50hacks.co is a crowdsourced lists of the best productivity hacks written and upvoted by users. No account is necessary to contribute, just scroll to the bottom and click on “+ Add Hack.” I just upvoted this one:

Send yourself an email at the end of the day on Friday with a short list of priorities to get started on come Monday morning. Don’t overthink it - just the top half a dozen things on your mind.

—CD

One of my favorite newsletters is TITAA (Things I Think Are Awesome) by Lynn Cherny, a data scientist consultant who sends out a monthly roundup of whatever she finds interesting in the fields of creative AI, generative art, science fiction, fantasy, games, folklore, poetry and more. It’s weirdly fascinating and always inspiring. Here is a link to the archive. — CD

A swell account I follow on Twitter is Massimo. They consistently posts the most interesting science-y, curious, and educational stuff. (And no outrage!) It bills itself as “Astronomy, astronautics, meteorology, physics. Engineer, trying to build the big picture of #science via selected & curated pics, videos & links,” which it does spectacularly well. — KK

Dru Riley has put together a list of 100 useful rules for making life more rewarding. — MF

Samples:

• “Read and listen to whatever you’re most interested in.” — We get more out of what interests us. Find something that you enjoy reading instead of struggling through books.

• “IDK = No” — If you’re uncertain, the answer should probably be no.

• “Don’t make them think.” — Make it obvious.

• “Price affects risk.” — If an experiment is cheap, just do it. The more the price goes up, the more you should reconsider.

Hardly anyone makes luggage without wheels now. But for some crazy reason, most toilet plunger don’t have T-shape handles. The T-shape top allows you to plunge sinks and toilets with greater force and control. Do yourself (and your wrists) a favor, get a plunger like the Korky Telescoping T-Shaped Handle BeehiveMAX Universal Plunger. — MF

I learned some valuable techniques and got a lot of wise guidance for cultivating a happy family from the book The Secrets of Happy Families (2013). Much of it I wished I had known earlier when our family was younger. There’s a bunch of self-improvement advice out there, but not much on family-improvement, so this is highly recommended. — KK

By far the nerdiest food YouTube channel out there is Adam Ragusea with 2 million followers. He dives deep into the chemical nature of foods, such as what happens with smoking meat at the molecular level, why fennel and liquorice taste the same, or what is the chemical that makes the smell of rain. But also definitively answers many useful questions like “do the eggs of happy chickens taste better?” He references obscure scientific journals, does his own experiments, and mixes in delicious recipes you can follow yourself. He is one of the best science communicators working today. I recommend Ragusea’s food science playlist for the full course. — KK

If you spin this globe and zoom in you can learn the birthplaces of the most notable people in culture, science, sports, or leadership (from 3500BC-2018AD). Clicking on their names will take you to their Wikidata page where you can learn more about them. I learned about an indigenous princess who was born near my parents hometown in Mexico. — CD

I had been coveting ready-made book nooks on Etsy for a while now, but I am so happy I waited and bought my own build kit from CuteBee. I bought the Pray in the Church kit, but there are other whimsical options. The instructions were easy to understand and it took me a couple hours to assemble, but it was meditative and fun to see it come together. It came with everything I needed, except for two AAA batteries, wood glue, scotch tape and scissors. — CD

Amazon has a sub-site dedicated to products from Japan. You can buy cookware, toys, gadgets, candy, stationery, clothing, beauty supplies, and more. Many products are Prime eligible, like this tasty miso paste I bought. — MF

I’m playing around with an AI-powered app that enables me to paint music. Appropriately named Paint With Music, this free web-based app from Google transforms my doodles into music based on its visual form. It’s playful, just a toy and perfect fun for kids. — KK

I often fly in and out of LAX. Uber, Lyft and taxi riders are required to walk or take a shuttle to a lot near the airport to hail a ride. It’s very crowded in the lot and the last time I was there I had to wait over 30 minutes for a Lyft. But I learned in this article that you can take a free hotel or metro shuttle from the airport and hail a ride after you get to the station or hotel. Not only will you save money (no airport surcharge) you probably won’t have to wait as long for a ride. This tip might work at other airports, too. If it does, let us know. — MF

I keep my bulky laptop charger at home and travel with the Anker 735 charger. It’s smaller, lighter, and more powerful than the PowerBook brick and it has 2 USB-C and 1 USB-A ports. — MF

It’s amazing how quickly my eyes got used to the detail captured by the new Webb telescope. You can compare the vast difference between the Hubble images of nebulas and galaxies and Webb’s new images on WebbCompare.com. Just slide back and forth and be amazed. — CD

I like to keep tabs on the pulse of the two largest countries in the world by watching their hit movies. The latest megahit in India is “RRR” which is the most expensive and highest grossing movie in India to date. It’s a Tollywood mythical superhero action movie, that is naturally very long (3 hours), over-the-top, color saturated, bonkers, ridiculous and bombastic, and suitably interrupted with fabulous song and dance. The despicable evil villains are British Raj colonials set in pre-independence India. It’s a delightful popcorn flick. On Netflix. — KK

Someone asked on Reddit recently “What is the piece of writing advice that has helped you most, personally?” and these were my favorite because I had never heard them before:

• “Make the familiar seem exotic and the exotic seem familiar.”

• On process, Chuck Wendig: “The work doesn’t need your confidence. The work just needs the work.”

• “It’s easier to write something cool and then figure out how it makes sense than it is to write something that makes sense and then figure out how to make it cool.”

I didn’t contribute to the thread, but if I would have I would have shared Derek Sivers’ recent advice: Write one sentence per line. — CD

You can get a year’s worth of free delivery of food ordered online as an Amazon Prime perk. Amazon invested into Grubhub, so is offering free Grubhub delivery for a year if you have Amazon Prime. Sign up here. Took me 30 seconds. — KK

This list of rules of thumb will help you make better decisions faster. Here are some examples. — MF

• When faced with two paths, choose the path that puts you in the arena. Once you’re in the arena, never take advice from people on the sidelines.

• When choosing between two paths, choose the path that has a larger luck surface area.

• If you have a choice between entering two rooms, choose the room where you’re more likely to be the dumbest one in the room. Once you’re in the room, talk less and listen more. Bad for your ego—great for your growth.

A podcast about financial management would have never sounded interesting to me, but I’m thoroughly enjoying the I Will Teach You To Be Rich Podcast with Ramit Sethi. In each episode he sits with a couple at odds in their relationship with money. His humor and no B.S. approach quickly helps to uncover the underlying emotions entangled. My husband and I listen to this podcast together, which prompts us to discuss money — always in a new way. — CD

The Rowenta Turbo Silence Extreme+ Stand Fan is the best (and most expensive fan) I’ve ever owned. I appreciate the weighted base that keeps it stable and the remote control so I can turn it off and on from bed. It’s quieter than other fans even though it’s powerful. — MF