Below is a list of software I've found pleasant to use and work with.

aerc: Much simpler to setup than other mail clients, pretty much just works.

Alpine Linux: Small and simple operating system. Most users should create a
script similar to what's found at /usr/sbin/setup-desktop, tailored to their
own needs.

Himitsu: Fairly simple password/secret manager. I had a good run with
Bitwarden, but have been in the process of moving everything over to Himitsu.
Despite how it might seem, it's supposedly safe to commit your Himitsu store to
a private git repository. The big downside is it doesn't seem to be available
on macOS or Windows. I use macOS for work, unfortunately, though I probably
shouldn't be mixing work and personal things together anyway.

labwc: Simple floating window manager. I keep window decorations turned off.

tmux: The majority of my computing is spent in a terminal emulator, so tmux
just makes sense. I could use a tiling window manager, but I've grown to prefer
tmux. However, tmux has started accepting AI contributions. I'd prefer to use
software without any AI contributions, so I'll be replacing this at some point.

vim-classic: I used vim for years, then neovim, then eventually helix. Helix
and kakoune both have a superior modal editing experience, but helix seems to
accept AI contributions, so I've moved to vim-classic.

w3m: Great web browser. I use it daily for browsing the web, including gopher.