A Tech Stack for Living: 6 Apps for Focus, Wellness & Productivity

✨Hey there, tech stackers! 🚀

🧠 Creator Stack Spotlight: Connor Swenson’s Life Tech Stack

Most people think about tech stacks for startups—but what about your life?

Connor Swenson is the CEO of Forgewell, a coaching and training company helping professionals work with greater clarity and intention. Formerly Google’s internal productivity coach, he’s now a sought-after speaker, certified mindfulness teacher, and the voice behind One Percent Wisdom—a newsletter blending tech, habits, and purpose-driven productivity.

In a recent issue of his newsletter One Percent Wisdom, Connor Swenson shared the tools and apps he uses to optimize his well-being, focus, and productivity. As a former Google productivity coach and someone who’s now dedicated to helping others work more mindfully, Connor’s stack is a thoughtful blend of analog rituals and digital tools.

Here’s what’s powering his personal operating system. 👇

🧘 Breathwork & Meditation: Othership

Connor starts his day with Othership, a guided breathwork app that helps him wake up with energy or wind down before sleep.

Why he loves it:

• Incredible music and narration

• Sessions for both up-regulation and down-regulation

• Consistent habit-forming interface

If you’ve struggled with traditional meditation apps, Othership might be your breakthrough.

✍️ Journaling & Reflection: Day One

For daily journaling, Connor turns to Day One, one of the most beautifully designed and easy-to-use journaling apps around.

Why it works:

• Quick-entry templates

• Photo and location integration

• Syncs across all devices

Whether it’s gratitude journaling, reflection, or logging milestones—Day One makes it simple to stay consistent.

📚 Reading & Highlighting: Readwise Reader

Connor’s tool of choice for managing his reading and notes is Readwise Reader. It’s like Instapaper meets Notion meets Kindle—all in one.

Why it’s powerful:

• Save highlights from Kindle, web, PDFs, and more

• Daily email reminders to review your notes

• Integrates with Obsidian and Notion

Readwise helps Connor revisit what he learns so that it sticks.

📝 Note-Taking: Obsidian

When it comes to connecting ideas and building a second brain, Connor uses Obsidian.

Why it stands out:

• Local-first with no vendor lock-in

• Bi-directional linking and graph views

• Markdown-based and highly customizable

It’s ideal for building a knowledge base from the ground up.

⏳ Focus & Time Management: Centered

To actually get things done, Connor relies on Centered—a flow-state productivity app that’s part task manager, part focus coach.

What makes it unique:

• Built-in Pomodoro sessions with music

• AI coach for habit tracking and planning

• Combines to-dos, time-blocking, and mindfulness

It’s like a calm version of Notion and a coach rolled into one.

FYI, I found a great deal for it on AppSumo

🎵 Music for Deep Work: Endel

For music that adapts to your mood and environment, Connor uses Endel.

Why it helps:

• Personalized soundscapes for focus, sleep, and recovery

• Syncs with circadian rhythms

• Backed by neuroscience

Perfect for creating a distraction-free vibe.

📱 TL;DR – Connor’s Life Stack

This isn’t about cramming your phone with apps. It’s about intentional, mindful tools that support your goals—without overwhelming you.

As Connor puts it, your tech should support your well-being, not sabotage it.

For more on sustainable productivity and intentional living, check out Connor’s full piece here and subscribe to his newsletter One Percent Wisdom.

Stay focused. Stay intentional. ✨

Always remember,

Explore broadly

Not just SaaS or tech, but multiple disciplines.

Share ideas selflessly

Be willing to share your knowledge. Keep giving and it will come back to you.

Your stack is not going to save you.

You are. So just build.

Go crush it,

Mark

Tech Stacks is human-compiled, edited, and designed.