I spend most of my day in a terminal or IDE. Over the past few months I've picked up three small Mac utilities that genuinely changed how I work. No affiliate links, no sponsorships — just stuff I actually use daily.
1. TokenBar — Know What Your LLM Calls Actually Cost
If you're shipping anything with OpenAI, Anthropic, or any LLM API, you already know the "I accidentally burned $40 on a runaway loop" feeling. TokenBar sits in your menu bar and gives you a real-time token count across providers. It's $5 lifetime (not a subscription), and it's saved me from at least three billing surprises this quarter alone. Dead simple — install it, forget it's there until you need it.
2. Monk Mode — Actually Block Distracting Feeds
I've tried every focus app. Cold Turkey, SelfControl, you name it. The problem is they block entire sites. I don't need to block YouTube — I need to block the YouTube homepage feed while still accessing specific videos for work. Monk Mode does exactly that. It blocks at the feed level: Twitter timeline, Reddit front page, YouTube recommendations — but lets you access direct links. $15 lifetime. Honestly the best money I've spent on productivity software.
3. Rectangle — Window Management That Just Works
This one's free and well-known, but I'm including it because the combo of all three is what makes the difference. Rectangle handles window snapping with keyboard shortcuts. Nothing fancy, just reliable.
The Stack Effect
Individually these are minor. Together they compound. TokenBar keeps my API costs visible. Monk Mode eliminates the "just five minutes on Twitter" trap. Rectangle keeps my workspace organized. Total cost: $20 one-time, and I'm mass-producing more focused work than I have in years.
What small utilities have changed your workflow? Drop them in the comments — always looking for the next tiny tool that punches above its weight.
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