All posts tagged: spring scrub

The Best Time to Drink Coffee for Productivity (and When Not To)

The Best Time to Drink Coffee for Productivity (and When Not To)

Published by skeptic

“Right when your adrenaline hits, it kind of boosts the release of sugar stores from your liver, and then you get a crash,” Akkerman says. “And if you haven’t eaten anything, you can get hypoglycemic, which can make you really shaky on top of everything else.” The solution, says Akkerman, is to have a little complex carbohydrates and proteins. This might be anything from granola to peanut butter toast. The extra energy from the food will stop your body from crashing out mid-morning. This, I learned from Akkerman, is the root of my mid-morning shakes. It wasn’t the caffeine. It was adrenaline and hypoglycemia. I’m not much of a breakfast person, but on Akkerman’s advice, I now eat a handful of peanuts each morning before my morning brew, to avoid an unexpected sugar crash. Moderate Your Caffeine Dose Some people process caffeine quickly and well. Some people don’t. Some people are also bigger than others. But the general rule of thumb from the US Food and Drug Administration is that 400 milligrams of caffeine per …

The Best Digital Wall Calendar (2026): Skylight, Apolosign

The Best Digital Wall Calendar (2026): Skylight, Apolosign

Published by skeptic

I won’t lie to you: I hated the first digital wall calendar I tried. I tried the Hearth Display last year and was left unimpressed, but to my surprise, digital wall calendars as a whole have only picked up in popularity and options. Digital wall calendars take your online calendar—think your Google Calendar, the Calendar app on your iPhone, or your corporate Microsoft calendar account—and put it on a digital screen that you can mount on the wall or prop up on a stand on a countertop or table. These devices usually also double as digital yet physical chore charts, meal planners, and sometimes even a digital photo frame. I usually have smart displays all over my home, especially in my kitchen and living area, but they’ve all been replaced for the past two weeks with digital wall calendars that I’ve set up in tabletop mode. And you know what? I don’t miss talking to those annoying AI-powered assistants. Instead, as someone who already lives and breathes by her Google Calendar to manage her family’s …

The 4 Best Planners of 2026: Roterunner, Hobonichi, Cloth & Paper

The 4 Best Planners of 2026: Roterunner, Hobonichi, Cloth & Paper

Published by skeptic

There are tons of colors, covers, and other accessories you can get for it, too. I recommend picking out a protective cover since I did ding up my soft cover quite a bit, and that was just from being used around the house with an occasional trip in a bag. (The Techo also has a nice faux leather cover option, if that’s more your style than a protective cover.) There are little quotes in the corners, but I got a Japanese version instead of an English one, so I can’t actually read mine. But honestly, I’m glad I did; I prefer the Japanese lettering to distracting English words on the corners of each page. Kokuyo Jibun Techo First Kit The Kokuyo Jibun Techo is another Japanese planner (as indicated by the Japanese word “techo,” meaning “notebook” or “planner”), but this one is a travel-notebook-style design, making it more customizable with a cover and multiple books that fit inside it. I’ve started using the Jibun Techo First Kit, which comes with three books that fit into …

I Clamp Every Accessory I Can to My Desk To Avoid Clutter, and You Should, Too

I Clamp Every Accessory I Can to My Desk To Avoid Clutter, and You Should, Too

Published by skeptic

For most of us, desk space is at a premium. Between the computer, keyboard, speakers, and maybe a few photos of your family or a mesh Wi-Fi node, things can quickly feel a little cramped. Desk-mounted accessories make your workspace look and feel better. Mounted office accessories are perfect for standing desks because everything stays firmly in place when you lift and lower your position. Even if you stay seated, these devices can clear some of the clutter off your desktop—and maybe clear your mind a bit by giving yourself some space to focus. As a dedicated clamper, closing in on three decades at a desk, I’ve tried every desk-mounted accessory I could get my hands on. I have a few favorite devices which I’ll share below. Before you buy any desk-mounted accessory, make sure that you measure your desk and scope out a suitable spot for the clamp. Don’t assume it will fit, since they all have a thickness range, and some desks don’t play nicely with clamps. There’s also a risk that the …

How to Responsibly Dispose of Your Electronics (2026)

How to Responsibly Dispose of Your Electronics (2026)

Published by skeptic

Whether you have an old phone languishing in a desk drawer or a broken laptop gathering dust in the back of a closet, there will never be a better time to dispose of it. There’s a good chance your unwanted gadget can return to useful service, and it may even make you a little cash or help someone else. Recycling should be the last resort, but if there’s no other option for your device, there are ways to recycle electronics responsibly. Global e-waste topped 62 million metric tons in 2022, according to the latest data published by the United Nations Global E-Waste Monitor, and just 22.3 percent of that waste was collected and recycled. Too many old electronics end up in landfills and hellish e-waste graveyards in poor countries, where they poison communities. The problem is only growing worse, with an estimated increase of 2.6 million tons every year, taking us to 82 million by 2030. Governments, companies, and people are waking up to the fact that we must do better. The big question is, how? Here are …

The WIRED Guide to Wires: How to Manage the Mess of Cables Around Your Desk

The WIRED Guide to Wires: How to Manage the Mess of Cables Around Your Desk

Published by skeptic

There’s a reason we’re called WIRED. If there’s one thing most of today’s gadgets have in common, it’s that they typically need to be plugged in from time to time. But all those cables, cords, and wires can be tough to manage. They don’t have to end up in a tangled nest under your desk; you can bring order to the cable chaos. As a gadget reviewer, I have more cords than most people, which is why I also have a regimented cable management strategy to keep everything orderly. Here are my tips and product recommendations for hiding those cords and power strips, and keeping your desktop tidy. Jump To: AccordionItemContainerButton Planning and Prep Start by surveying the scene, unplugging and untangling everything, and removing anything that doesn’t need to be there. You might be surprised to find a stray USB-B or Micro-USB you haven’t used in years in the mix. Before you get started on cable management, take a slightly damp microfiber cloth and wipe down all the surfaces and cables. Now, you can …

11 Best USB Flash Drives (2026): Pen Drives, Thumb Drives, Memory Sticks

11 Best USB Flash Drives (2026): Pen Drives, Thumb Drives, Memory Sticks

Published by skeptic

Photograph: Simon Hill Other Flash Drives We Like We have tested many other USB flash drives that did not make the cut. Here are a few that might be worth considering for some folks. Photograph: Simon Hill Kingston Dual Portable SSD (1 TB) for $229: With a snazzy metallic red body, this SSD disguised as a flash drive is very speedy, matching the stated 1,050 MB/s read and 950 MB/s write in my tests. It is USB 3.2 Gen 2 with a C jack at one end and an A jack at the other, both with removable covers. As much as I like this drive, which comes in 512-GB, 1-TB, and 2-TB models, it is on the pricey side. Amazon Basics Flash Drive (128 GB) for $18: I like the grippy texture on the slider of this drive because it’s easy to open one-handed and locks in place securely. The loop at the top is perfect for a key ring, and it is lightweight. Performance was limited, as you might expect at this price, but …

These 2 Apps Help Me Make Sense of My 100K Screenshots

These 2 Apps Help Me Make Sense of My 100K Screenshots

Published by skeptic

I take a lot of screenshots. Like, an excessive amount. I’m not sure whether to blame my ADHD, my FOMO, or pure sentimentality, but as it stands, I have more than 100,000 screenshots on my iPhone. (For context, a quick informal poll of coworkers revealed numbers closer to 2,000 on most of their phones.) I’ve got a fever, and the only cure is taking another screenshot. See something funny? Screenshot. Something gossip-worthy? Screenshot. Conversation I want to remember forever? Screenshot. Swiping on a dating app? You already know. Forget the familiar volume-up-button-power-button combo. I take screenshots so frequently that I set up a double-tap gesture to take them, too. Ironically, the things I’m screenshotting are usually in an app that already has a native way to save or sort them. I’ll screenshot memes from Instagram, for example, rather than saving them to a collection, because I “don’t want to forget where they are.” I’ll screenshot something I’m browsing so I can “remember to look it up later”—something I fail to do 99 percent of the …