My work revolves around my inbox, so I really appreciate Josh Spector’s collection of 40 concepts to help you write better emails and optimize your inbox. Below are some good ones. — CD

2. The more ideas you try to communicate in a single email, the more likely one will be overlooked.

5. You don’t need to sign your name at the end of your email — the recipient knows who it’s from.

7. The more your email sounds like you speak, the more effective it will be.

25. If you’re not working on email now, your inbox shouldn’t be open now.

29. The most important sentence in any email is the first one.

38. No one ever says “I wish the paragraphs in that email were longer.”

39. Every email should tell the recipient what you want them to do after they read it.

Every couple of days the musician/artist David Byrne posts on his Instagram a picture of something interesting he notices: a juxtaposition of forms, an odd alignment of shadows, something offbeat, the unexpectedly original in the mundane, or one moment of aha. That’s it. Because he notices, I notice. And then I notice more on my own. Small joys. — KK

I’ve been sewing on buttons the wrong way my entire life. This wordless visual guide shows the right way to do it. — MF

Levenger Page Nibs (50pk, $20) make all other bookmarks look primitive. They are beautifully made — stamped and made of copper. You just slide one on to the page and click it into place. They are paper thin and won’t damage your books. I find these are so useful for marking recipe pages, and passages I want to scan. — CD

I used a cheap soldering iron for years, but recently upgraded to Toauto Soldering Station. The temperature control and fast heat-up make a world of difference. It’s also nice having a solid base to hold the iron instead of the lightweight springy stand my old soldering iron came with, which would slide around the table. — MF

Dozens of different methods to increase one’s productivity are explained, compared, and ranked on this 16-minute video, The Best Productivity Hacks. The rankings are immaterial, but the brief explanations and evaluations are excellent and helpful. I learned a few new tricks, and was reminded of other hacks I had forgotten. It’s the best, most succinct roundup of productivity techniques I’ve seen. The few minutes I spent watching this have already repaid hours of better work. — KK

Jeremy Clarkson is a larger-than-life British TV celebrity. He writes bombastic newspaper columns, hosts game shows, and for decades has been the star of automobile stunt shows such as Top Gear and Grand Auto. Recently he retired to his 1,000-acre farm in England, which he is trying to farm himself. Naturally, he’s made a reality-tv show about it. Clarkson’s Farm streams on Amazon, and despite being a scripted reality-tv show, I have been bingeing the 8-part first season because it offers a deep and detailed examination of what modern farming is all about. Hint: there are a lot of machines and gear involved. Clarkson’s Farm is entertaining because it is all about showing off how ignorant Clarkson is, how he keeps screwing up, losing money, getting in his own way, having to learn from locals much more experienced, and how complex modern farming life is. The show is good. — KK

I used to hand-bind my own journals using repurposed fabric, books, paper, etc. When I write in journals I make myself, my writing is imbued with wonder and magic. Unfortunately, I haven’t made time to do that lately, but I did discover that through Papier you can customize your own hardcover or paperback notebooks with your name, a quote or whatever words inspires you. I chose their Soleia print and customized it with my name and a quote from a dream I had — but they have so many beautiful designs to choose from. If you do want to check it out, here is a link that gives you and me both $10 off. — CD

The Komelon Speed Mark Gripper Measuring Tape (1-Inch X 25Ft) has two things going for it that my other tape measure doesn’t. The markings are easy to read and I can extend the metal tape out eight feet before it bends. It’s also less expensive than I would expect for such a nice tape measure. — MF

I don’t know how people live without a back scratcher. I keep one near my desk. The pleasure of an itch scratched is incomparable. Mine is bamboo, the perfect reach, and lasts forever. I can’t imagine why you might need five, but they are cheap, too. — KK

If you find yourself stuck, Untools.co is a collection of thinking tools to help you solve problems and make decisions. They were put together by a product designer who gets paid to problem solve but couldn’t find one place on the internet where tools like these were housed, so he created one. He does a great job of breaking these frameworks down with an outline and visuals. If you’re stuck but not sure where to start, here are some prompt questions to direct you. — CD

In a recent issue of my newsletter, The Magnet, I listed my 10 favorite newsletters. You can read about them here. — MF

“What improved your quality of life so much, you wish you did it sooner?” was asked by u/colorfulsoul_ on Reddit and the thread is worth scanning for ideas to adopt. Someone suggested placing your phone on permanent “Do not Disturb” only allowing calls from “Contacts” — which would save me from a lot of spammers. Other life improving tips were: breathing exercises, buying a good kitchen knife, separate blankets in beds for couples, and buying a cart that will carry all your groceries from your car to inside in one trip. — CD

The most useable flame lighter I have is a Bic Reach. This design takes your usual Bic flick lighter, and outfits it with an extended 1.5” (35mm) pipe that ignites the flame away from your thumb. I find those long butane lighters with a two-button safety switch to be both fussy and unreliable, but a regular Bic can’t reach where I want the flame, so this Bic Reach is just perfect for lighting candles, fireplaces, camp stoves, etc., reliably on the first try. It’s probably not what you’d carry everyday in your pocket, but perfect in the utility drawer. — KK

I stopped using a neti pot to irrigate my sinuses with salt water because of the risk of infection. I switched to pressurized aerosol saline mist, called Simply Saline by Arm & Hammer. It’s sterile and convenient. It never fails to get rid of my phantosmia whenever it flares up. — MF

The easiest way I know to boil eggs is with an Instant Pot pressure cooker. Put one cup of water into the pot, add 1-6 eggs (use a steamer basket if you have one), and cook using low pressure for 3 minutes. Let the pressure subside without releasing the valve. You’ll have perfectly boiled eggs. — MF

The Curious Reader has a great outline of the 4 different reading levels and sub-types pulled from “How to Read a Book.” The first level being Elementary Reading — where the main question of reading is “What does the sentence say?” Level two is Inspectional — where you ask, “What is the book/article about?” This is how I read most news articles and blog posts. Level three is Analytical — when you want to really understand the topic by asking questions and chewing and digesting it. The fourth level of reading is my favorite: Syntopic Reading. This is where you read multiple books on the same subject and compare and contrast the ideas. Each reading level serves a different purpose, so it’s helpful to ask yourself before reading, “What do I want out of this book or article?” — CD

Short videos are an emerging art form. With the advent of phone cameras and free editing software they are within reach of almost any maker. One of my favorite seats to see the best art video shorts is to go to the Vimeo Staff Picks. They go through an ocean of new creations and curate the best video shorts. — KK

An under-appreciated Google search trick is to focus your search by excluding all unwanted alternative meanings — you append a minus sign in front of the term(s), as in < dolphins -miami > for non football dolphins or < orange -color -telecom > for the fruit. — KK

My Boing Boing friend David Pescovitz wrote about this incredible video of Smac McCreanor’s interpretive dances running side-by-side with videos of hydraulic presses squishing things like books, mugs, fruit, cookies, and kitchen tools. Brilliant. — MF