3. Simple (and cheap) things to make your house use less energy

Sometimes reducing your home's energy use can be as simple as opening a window or buying tape. Here are five easy ways to have a more climate-friendly home and save on energy bills at the same time. Read the story.

Top tip: In places that get very hot, you might want to think about installing shades on the outside of your house, not the inside, says Daniel Barber, a historian of architecture and environment.

Here's why. If you have a blind or curtain inside your house, behind your windowpane,  then the sunlight coming in brings the heat inside.

2. Want to cut through small talk? Try asking a 'magical question'

These creative questions are fun to answer and can help reveal people's personalities. Conflict resolution facilitator Priya Parker shares her favorites and explains how to come up with your own. Read the story. 

Top tip: "A magical question is a question that everyone in your group is interested in answering" and hearing the answers to, says Parker, who hosts a video series on the topic on her Instagram page.

She shares some ideas: What's the weirdest thing you've ever found in your pocket? What topic could you give a 20-minute talk on with no preparation? What's a path you almost took but didn't?

1. If you want more happiness in your life, ask yourself this simple question

Gretchen Rubin, host of the Happier podcast, explains the secret to happiness — and why knowing your personality type can help you make better decisions about what can bring you more joy. Read the story.
 
Top tip: Instead of asking yourself what happiness means to you, Rubin says to ask yourself: "Will this make me happier?"

People usually have a lot more clarity on the answer. Making choices that can make you happier in the long or short run can move you "in the right direction" toward a life filled with more joy and contentment, she says.