Lifehacker

When times get tough, adventuring with your friends and rolling natural 20s amid perilous encounters is a thrilling and nerdy way to escape the real world. At least, that’s how my new group of Dungeons & Dragons adventurers feels about our freshman romp through...wherever the heck we are. (I should have been taking…Read more...

If you’re having trouble making ends meet due to job loss, furloughs or other coronavirus-related financial uncertainty, you might be asking yourself which bills you can afford to skip this month. Should you make the credit card payment and put off the water bill, or is it better to do it the other way around?Read more...

If you’re used to running off your stress, running for fun, and maybe running to train for a goal race, the current pandemic has probably put a wrench in all of those plans. Here’s what you can do to keep training despite it all.Read more...

AirPods are easy to misplace, we know. If you recently had to acquire a single replacement AirPod earbud, you might assume that all is now well—your lonely AirPod now has a friend again. However, a number of Apple fans are reporting that their replacement AirPod won’t pair up with their older AirPod, which defeats the…Read more...

If you’re isolating yourself at home with your kids—along with one or more animals—you may have decided that now’s as good a time as any to change your pet’s name. Maybe you never really loved the name to begin with, and now that you’re all in close quarters all day, everyday, for-what-seems-like-ever, you simply…Read more...

Believing in a better future—while still acknowledging the darkness of our present reality—seems almost impossible right now. Doing so may make all the difference.

If you’re grasping at ways to help your kids improve their behavior while stuck at home during the coronavirus pandemic—or hoping that older children might start to understand the link between behavior and family harmony—it might be time to sit everyone in the family down and ask each of them to write a letter.Read more...

As an avid appreciator of fancy jams and preserves, I am loath to waste even a little of that sweet stuff. If you find yourself in that awkward spot where you don’t have quite enough for toast, you can still eat it for breakfast—just scoop some plain yogurt on top.Read more...

Disney heard—and answered—the prayers of parents everywhere in March when they released Frozen 2 three months early to Disney+. It was a one-hour and 43-minute bright spot at what we now know was just the beginning of a very long, very isolating pandemic. But Disney’s animators and actors are all home right now like…Read more...

At the end of March, egg prices for grocers peaked at $3.01 a dozen, up from 94 cents at the beginning of the month, spurred by the combination of Easter, Passover, and shoppers stockpiling for quarantine. That last one is unsurprising: Adding an egg to a mess compiled of leftovers and beans makes the meal feel…Read more...

The default iOS keyboard in iOS 13 is full of useful features that you might have missed. In the video above, I share three features I use all the time.Read more...

Popular data-breach tracker Have I Been Pwned is closing in on 10 billion compromised accounts. Just think about that for a minute: ten. billion. accounts. To put that figure in perspective, the Earth has around 7.7 billion people on it. It would be as if every single person on the planet had a compromised Facebook…Read more...

Recent world events may have led you to believe that this would be a bad time to not have health insurance right now. And while we can’t judge your individual need for insurance, we can probably say that in general, you should think about getting coverage.Read more...

Looking for something to do tonight?

Waiting patiently for your coronavirus relief payment from the government? Even if you know payments will be sent out soon, you might still have questions about how you’ll get your money—especially if you don’t typically file taxes, and most especially if you don’t usually file taxes, but you do have kids at home. If…Read more...

As the coronavirus pandemic grips the country, travel restrictions are increasingly going into effect. And while flights and international travel are grabbing the headlines thanks to increased security measures and border closings, it’s also important that we focus on changes to interstate travel within the U.S.Read more...

There’s a virus going around. In general, when your immune system is strong, you’re in a better position to resist infection. So who wouldn’t want to boost their immune system with vitamins, exercise, or whatever foods or supplements might help? But the whole concept is kind of broken.

Not to get all “change your entire life with one weird trick,” but I really do think cleaning the gunky, crusty, drippy lids and sides of your various condiments is a tiny hack that can enhance your mood and improve your overall sense of wellbeing.Read more...

Vava 5-in-1 USB-C Port | $13 | Amazon

I’m tired of answering the question, “Which video chat service should I use?” I don’t know which is the best one, because I don’t know what your specific needs are or how much annoyance you’re willing to tolerate—here’s looking at you, Zoom’s 40-minute-cutoffs—to achieve picture-perfect videoconferencing for you and…Read more...

You may have seen the below video about a breathing technique for patients with COVID-19. In this video, Sarfaraz Munshi, a physician from Queen’s Hospital in the UK, demonstrates a technique to help patients suffering from COVID-19.Read more...

An unexpected iOS/iPadOS update dropped today, and while it doesn’t add any new features, it does fix an annoying bug that prevented some users on iOS/iPadOS 13.4 from FaceTiming people on devices running iOS 9.3.1, macOS 10.11.16 or other older operating systems. Given that we’re all relying on video chats more than…Read more...

If ever it were a good time for Netflix to give parents more control over their kids’ viewing experience, it is now, while our kids are home and watching more shows than ever. And they’ve come through with some basics that will help ensure kids aren’t watching content that is inappropriate—or shows you simply don’t…Read more...

If you’re a Mac user clipping an image of a bit of text to send in a tweet or saving info from a rental car confirmation page, the standard Command-Shift-4 shortcut that allows you to draw a box around what you want to capture is more than adequate. But your computer is much more savvy than that: There are plenty of…Read more...

Between fielding conference calls and tearing through quarantine snacks like we’re running some kind of pandemic stress-marathon, many of us could use a break. That’s not exactly the easiest thing to find when you’re stuck at home—especially if you love to travel. If your preferred form of self-care is venturing to…Read more...

UPDATE: We are now live until 2pm! Please welcome René F. Najera, DrPH. He’s an epidemiologist at the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health and is currently serving on the pandemic response team at a health department in the Washington, DC, area.Read more...

If you’re worried about making your credit card payments on time due to job loss, furlough or income reduction, you might be asking yourself whether you should take advantage of one of the credit card forbearance programs many lenders are offering during the coronavirus pandemic.Read more...

Pandemic-induced cabin fever has kickstarted the sourdough baking hobbies of what seems like everyone on Instagram. If you’re one of these newly converted bakers, by now you’ve probably gotten the hang of feeding your starter, as well as some basic shaping techniques and are hungry for a new challenge. Why not try…Read more...

If you are new to wearing a face mask, and are one of the two-thirds of American adults who wear prescription glasses, you may have noticed a problem: foggy lenses. It sounds minor, but now that the CDC has recommended that everyone wear cloth face masks when we go outside, to help prevent the spread of coronavirus,…Read more...

Your housing is one of your biggest monthly expenses. And if you have a mortgage stretching out ahead of you for the next 10, 15 or 30 years, the uncertainties of the coronavirus pandemic probably have you concerned about how you’ll keep paying that bill.Read more...

When my son asked me to assist him with his third-grade math yesterday afternoon, my first instinct was to back slowly out of the room. Me and math, we have a strained relationship. But it turned out that he could do the math; it was the damn program on his Chromebook that wasn’t cooperating by not allowing him to…Read more...

Convincing your friends and loved ones to stop spreading bullshit online feels like a Sisyphean task—one you probably gave up on years ago, thanks to a particular charged political moment that set us all down the path to social Hell. In these times, I think it’s important to consider the following: “What Would…Read more...

Android’s April 2020 security patch includes an essential improvement for the Pixel 4's facial recognition feature. It’s simple, but important upgrade to your phone’s security: A person’s eyes must now be open to unlock the phone via the Pixel’s facial recognition technology.

We’re all on the hunt for new things to do at home.

Peak Design Travel Tripod | $350 | Peak Design | B&H Photo | Moment

If you are looking for a distraction from all your many worries right now (so, so many), be sure to take a few moments tonight to cast your gaze to the skies above, as tonight’s full moon will be the biggest and brightest of the year.Read more...

If you watch a lot of Disney+ on Windows or macOS, consider installing the website as a Progressive Web App (PWA) for speedier access to your favorite films and shows.

If you’re in the market for a new job, recent international events may have you second-guessing your career plans. Companies have halted their hiring processes, unemployment claims have skyrocketed, and people navigating their state’s unemployment systems right now deserve medals for their patience.Read more...

Once upon a time, I had big plans to host an Easter brunch with my friend Dan. We had grand visions of pre-batched cocktails, sous-vide hollandaise sauce, and a lamb carving station, but obviously none of that is happening anymore. But the inability to host a full-blown shindig is no reason to abandon my plans to eat…Read more...

A couple of months before the pandemic hit, my son–who had always sported a fairly neat haircut–suddenly decided he liked it longer. Well, he either liked it longer or he just really didn’t feel like sitting through a haircut. Regardless, I am now in isolation with a 9-year-old boy who has not had a haircut since…Read more...

For those who have updated Firefox today, and for those who have yet to—via the hamburger icon > Help > About Firefox—know that today’s release of Firefox 75 brings some fun changes to the browser’s address bar. Firefox now blows open your address bar whenever you click on it, which you may or may not love.Read more...

Do you know what Zoom-bombing is? Neither did I—until about 2 minutes ago. My 15-year-old cousin was Zoom chatting with her high school basketball teammates. It was all hoops and happiness until—boom!—they were hacked by an unknown predator and his not-so-private parts.Read more...

You know what we’re talking about: That sinking feeling you get when you realize the desktop version of Chrome has quit or crashed with 42 open tabs. And when you attempt to use the “Restore” option, you receive...nothing. Goodbye, work; hello internal screaming.

I asked you for the best home workout you’ve done so far, and each week this month we’re all going to pick one to do together. This week, it’s going to be an oldie but a goodie (thanks, SafetyCynthia): Richard Simmons.Read more...

Everyone’s a baker these days—which, apart from a flour shortage, is not a bad thing. (Like, it’s better than everyone dealing with isolation by getting really into cooking meth, or macrame.) But bread can be a little overwhelming, particularly if you’ve picked just now to get into sourdough, and you’re not used to…Read more...

We’re all operating in survival mode right now, and stopping your regular workout routine in the middle of a pandemic is certainly understandable. But regular exercise helps with anxiety, depression and sleep quality, and in the world we are living in, these benefits can make all the difference. If your schedule is…Read more...

We’ve made it through weeks of figuring out how to spend far too much time with the people we supposedly love, but what about the non-people we actually love?Read more...

The coronavirus pandemic does not end when you can leave your house or when scientists develop a vaccine. It ends when we have recovered. And as with any destructive hurricane, tornado, earthquake, oil spill, or terrorist attack, a recovery from this pandemic will happen.

There are two things that are universally loved by toddlers: Playing with stuff they’ve pulled from your kitchen cabinets, and magnets. Which is why, if you’ve got some letter magnets and a cookie sheet (plus a Sharpie marker), you’ve got a new activity to keep your little kid busy for at least several minutes.Read more...

We’ve reached a point in the coronavirus pandemic where if you’re able to keep your job and work from the safety and comfort of your home, you’re probably feeling pretty lucky.Read more...