Currently there’s no official way to merge gmail threads with different subject lines, so I just copy and paste the text I want to add to an existing conversation and send it to myself. Here are instructions. — CD

Occasionally I need to mail a letter in an envelope, with you know, paper inside. I hate going to the post office, so I buy Forever stamps online. These US stamps are good for domestic mail forever (no matter how many price increases there are) so I buy a wad of them. Now the US Post Office has released a Global Forever stamp ($1.15) for mailing anywhere in the world. Since they are good forever, I got a bunch of them as well. They are distinctly circular, so they look cool too. — KK

USPS’s Informed Delivery is free and available almost everywhere in the US now. Every morning, I get an email with scanned images of my mail before it’s delivered. Most of the time it’s junk, and those days I don’t even bother checking my mailbox, but this service is great if you’re expecting something important. — CD

In most parts of the world business cards are still a cultural norm. I designed my business card in Photoshop, and every few years I update the info and send the file to PS Print online and they mail back a small box of 250 for $18. Easy, quick, and cheap. — KK

I use a lot of different messaging services. It was a hassle to open them all and switch from app to app. I’m glad I found Franz, which consolidates all your chat & messaging services into one application. I use it for Hangouts, Slack, Skype, Facebook Messenger, LinkedIn, and Telegram. It’s free. — MF

I was having some back pain and pinched nerves, so I got this Steelcase Gesture Chair for my work desk. Those issues are non-existent now. So many different ways to position and sit in it. It’s so comfortable I have to set reminders throughout the day to get up or else I never would. — CD

I gave up on color inkjet printers because they are slow and finicky. Years ago I bought a cheap Brother laser printer and am very happy with it. I get 3rd party toner cartridges in bulk, which are about $8 each when purchased as a 4-pack. — MF

I’ve been using the 18” version of this gel-filled wrist pad for five years (I’m on my second one — they last a few years). It goes behind my keyboard, giving me a soft-but-firm place to rest my wrists. This is essential equipment for me. — MF

After watching 1999’s Office Space (directed by Silicon Valley creator Mike Judge), I wanted the red stapler belonging to the hapless cubicle worker. Soon after, Swingline started making a red model. I’ve had mine since 2008, use it daily, and it still looks new. Amazon sells them for $11 . — MF

If you’re curious about the information on barcode or QR code, take a photo or screengrab of it and upload it to this website. It will decode the contents and present it to you in human readable form. I used it recently to get a shipping tracking number I needed. — MF

A lot of folks, especially guys, kind of sneer at Pinterest, but I use it all the time. I have the Pinterest plugin activated on my web browsers, so anytime I come across an image or visual idea on a webpage I want to save, I simply click on the little red Pinterest bug that appears in the left corner of that image, and it is saved to a “pin board” of my choosing. The advantage of this method over say Evernote is that each image saved can unearth many more similar images from all the Pinterest boards. So, say I am researching how to make a lumber rack, I can collect a few examples from Google Images, or from some online forum, and then Pinterest will generate many more similar that others have collected. I can then curate my own collection from those, which is better than just looking at pages of Google results. You can keep your collections private or make them public, as I do with some of mine. — KK

I found a useful Photoshop keyboard shortcut cheatsheet at Cheatography. It has hundreds of cheatsheets for programmers, designers, students, photographers and other kinds of newbies. — MF

This list of 400 Awesome Free Resources You Can Use to Grow Your Business is useful for anyone. There are links to online image editors, extensions to enhance your email, design inspiration, and tools to help you focus — all free. — CD

Setapp is like Netflix for Mac users. $10 a month gives you unlimited access to high-quality applications, like Flume, World Clock Pro, Chronicle, and Forecast Bar. New apps are introduced frequently. You can try it free for a month (no credit card needed). — MF

I use several cloud storage services. The easiest way to access them is with CloudMounter, a $49 Mac utility that mounts OneDrive, Google Drive, Amazon S3, Dropbox, and others as local hard drives on my desktop. Setup was painless and it works flawlessly. — MF

I’m totally paranoid about backups. I have my critical stuff backed up five different ways, and I don’t think that is too many. After 35 years, I have not lost anything. Main thing is you need at least one offline backup (I have two), away from your home or office. My main offline backup these days is Crashplan. They have individual, family and group plans, $10 per month. You want to ask yourself, if I lost my entire hard disk, how much would I pay to get it back? — KK

If you suddenly die, your Google data — email, docs, contacts, tasks, wallet, etc. — will be inaccessible to loved ones who might need it. To make it easy for trusted people to access your account, use Google’s Inactive Account Manager. It will grant access to up to 10 trusted friends or family members after Google detects that you haven’t signed-in to your account for a specified number of months. — MF

I’m productive because I outsource my detail work to global freelancers. If I can specify a job, it can be assigned to one of a million expert freelancers working somewhere in the world. Often for cheap, always fast, and securely. I use Upwork (which used to be called Elance and oDesk). It’s a reliable system. I can find programmers, web and graphic designers, artists, photoshop experts, transcribers, marketing mavens, and so on. Their work is a good as anyone you might hire. — KK

80,000 hours is the typical length of the average career. 80,000 Hours is a blog that dispense free career advice based on science, rather than on hunches. As much as possible this non-profit (Cambridge University) gives advice based on the latest academic and scientific research into the nature and economics of work, careers, happiness, and the economy. When I am asked for career advice, I point candidates here to their Career Guide. — KK

The Sokanu Career Test is like a supercharged version of the one I took in high school. A 20-minute test will give you your top matches out of 800+ careers based on your personal interests, personality characteristics, and ideal work environment. You also get info on degree paths, salary, and links to job listings. — CD