Life Hacks for Surviving a Pandemic
Get out of the weeds.
There’s good reason these days are wearing us out: Many of the routines and tasks we used to have on autopilot now require our hands on the controls. Our focus is in the weeds—and that’s exhausting (for the science-y stuff behind the phenomenon, check in with this super-smart neuroscientist). We say it’s high time to return some of these preoccupations to our subconscious and free up some synapses for loftier pursuits. Here are a few ways we’re wading out of the weeds and putting things back in no-brainer territory.
Masks: The New Black.
As in, you’ll need a whole wardrobe of them. Since we’re likely to be seeking cover for the foreseeable future, why not set it and forget it? Enter Henry Mask, a genius subscription service launched by bespoke tailor and dapper dresser Rich Fresh. Each month, you’ll receive four new washable, comfortable masks—at your doorstep without a single brain cell expended.
Hunger Games, Conquered.
On the short list of things we can still plan: meals. We’re guessing that if you used to go to the grocery store with wanderlust, letting fate guide you toward some serendipitous dinnertime inspo, you’re now a bit more in the supermarket-ninja, type-A planner camp (welcome, by the way). To keep your menu game tight, try Rachel & Company’s Menu Planner.
The Goldilocks of Desks.
Your table is too low for Zoom; your dresser, too high. Perhaps, like one Verse reader, you’ve resorted to piling boxes on the bed to replicate the standing desks your company bought for you and your office mates. Tinker no more: This clever desk arrives quickly, is a cinch to put together and easily rolls out of the way. Its adjustable height means it’s juuuuust right for lots of purposes (and users).
Can’t Touch This (Or Anything, Please).
Since lugging a blue light around is less convenient, we’ve got Parker Thatch’s brilliantly named Cootie Stick on our keychains. It will stop you from the time consuming handtuckinjacketsleeve maneuver you’ve been cultivating when it’s time to make contact with elevator buttons, doors and latches, ATM screens—essentially any surface in the unnatural world. (Prefer something a little smaller? This one from Peel works, too.)
