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Nine things, chosen carefully.

We earn a commission on most products listed below. We chose them anyway. The nine products on this page replaced fifty-three. The other forty-four are listed at the bottom under “We won’t recommend.”

06 · Tools$36

Hario V60 Pour-Over Set

by Hario

We almost left this off. The reason it stays: a Sunday-morning ritual is the most underrated couple-care intervention we know. The single act of one partner making coffee for the other, slowly, on purpose, is itself a relationship practice.

A Sunday ritual is a relationship intervention.

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07 · Tools$165

Loftie Alarm Clock

by Loftie

We have written 4,000 words on phones in bedrooms; we will spare you here. Get any analog alarm clock; this one is the nicest. The phones go on the kitchen counter at 9:30pm. The conversation starts.

Get the phones out of the bedroom.

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What we won’t recommend

The 44 things we considered and rejected, summarized.

  • 01

    Couples-counseling apps that promise progress in 7 days.

    Progress is not the unit. Conversation is.

  • 02

    Anything with the word “spice” in the marketing copy.

    Desire is not a seasoning.

  • 03

    Question decks with “intimacy levels” unlocked by points.

    Gamification of vulnerability is a category error.

  • 04

    Books with the word “masculine” or “feminine” in the title.

    Almost always selling something other than what the title implies.

  • 05

    Most weekend retreats over $1,000.

    Save the money. See a therapist for ten sessions instead.