Collected Wisdom from 6.5 Billion Pocket Saves

Lifehacker reader Gabriel Wyner was tasked with learning four languages in the past few years for his career as an opera singer, and in the process landed on “a pretty damn good method for language learning that you can do in limited amounts of spare time.”

News is bad for your health. It leads to fear and aggression, and hinders your creativity and ability to think deeply. The solution? Stop consuming it altogether.

Nutrition experts contend that all we need is what’s typically found in a routine diet. Industry representatives, backed by a fascinating history, argue that foods don’t contain enough, and we need supplements. Fortunately, many excellent studies have now resolved the issue.

The Buffett Formula for getting smarter is simple but not easy. Warren Buffett combined the habits of reading and thinking to improve his mind. Here’s how.

Current research shows that some of the most commonly used and seemingly positive phrases we use with kids are actually quite destructive.

Children today are cossetted and pressured in equal measure. Without the freedom to play they will never grow up.

‘I stopped trying to make my life perfect, and instead tried to make it interesting.’

Although the words “hurry up” did little if nothing to increase my child’s speed, I said them anyway. Maybe even more than the words, “I love you.” The truth hurts, but the truth heals... and brings me closer to the parent I want to be.

Over 600 people, age 40 and older, weigh in on the life lessons they learned in their 30s. A few of them might surprise you.

I had a friend who wanted to get better at painting. But she thought she had to be in Paris, with all the conditions right. She never made it to Paris. Now she sits in a cubicle under fluorescent lights, filling out paperwork all day.

Looking at what emotional intelligence is, and how to develop your own.

Physical activity may have less to do with weight loss than we think.

I asked 1,500 people for relationship advice, and kept getting the same answers.

Solitude is a practice that prepares one for social and political life. To be with others, first learn to be alone.

Mark Bittman and doctor David L. Katz patiently answer pretty much every question we could think of about healthy food.

At the top of the world, the Inuit culture has developed a sophisticated way to sculpt kids’ behavior without yelling or scolding. Could discipline actually be playful?

If procrastination isn’t about laziness, then what is it about?

An introductory breathing class fixed my sleep and left me calmer than ever. It took me years to find out why.

After more than a decade of writing life-changing advice, I know when to move on. Here’s what else I learned.

We’ve been taught that if we want more — money, achievement, vitality, joy, peace of mind — we need to do more, to add more to our ever-growing to-do list. But what if we’ve been taught wrong?

Don’t leave juicy targets lying around for attackers.

Bridge the divide with thoughtful conversation techniques, next-level listening, and a dip into the science of changing minds.

Dive into the timeless long reads, startling predictions, and top stories that the Pocket community has been saving—and coming back to—for the past decade.