In the fast-evolving world of technology, staying ahead means constantly learning new skills, whether that’s mastering Linux, diving into Docker, or exploring a new cloud service. That hasn’t changed. Reading documentation, exploring blog posts, and watching tutorials are still essential parts of the learning process. What has changed for me is how I bring all of that material together. The tool I use to do that is NotebookLM which has slotted neatly into my learning toolkit, helping me research, retain, and make sense of the information.

I first dived into containerisation around 2020, eventually settling on a Virtual Private Server (VPS) setup where the focus shifted from managing hardware to mastering software and services. For a long time, the backbone of that software setup was Portainer. Portainer served as the graphical interface for managing the 20+ services I run in stacks on my VPS, handling everything from my reverse proxy to monitoring tools. Portainer is a robust GUI for managing containers and stacks, and I want to make it clear that my migration wasn’t driven by any failing on its part; it’s an excellent piece of kit. However, as my homelab evolved, I started looking for something that offered an even simpler and easier management experience. I wanted a dedicated tool that stripped back the complexity, allowing me to focus entirely on tweaking my Docker Compose files and stacks. That search led me straight to Dockge.

I recently started using Glance as the primary dashboard for my homelab, and it has quickly become one of my most-used tools. Glance allows me to monitor all my Docker containers, network devices, and services at a glance (pun intended), all within a clean, minimalist interface. It’s lightweight, fast, and extremely customisable, giving me real-time visibility into my entire environment. What Is Glance? Glance is a self-hosted dashboard that you can configure entirely through a simple YAML file. It’s designed for speed, clarity, and ease of maintenance while giving you total control over layout and content. You can display container statuses, system metrics, bookmarks, RSS feeds, or even pull live data from APIs. It offers a clean, centralised view. of the information that matters most, keeping everything organised and accessible.

Automation has always fascinated me for its ability to simplify complex processes and free up time for creative work. That curiosity naturally led me to explore new tools and that’s how I discovered n8n, a workflow automation platform that has quickly become one of my favourite tools. I kept seeing videos and articles about n8n pop up and it was one of those tools that never quite left my “must-try” list. As someone who’s passionate about automation, I was curious to see what made it stand out. Once I started digging deeper, I quickly realised how powerful and flexible it was.

When I first started exploring the world of homelabs, I thought it had to involve racks of hardware, blinking lights, and endless tinkering. I even wrote about my early experiments here. At that time, I repurposed an old desktop PC and dived head-first into virtualisation with Proxmox, containers, and self-hosted services. It was fun, but I quickly realised that what really interested me wasn’t the hardware - it was the software and services. I loved spinning up tools, learning how they worked, and making them accessible on my own terms. The hardware side, while interesting, left me feeling stuck in “decision paralysis”, what’s the perfect setup? What hardware should I buy next? Should I build a Kubernetes cluster? Instead of enjoying the process, I was constantly second-guessing.