Setting Up Your Home Office

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. Black Friday sales officially start Friday, November 28, and run through Cyber Monday, December 1, and Lifehacker is sharing the best sales based on product reviews, comparisons, and price-tracking tools before it's over. Follow our live blog to stay up-to-date on the best sales we find. Browse our editors’ picks for a curated list of our favorite sales on laptops, fitness tech, appliances, and more. Subscribe to our shopping newsletter, Add to Cart, for the best sales sent to your inbox. Sales are accurate at the time of publication, but prices an…

TikTok's algorithm is infamously addicting. The app picks up on your interests quickly, and before you know it, you're falling down an hours-deep rabbit hole every time you launch it. But the algorithm doesn't always get it right: Sometimes, you end up seeing too much of one type of content, no matter how many times you hit "Not Interested." With the rise of AI-generated content, this problem only gets more frustrating. AI video generators like Sora are empowering people to produce more hyperrealistic AI slop than ever, which means you've likely encountered it on your feeds—whether you know it or not. I've certainly laughed at some AI clips here and there, but for the m…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. With the holiday season just around the corner, deals on VR headsets are selling fast. The Meta Quest 3 continues to remain the gold standard in this arena. Right now, the more affordable but equally popular Meta Quest 3S (128GB with a Gorilla Tag bundle) is $249.99 (originally $299.99) on Amazon, marking a 17% discount and its lowest price ever, according to price-tracking tools. Meta Quest 3S VR Headset 128GB …

We may earn a commission from links on this page. No sooner do you dive into the DIY home repair and maintenance rabbit hole (a hole lined with all the money you'll save!) than you start to collect tools. Some of them will be single-use items that you'll store in your garage or toolshed for decades like a museum exhibit. But sometimes even these tools can surprise you by being way more useful than you might initially imagine. For me, the mini chainsaw was one of those tools. This one, specifically (I considered others, but I really wanted a one-handed, cordless option because I live in a small, urban house, not a sprawling farm that runs on firewood and steam). I bought i…

Not every Black Friday deal is as sweet as it seems. With electronics in particular, that fresh price tag might mean getting tricked into buying a cheaper model of the thing you actually want. Or, you could be buying last year's model that has actually been on sale since the summer—maybe even at a better price a few months ago. Here’s how to avoid impulse buying a misleading Black Friday “deal” and make sure you’re getting the best bang for your buck. Why you shouldn't impulse buy electronics on Black Friday When you see products like food, clothes, or home goods with a big ol’ Black Friday tag slapped on them, it's probable safe to take advantage of that deal. Chances …

Google is bringing back its free year of Google AI Pro for U.S. college students, after releasing its new Gemini 3 Pro AI model today. Because so many of the new model's biggest features are hidden behind paywalls, it's not a bad deal, even if it's not the first time Google's done this. The deal follows similar promotions from April and August, although the most recent one ended in October. That this offer is coming so soon after the last one means Google might plan to keep rolling out these trials on a regular basis. How to claim your free year of Google AI Pro as a U.S. college studentTo get your free year of Google AI Pro, first head over to gemini.google/students and …

No one likes to dwell on it, but bullying is a huge part of growing up, and this week the zeitgeist is saturated with it. Kids are using their cameras to pick on people in innovative ways, Tiktokers are parodying bullying in viral videos, and Instagram seems to be taking aim at cultural/political bullying (or bullying memers, depending on who you ask). Even God herself is bullying the poor Tripod fish. What is the "flip the camera" trend, and why is is making everyone mad?The "flip the camera" trend is a new and innovative form of bullying that works like this: A group of kids ask another kid to film them doing a dance or something. Then, while the video is being taken,…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. It can be tricky to find reliable Bluetooth earbuds that hit the right balance of affordability and quality (especially ones with ANC), but the JBL Tune Buds deliver. They’re currently the lowest price they’ve ever been, according to price-trackers, at $39.95 (originally $99.95), bringing the original price down 60%. JBL Tune Buds $39.95 …

This post is part of Find Your Fit Tech, Lifehacker's fitness wearables buying guide. I'm asking the tough questions about whether wearables can really improve your health, how to find the right one for you, and how to make the most of the data wearables can offer. When I test smartwatches and fitness trackers, I always pay attention to accuracy. Is my running pace correct? Does the device capture the ups and downs of my heart rate? I even got a VO2max lab test to check a bunch of watches' fitness scores. But you'll notice that one thing I don't test for accuracy is calorie burn. None of my devices come close to agreeing on the number of calories they think I'm burning, a…

You’ve heard of a to-do list, but what you might actually need is a to-don’t list. Instead of focusing on all the tasks you have to get done, it could be beneficial for you to look at everything you don’t need to or even shouldn’t do in service of your larger goal. It sounds like a waste of time, but it’s not: Seeing clearly what shouldn’t be taking up your attention is a simple way to prioritize your time and focus on what really matters, which will lead to enhanced productivity and output. There are two kinds of to-don’t lists to employ. To-don’t 1: Bad habitsThe first kind of to-don’t list you should make is one of bad habits you want to avoid. This is all about goal-s…

I've been reading and writing about productivity techniques for years now, and I continue to be shocked by the sheer variety and quantity on offer. There are so many (some admittedly more "duh" than others), and while many could easily slot right into my workflow, others led me to think, "Wow, that one wouldn't work for me at all." Obviously I don't personally use all of the methods I've written about, but it's not because I don't believe in them. The fact is that no technique will work for every person, and no one person is going to be suited to every technique. The trick is to figure out which one(s) might work for you. It's easy to learn about a technique, be persuad…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. The Samsung Galaxy Tab S10+ in Platinum Silver is currently priced at $749.99, down from its regular $999.99, and price trackers confirm this is the tablet’s lowest price to date. That discount alone makes a premium device more approachable, especially one that PCMag didn’t hesitate to call “excellent” in their review. They also named it their Editor’s Choice and their pick for the best Android tablet of 2024, which sets a certain expectation. The S10+ meets most of it. Samsung Galaxy Tab S10+ …

Many Americans are in the middle of making hard decisions about their health insurance, in part because open enrollment, the period in which consumers can change their plan, is happening now. That means scammers are also busy contacting people, impersonating insurance providers in an effort to collect personal, financial, and medical information. Common health insurance scamsFraudsters especially love to impersonate representatives from Medicare, targeting older adults and others who qualify for the federal program with unexpected calls. As the Federal Trade Commission warns, scammers may have some of your personal information already and will ask you to confirm your Medi…

To me, the under-desk treadmill is the ultimate symbol of productivity culture (read: late-stage capitalism). And I'm exactly the type to buy into the under-desk treadmill appeal. Why shouldn't I want to walk while I work, burn calories during calls, and transform my sedentary office prisons into a wellness wonderland—all without sacrificing a single billable hour? (Never mind that I don't work in an office or bill my hours.) Office fitness is the perfect hack for our optimization-obsessed culture, promising that we can have it all: career success and physical health, no trade-offs required. But when I see an under-desk treadmill, I also remember when we all swore that r…

With iPadOS 26, Apple is finally giving the iPad a software experience that’s worthy of its increasingly powerful hardware. But it’s still very much a start. Answering calls to make the iPad more like a Mac, Apple has added much-requested features like freeform window multitasking, background app processes, better file management, and more. It’s surprising how much you can now do on an iPad that was just not possible before. And for many users, especially school/college students and some business users, the new changes can actually translate to tangible productivity gains. But for most, it's probably still worth holding onto your Mac. The iPad's new windowing system is go…

Netflix's December lineup has a little something for everyone, from familiar original series to live sports. Emily in Paris returns for a fifth season (Dec. 18), this time set in Rome. The final installment of Stranger Things is coming at the end of the month—the first half of season five premiered in November—with volume two releasing at 5 p.m. PT on Christmas Day and the finale at 5 p.m. PT on New Year's Eve. There's also Love Is Blind: Italy (Dec. 1) and My Next Guest with David Letterman and Adam Sandler (Dec. 1), in which Letterman joins Adam Sandler backstage on his comedy tour, and What's In The Box? (Dec. 17), a new game show hosted by Neil Patrick Harris. On the…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. As someone who's still rocking an M1 MacBook Air, an iPhone 12 Pro Max, the Apple Watch SE (Gen 1), and the AirPods Pro (Gen 1), I can proudly say that using older devices is a great lifestyle decision. It saves me a lot of money and I still get access to premium products with almost all of the features I need. And now that the AirPods Pro 3 are out, it's a great time to start looking for deals on the older AirPods Pro 2 before stocks are cleared. This Walmart deal brings the AirPods Pro 2 to an all-time low price of $139 (which is $100 off the list…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. A price drop always stands out more when the product in question already has a reputation for delivering above its size, and that’s the case with the Bose SoundLink Plus. It hasn’t been on the market for long, but it’s already earned strong reviews—CNET even labeled it “the Goldilocks of Bose Bluetooth speakers.” And right now, ahead of Black Friday, it’s down to $199 from $269, which price trackers show is the lowest it’s ever been. Bose SoundLink Plus Portable Bluetooth Speaker …

Sometimes, it's not the tasks on your to-do list that overwhelm you, but simply the act of sorting them out and figuring out where to start. Before you can prioritize your responsibilities and setting out a schedule for getting everything done (using strategies like "eating the frog" or creating a 1-3-5 to-do list), you have to identify what those big tasks are and what capacity you have to take them on. If you are the type of person that finds it helpful to visualize these things, let me introduce you to a pair of strategies that both involve imagining tasks as rocks: The "pickle jar theory" and the "big rocks theory." What is the pickle jar theory?The pickle jar theory …

You know it's important to prioritize your to-do list, and may have tried various methods to do so, from the Eisenhower Matrix (to determine how timely and urgent each task is), to the Pareto principle (to decide how to allocate your time to maximize your results). The problem is that determining what's actually a priority can be an abstract problem. Some people work best when dealing with cold, hard numbers—and there's a way to take a more quantitative approach to prioritizing your to-dos. Why prioritize your to-do list?The Pareto principle, mentioned above, suggests that 80% of your results will come from 20% of your work, so you have to be picky about what you focus o…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. I've reviewed a ton of high-tech smart glasses for Lifehacker, and this early Black Friday deal on the RayNeo Air 3s Pro display glasses is excellent. They are on sale for $249 on Amazon (originally $299) until Dec. 1. RayNeo Air 3s $269.00 at Amazon …

Whether you actually go back and look at photos, watch videos, or review files from years past, you may someday be disappointed if those memories disappear forever, either because you didn't back them up or your one backup was destroyed along the way. I know I have done a poor job of keeping track of media as I have upgraded computers and phones over the years, and I've lost my fair share of photos, videos, and documents along the way, whether on misplaced or damaged external drives or from simply forgetting to back up at all. Here's how to ensure your data is available for years to come. You need multiple backups of your dataOne approach to backing up your data is the…

As it does every year, Google has picked its favorite apps, games, and books of 2025 from the Play Store catalog—and the annual selection is always useful as a pointer towards some high-quality titles for your Android devices that you may have missed so far. Topping the pile is Focus Friend from YouTuber Hank Green, which aims to keep you on task and undistracted via a series of cutesy animations and cartoon living spaces. The less you check your phone, the better the experience for your 'bean' inside the app. It's an app we've written about before, and I've given it a go myself while trying to focus on writing this article with as few distractions as possible. I've also …

If you're in the market for a laptop, you have no shortage of choices. But unless you need something with exceptionally powerful hardware or are operating on a very tight budget, I'm here to end your search right now: You should buy the M4 MacBook Air, especially while it's on sale for $749 before Black Friday. M4 MacBook Air $749.00 at Best Buy $999.00 Save $250.00 …

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. Black Friday deals used to be relegated to the day after Thanksgiving. These days, however, they start much earlier—so why not take advantage? If you’re shopping for gifts for your favorite DIY enthusiast, or you just want to take advantage of deals for your own tool set, now is a good time to start looking. I usually take the opportunity to expand my tool battery collection if there isn’t an exciting new cordless tool I haven’t tried yet around this time of year, and that’s how I have kept a rotating collection of batteries to power all of my carpe…