General survey of Linux users workflow/computer setups

I just purchased a System 76 laptop with PopOS. I have traditionally only used linux in school, primarily using MacOS until I started working and now I use windows, as well as using windows at home.

Anyways, I want to ask generally, what are some great utilities, workflows, things I should be aware of in general? I'd like to use this laptop solely for development.

Some kinds of things I'm interested in:

- window management - application management e.g. remapping arbitrary keys to arbitrary functions, like a button to play/pause on a specific music player - command line utils that don't come by default - terminal profiles/setups - VMs? - tools for programmatically creating images, sounds, videos - how to best manage secrets for integration with services like github, do you use a ubikey or something else? - anything to note about hardware, external hard drives, monitors?

I understand that this is a really broad question, and there are no wrong answers. I just want to survey what's out there and what people have tried and liked, or tried and disliked. If you have something bespoke, please share, I'm interested.

If you have specific experience with PopOS, which comes bundled with a lot of stuff, let me know your thoughts as well.