one solves a specific problem that nothing else solves quite as well.
Here’s the thing about being a creator who lives online: your tools are your studio, your office, and your distribution system all at once. A painter needs good brushes. A carpenter needs reliable tools. An online creator needs a digital toolkit that actually supports the work instead of getting in the way.
But there’s a catch. The internet is full of productivity tools that promise to revolutionize your workflow and mostly just add another subscription to manage and another login to remember. Most tools solve problems you don’t have or create new problems while solving old ones.
After years of testing tools and rebuilding my workflow more times than I’d like to admit, I’ve narrowed down to the ones that actually improve creative output. Not the ones with the best marketing or the most features, but the ones that make creating, organizing, and sharing work genuinely easier.
Here are twenty tools for creators who live online, organized by the specific problems they solve in a creative workflow.
For Capturing Ideas Before They Disappear#
1. Drafts (iOS/Mac): The Fastest Way to Get Thoughts Out#
Drafts opens to a blank page instantly. No folders to choose. No formatting options to distract you. Just write, then decide what to do with it later.
You can send text to dozens of other apps, save to files, create calendar events, or keep it in Drafts. But the speed of capture is what matters. Ideas don’t wait for you to open the right app and navigate to the right folder.
Best for: iPhone and Mac users who need to capture thoughts immediately without friction.
The catch: iOS and Mac only, and the power features require learning the action system.
2. Notion Quick Add: Capturing Into Your Workspace#
If you already use Notion as your workspace, Quick Add lets you capture ideas directly into your databases without opening the full app. Mobile widget, browser extension, or quick command.
The captured items go wherever you’ve set them to go in your Notion workspace, which means they’re immediately part of your actual workflow instead of living in a separate capture tool.
Best for: Notion users who want capture speed without leaving their ecosystem.
The catch: Only useful if Notion is your primary workspace. Otherwise it’s unnecessary.
For Actually Creating Content#
3. Descript: Editing Video and Audio Like Text#
Descript lets you edit video and audio by editing the transcript. Delete words from the transcript and they disappear from the recording. Rearrange sentences and the audio/video rearranges with them.
It also removes filler words automatically, cleans up audio, and generates subtitles. The learning curve is minimal compared to traditional video editing.
Best for: Podcasters, video creators, and anyone who creates talking-head content regularly.
The catch: The AI features are impressive but not perfect. You’ll still need manual touchups for final polish.
4. Obsidian: Writing That Connects to Everything Else You’ve Written#
Obsidian is a note-taking app that emphasizes linking between notes. Write something that connects to previous writing? Link them. Over time, you build a web of connected thoughts.
For creators, this means your research, drafts, and ideas all live in one place with connections between them. Finding related material is instant. Seeing patterns across your work becomes automatic.
Best for: Writers, researchers, and anyone who creates text-heavy content that builds on previous work.
The catch: The learning curve is real. Markdown editing and the linking system require adjustment if you’re used to word processors.
5. Figma: Design Tools That Actually Work in Browsers#
Figma brought professional design tools to browsers. No installation, real-time collaboration, version history, and actual design capabilities that rival desktop software.
Whether you’re designing graphics, layouts, presentations, or just need to mockup ideas visually, Figma handles it without the bloat of traditional design software.
Best for: Anyone creating visual content, especially if collaboration is involved.
The catch: The free tier is generous but limited. And the depth of features means there’s real learning required to use it well.
For Managing Projects Without Drowning#
6. Linear: Project Management for People Who Hate Project Management#
Linear is what happens when you build project management specifically for people building digital products. Clean interface, keyboard shortcuts, and focused on actual work instead of management theater.
It’s designed around issues and cycles rather than forcing you into agile/scrum methodology. Track what needs doing, assign it, get it done. That’s it.
Best for: Small teams building digital products who need coordination without overhead.
The catch: Overkill for solo creators or very simple projects. Best when you have at least a few people collaborating.
7. Sunsama: Daily Planning That Actually Sticks#
Sunsama turns project management into daily intention setting. It pulls tasks from your other tools (Asana, Trello, GitHub, etc.), helps you plan realistic daily workloads, and tracks time automatically.
The daily planning ritual it enforces is either annoying overhead or essential discipline depending on how structured you need to be. For most creators, it’s the latter.
Best for: Creators juggling multiple projects who struggle with realistic time estimation and daily focus.
The catch: Yet another subscription, and the daily planning process takes 10-15 minutes. You need to commit to the practice for it to work.
8. Airtable: Databases for Non-Technical People#
Airtable combines spreadsheets with databases and makes it actually usable. Track content calendars, manage client projects, organize research, or build custom systems for whatever your creative work requires.
The flexibility is both its strength and weakness. You can build almost anything, which means you need to decide what to build.
Best for: Creators with complex organizational needs that generic tools don’t handle well.
The catch: Learning curve is steeper than simple project managers. Also easy to over-engineer systems instead of just working.
For Organizing and Finding Information#
9. Raindrop.io: Bookmarks That Don’t Suck#
Raindrop.io is what browser bookmarks should have evolved into but never did. Visual previews, collections, tags, full-text search, and collaboration features.
The permanent library feature saves complete archives of pages so broken links don’t destroy your reference library.
Best for: Anyone who saves articles, resources, or references regularly for their work.
The catch: Requires discipline to organize as you save instead of dumping everything into one collection.
10. Stashed.in: Visual Collections for Everything You Find#
Full disclosure: I built this because nothing else organized links the way I needed for creative work.
Instead of bookmark folders or tags, you create visual stashes with image headers. Each stash can be private, password-protected for team sharing, or public. It’s Pinterest but for any link, not just images.
When you’re looking for that design reference or article you saved three months ago, you’re not trying to remember folder names. You’re looking for visual cues that match what you need.
Best for: Creators who think visually, work with mixed content types, and need to share curated resources with others sometimes but not always.
The catch: No browser extension yet, so saving requires going to the site. But that’s coming.
11. Readwise: Making Highlights Actually Useful#
Readwise syncs highlights from Kindle, Instapaper, web articles, podcasts, and more. Then it resurfaces them through daily emails and integrates them into your note-taking tools.
The spaced repetition means you actually remember important ideas from what you read instead of just consuming and forgetting.
Best for: Creators who read extensively and want to retain and build on what they learn.
The catch: Only valuable if you actually highlight things as you read. Otherwise it’s an empty system.
For Collaboration Without Chaos#
12. Loom: Showing Instead of Telling#
Record your screen, camera, or both. Share a link. People watch your explanation instead of reading a long email or scheduling a meeting.
For creators working with clients, collaborators, or teams, Loom eliminates so much back-and-forth. Just show them what you mean.
Best for: Anyone explaining things regularly to people who aren’t in the same room.
The catch: Some people won’t watch videos. You’ll still need written communication skills.
13. Miro: Whiteboarding That Works Remotely#
Miro is an infinite collaborative whiteboard. Brainstorm ideas, map out projects, run workshops, create mood boards, or just sketch out thinking visually with others.
It’s what happens when you take physical whiteboards and remove all the limitations of physical space and co-location.
Best for: Teams that think visually or need to workshop ideas together remotely.
The catch: Empty boards are intimidating. You need structure or facilitation to use it effectively.
14. Whereby: Video Calls Without the Friction#
Whereby gives you a permanent room URL. No downloads, no account requirements for participants, no “let me find the meeting link” moments. Just send people your room link.
For creators who do regular video calls, having one consistent link is surprisingly valuable. Clients know where to meet you. Collaborators have your link saved.
Best for: Creators who do frequent video calls with different people and want to minimize scheduling/link friction.
The catch: Feature set is more limited than Zoom. Fine for most calls, insufficient for complex needs.
For Distribution and Promotion#
15. Buffer: Scheduling Social Posts Without Living in Apps#
Buffer lets you schedule social media posts across platforms from one place. Write posts in batches, schedule them, and get back to actual creative work.
The analytics show what’s working without overwhelming you with metrics. The simplicity is the point.
Best for: Creators who need social presence but don’t want social media to eat their entire day.
The catch: It’s not free, and if you’re posting to many platforms constantly, costs add up.
16. ConvertKit: Email for Creators Who Aren’t Marketers#
ConvertKit is email marketing built for creators rather than businesses. The tagging and automation system is powerful without being overwhelming. The forms and landing pages actually look good.
Email is still the best way to directly reach your audience without platform algorithms deciding who sees your work.
Best for: Creators building audiences and wanting to communicate directly without platform intermediaries.
The catch: Learning email strategy is a separate skill. The tool won’t solve that for you.
For Managing the Business Side#
17. Notion: Your Everything Workspace#
Yes, Notion again. But for different purposes. Beyond capture and writing, Notion can manage your entire creator business: content calendars, client databases, financial tracking, project wikis, and more.
The flexibility means you can build exactly the workspace you need. The templates mean you don’t have to start from scratch.
Best for: Creators who want one workspace for multiple aspects of their business.
The catch: Can become procrastination through organization. Building systems is fun. Actual work matters more.
18. Stripe: Getting Paid Without Enterprise Complexity#
Stripe handles payments, invoicing, subscriptions, and financial reporting. It’s what online payments should be: straightforward and reliable.
For creators selling products, services, or subscriptions, Stripe just works without requiring you to become a payment processing expert.
Best for: Any creator who needs to accept money online for anything.
The catch: Transaction fees are standard but add up. Also not designed for complex business structures.
For Learning and Improvement#
19. Skillshare: Learning Creative Skills Without Degree Programs#
Skillshare hosts thousands of courses on creative topics: design, photography, writing, video production, and more. Not academic. Not corporate training. Just creators teaching creators.
The quality varies, but the best courses are genuinely valuable and taught by working professionals, not just professional teachers.
Best for: Creators wanting to expand their skillset without formal education or massive time investment.
The catch: Need to be selective about courses. Lots of content means lots of mediocre content alongside the good stuff.
20. YouTube at 2x Speed: Free Education on Everything#
Not a tool exactly, but YouTube is the best resource for learning almost any creative skill. The speed controls turn hour-long tutorials into thirty-minute lessons without losing comprehension.
From software tutorials to creative techniques to business skills, YouTube has high-quality free education if you know how to find it.
Best for: Learning specific skills, troubleshooting problems, and seeing how other creators work.
The catch: Quality is wildly inconsistent. Need to develop curation skills to separate valuable content from noise.
How to Build Your Toolkit Without Tool Overload#
Twenty tools sounds like a lot. It is a lot. But here’s the thing: you don’t need all twenty. You need the subset that solves your specific problems.
The mistake most creators make is either using no tools (suffering through manual processes) or using too many tools (drowning in complexity and subscription costs).
Here’s how to build a toolkit that actually helps instead of adding overhead:
Start with pain points. What specific friction slows you down? What tasks feel harder than they should? Find tools that address those specific problems.
Add one at a time. Give new tools at least two weeks of actual use before adding another. See if they actually improve your workflow or just add complexity.
Replace, don’t just add. When you find a tool that works better than what you’re using, switch. Don’t keep both running in parallel forever.
Review quarterly. Set a reminder to evaluate your entire toolkit every few months. What are you actually using? What’s just taking up space? What gaps have emerged?
Accept imperfection. No tool is perfect. No workflow is optimal. Good enough that you actually use it beats theoretically perfect that you abandon.
The Tools That Actually Matter#
After testing hundreds of tools over the years, I’ve noticed that the ones that stick have common traits:
They solve one problem well instead of trying to do everything. The best tools have clear purposes and excel at them rather than adding endless features.
They work with your existing workflow instead of requiring you to rebuild everything around them. Integration and flexibility matter more than features.
They’re reliable. Nothing kills productivity like tools that crash, lose data, or have confusing interfaces that require relearning constantly.
They’re worth the cost. Whether that’s money, time investment, or mental overhead, the value needs to exceed what you’re putting in.
Your toolkit will be different from mine. Different types of creative work need different tools. Different working styles need different approaches. Different budgets allow different solutions.
But the principle stays the same: tools should make creative work easier, not become a second job of managing tools.
Start With Three Categories#
If you’re building a creator toolkit from scratch or rebuilding one that’s gotten too complex, start with three categories:
Creation tools: What do you actually use to make things? Writing app, design software, video editor, audio recorder. Whatever your medium requires.
Organization tools: How do you manage projects, track tasks, and keep research accessible? This is where people either have nothing (chaos) or too much (complexity paralysis).
Distribution tools: How do you get your work in front of people? Social scheduling, email, website, portfolio, whatever channels matter for your work.
Get those three categories working smoothly before adding anything else. A focused toolkit you actually use beats a comprehensive toolkit you’re too overwhelmed to implement.
Tools Are Means, Not Ends#
The goal isn’t to have perfect tools. It’s to create good work without the logistics of creation becoming the barrier.
Every tool in your workflow should have a clear answer to “why do I use this instead of something else or nothing at all?” If you can’t answer that, it’s probably adding more overhead than value.
Your toolkit will evolve. Mine has evolved constantly over the years. Tools that were essential become obsolete. New tools emerge that solve old problems better. Your needs change as your creative practice develops.
That’s fine. Tools are infrastructure, not identity. Switch when it makes sense. Stick with what works. Don’t feel obligated to chase every new thing but don’t cling to tools that no longer serve you.
Build a toolkit that supports your creative work. Then get back to actually creating.
That’s what tools are for.
