Home Office Setup & Equipment

We may earn a commission from links on this page. A lot of the productivity techniques and organizational hacks out there claim to make work easier and more efficient, and they really can—though you have to find just the right one for you. A few methods that originated in Japan have proven especially popular—consider the Toyota-approved Kanban scheduling method—including one of my favorites: kaizen. The man who took the philosophy mainstream, Masaaki Imai, died two years ago, but left behind a legacy of productivity and efficiency we can all learn from, because this technique not only helps you get more done, but helps you do everything better. What is kaizen?In Japanes…

YouTube is an amazing tool. If there's anything you want to do, from playing an instrument to fixing household appliances, there is a video on the site somewhere outlining exactly how to do it. The problem: YouTube doesn't always act like a tool. It's easy to get sucked down a rabbit hole of related videos, comments, and other distractions (mostly because the site it designed to make sure you do exactly that). If you wish YouTube behaved more like a tool and less like a dopamine factory, I recommend Untrap. This browser extension, available for Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Safari, and Opera, lets you make almost 300 tweaks to the YouTube website, allowing you to remove the dis…

Until now, Xbox Game Pass has been sorely lacking in retro games. There are no titles for the original Xbox on the service, and only a scant few Xbox 360 games. There are a few games from earlier eras, like Goldeneye 007, but even those are rereleases. Since most older games don’t get that kind of treatment, they’re ultimately still few and far between on Xbox Game Pass. But now, finally, Microsoft is doing something to address this gap, bringing a new “Retro Classics” collection to its subscribers. While Activision might be better known these days for Call of Duty, back in the ‘80s, it got its start developing games for Atari consoles. When Microsoft’s merger with Activi…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. Beats headphones have been a great alternative for Apple users ever since Apple acquired Beats back in 2014, but even if you're an Android user, the Beats' Studio Buds+ offer some good benefits, they are currently at a great price for earbuds with active noise cancellation (ANC): They are currently $99.95 (down from $169.95) on Amazon—their lowest price ever, according to price tracking tools. Beats Studio Buds + Color: Transparent, Ear Placement: In Ear, No…

Google announced a lot of new stuff today at I/O, but few things were more eye-watering than the company's new Google AI Ultra subscription. At $250 per month, it's by far the most expensive subscription Google has yet launched. So it makes sense it comes with everything. And I mean everything. For starters, subscribers at this tier get to use Gemini Ultra, which includes the new Veo 3 video generation model that can also generate sounds alongside video, to...some effect. This tier will also be the first to get access to the upcoming 2.5 Pro Deep Think reasoning model that Google says can "consider multiple hypotheses before responding." It also brings access to tools lik…

I don't mean to be alarmist, but I do think it's time to start assuming everything you see online is fake. The internet is full of content produced by real people, of course (this article included). But AI-generated media is getting so realistic, that it almost puts you at a disadvantage to presume the content you're scrolling past on your feeds is legitimate. Don't skip this article because you know what AI content looks like—the current stuff your algorithm delivers to your social media feeds is easy to spot if you know what you're looking for. But even if you can identify AI slop the second it hits your eyeballs, you need to know you're not ready for the next wave of…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. To be alive in 2025 is to assume you are being recorded at all times. There are cameras just about everywhere we go these days: Security cameras, video doorbells, and smartphones are frequently recording, and so ubiquitous that I tend to figure that if I go out in public, I'm being watched. But when you're driving, it can be a different story. Sure, there are cameras on the road—either street cameras or cameras built directly into modern cars—but there are plenty of moments behind the wheel where nothing you do is recorded. You could view this as a nice reprieve from the surveillance of modern life, but it also means that …

Access to a high-quality webcam isn't always guaranteed: While decent options are now built into most laptops, they're not all of an acceptable standard. Maybe you've got a monitor without a webcam attached; maybe you want a different angle—there are numerous reasons why you might need another webcam. If you've got an iPhone, you've actually got a webcam, too. The process for setting up your iPhone as a webcam has gotten easier down the years, especially on macOS, though you can also use it as a connected camera on a Windows PC with a little more effort. Use your iPhone as a webcam on macOSMacs, iPhones, and other Apple gadgets all work fairly seamlessly together in a var…

At my local Blink Fitness—which is now a PureGym—I recently worked in sets with another woman on the assisted pull-up machine. For me, the vibe was utter relief. No one was being rude about sharing equipment, it didn't feel remotely competitive, and there was a safety and solidarity in being the only two women in that quadrant of the gym at that moment. For a brief window, the gym felt like a space for both catharsis and camaraderie. Unfortunately, this moment only made me realize how rare this sort of shared gym culture has become. Truthfully, I don't know if gym culture was ever for me. The stereotype is it's all bros, right? I'm no Joey Swoll, self-described "CEO of g…

There is no place more joyous than a garden center in May. The shelves are full of annuals, vegetables, and perennials ready to go home with you. Gardeners everywhere are waiting with bated breath, trying to find the perfect day to get plants in the ground. Pops of color are emerging as tulips, irises, peonies, and lilacs fill yards. What you do this month will determine how successful your summer garden is, so strap into your overalls, grab your sunhat and spade, and get outside. Let's install a summer garden. I'll go over the maintenance tasks you should tackle first, then get into the details on what you should plant and how to do it. Perform a few garden maintenance …

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. Amazon's Big Spring Sale is in full swing, and we've done some work to weed out the duds and highlight the best deals available—it may not be Prime Day, but the sale still has deals worth checking out. As Lifehacker's deals writer, I use price tracking tools to vet deals and will keep rounding up the best tech ones I find throughout the sale. Here are the best deals I've found so far: Ergonomic Ear Hook, Balanced Sound, IPX7…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. You may have considered making your own videos until you actually tried to edit one and ended up staring at timelines and layers, wondering where to even start. Adobe Premiere Elements 2025 is built to simplify that chaos, and right now StackSocial is offering a 3-year license on sale for $99.99. That’s a one-time payment, not a subscription, which already feels like a win. You get AI-powered editing, mobile and web companion apps (still in beta), and access to Adobe Stock templates for titles. It’s aimed at hobbyists, content creators, and anyone w…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. I’m frequently asked for recommendations on what robot vacuum to get. While I’ve got favorites, I usually respond with a list of features I’d look for. Each year, robots get so much more advanced that these features change. But if I were buying a robot vacuum tomorrow (or in the next big sale), here’s what I’d look for. Unless you’ve got wall-to-wall carpet, get a vacuum/mop comboGenerally, people shy away from combo products because each new functionality is an additional feature that can break. There’s also a belief that one of the features won’t be as good as the other. For a while, expecting the vacuum and mop to be e…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. At $179.99 (down from its original $299.99), the 27-inch Samsung Odyssey G55C curved gaming monitor is one of those deals that feels tempting on specs alone. SAMSUNG 27-Inch Odyssey G55C Series QHD 1000R Curved Gaming Monitor $179.99 at Amazon /images/amazon-prime.svg …

Shopping has always been a battle. Companies work hard to convince you that their product is better, while also trying to ensure you pay the highest possible price for your purchase. That’s fair enough, and most of us are accustomed to researching everything we buy to make sure we’re not being ripped off. But modern technology has changed the game. Companies have been hoovering up information about us for years now, and that means they have a pretty good idea about our shopping habits—including what we’re willing to pay for specific products and services, something called Individualized Consumer Data (ICD). New tools like artificial intelligence are now making it very, ve…

The Switch 2 is nearly here. On June 5, those of us who were lucky enough to snag preorders will start receiving their consoles, and will be able to play new games like Mario Kart World and Donkey Kong Bananza. Of course, Nintendo's new console isn't only compatible with Switch 2 games. It will play your original Switch games too. The thing is, it isn't as simple as with other backwards compatible consoles: The Switch 2 uses emulation to run original Switch titles, so it isn't playing those games natively. That works for the most part—Nintendo says virtually all first-party Switch games can run on Switch 2 without issue, and the same is true for most "partner" games. How…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. Amazon’s Memorial Day Sale is already happening, and plenty of fitness trackers and smartwatches are on sale. This event intersects with some recent Garmin price drops, too, making it a really good time to shop for a new watch. Here are the best deals I’m seeing. Pixel Google’s Pixel Watch 2 is on sale for just $149.99, down from an original price of $249.99. This is the slightly older version, launched in 2023 and replaced two years later by the Pixel Watch 3 (which I reviewed here). The Pixel Watch 2 has most of the same features as the newer mod…

The Gboard interface can be a lot. In addition to the keyboard, there are so many features stuffed inside this little utility that there's a whole customizable toolbar on top of the keyboard to help you navigate them. And this kind of maximalist interface applies to the Emoji keyboard as well... or at least, it used to. Now, Google is finally doing something about it. Google has starting rolling out a new beta redesign to the Emoji menu that makes it simpler to use, with a more categorized layout. Gone is the old "All" screen that showed all of your recently used emojis, customized Emoji Kitchen stickers, and GIFs all in one long, confusing list. And, with a little bit …

If you were affected by 23andMe's data breach that compromised 14,000 user accounts—plus 6.9 million DNA Relatives and Family Tree profiles—you can now claim your compensation. Following the 2023 credential-stuffing attack, 23AndMe in 2024 agreed to a $30 million payout for impacted consumers. The genetic testing company then filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy earlier this year (introducing new privacy concerns around the potential sale of customer data), and the settlement money will soon be distributed amid the proceedings. How much you'll receive from 23andMeIf everyone whose account was involved received an equal payout, that would come to about $4.35 per person. Howev…

We’ve been using passwords to protect our various accounts for a few decades now, and, to be honest, we’re not very good at it. Many of us use the same simple, easy to remember passwords for all of our accounts—convenient for logging in, but horrible for security. Not only will a bad actor (or computer) be able to guess that password easily, they’ll try it against your other accounts. Before you know it, you have multiple breaches, some of which may involve financial or private information. There are a number of steps you can take to beef up your password security, of course. First, you can use a complex and unique password for each of your accounts, making sure to never…

Every tech product you own has a “lifespan,” and I'm not referring to how long you use it before it stops working, you break it, or decide to buy a new one. Instead, this is how long the device will be officially supported by its maker—a timeframe that could be shorter or longer than how long it will actually last. Apple guarantees it will continue supporting products at least five years after it stops selling them. Once those five years are up, Apple can deem that device “vintage." Apple recently classified two more of its products as vintage: the iPhone 7 Plus (2016) and some iPhone 8 models (2017)—while the 64GB and 256GB iPhone 8 models are now vintage, the 128GB is …

With all this talk about spring cleaning, you could be forgiven if you focused on, well, just cleaning in the spring. But the real beauty of spring cleaning is that it can be a jumping-off point for a clean year. Yes, you can put in extra effort right now, restocking and upgrading your cleaning supplies and doing all those intense annual tasks, but if you don't keep up with your tidying all year round, you'll be stuck doing another exhausting round next spring. Use this as a starting point for a big year of your cleanest home ever. First, commit to a cleaning scheduleWhile you're undertaking spring cleaning this year, keep track of what tasks you enjoy (or just hate less…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. The reality of home gardening is that you rarely have as much space as you’d like. For many people, all they have is one raised 4x8 foot bed. While that doesn’t feel like a lot of space, you can fit a whole lot of plants into 32 square feet. With a smaller space, you just have to find new and inventive ways to get more variety in your beds. Around where I live, we call this "cramscaping. " Take advantage of plant timing and growth patternsEvery vegetable and fruit out there has recommended spacing (for instance, tomatoes should be 18 inches apart), and in an ideal world, you’d accommodate them perfectly. However, you can p…

The internet is changing rapidly, and the (rather large) chunk of it devoted to adult entertainment is no exception. Porn sites in an increasing number of U.S. states must now verify that their users are adults by requiring them to submit a government-issued ID or some other suitable method of proving their identity. Understandably, this is not necessarily something everyone wants to do every time they visit an adult site. In response, Pornhub, as well as other sites under its parent company Aylo, have gone dark in a lot of these states in protest. As such, many users across these states are now searching for the best VPNs (virtual private networks) to install on their de…