Setting Up Your Home Office

Figuring out how to structure your days so they're as productive as possible is a challenge, which is why there are so many different techniques for doing it, though they're all best suited to different kinds of people. And then sticking to a plan once you've made it? Even harder. This is where RPM can help. The Rapid Planning Method, or RPM, can help you streamline your daily planning process and get started working on your action steps sooner, making you more productive overall. Plus, since RPM is fairly straightforward, you're more likely to stick with it. What is the Rapid Planning Method (RPM)?This technique comes from famed motivational speaker Tony Robbins, who o…

I get really carsick if I try to read in a moving vehicle. And there's a reason for that: my eyes and my sense of movement are out of sync. At least, that's according to the CDC, which states that motion sickness, "happens when the movement you see is different from what your inner ear senses." Your inner ear is a sack of fluid that moves when you do, giving you an innate sense of movement. If you're in a car and watching the horizon, your senses are aligned. But if you're looking at your phone, your senses are confusing each other. It's similar to the reason VR games make some people feel sick. The free Android app KineStop aims to help. The application overlays a transp…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. The PlayStation 5 Pro’s price has finally eased up a bit, dropping to $648.99 from $749.99, which is the lowest it has gone on Amazon so far according to price trackers. For anyone who has been eyeing a console upgrade but didn’t want to spend full price, this discount makes it easier to consider. Sony - PlayStation 5 Pro Console - White $648.99 …

I have a love-hate relationship with the smartwatch on my wrist. This relationship is no doubt shaped by the fact that I write about fitness tech for a living, but I know I'm not alone in succumbing to an obsession with numbers from my wearables. Did I hit 10,000 steps? What's my resting heart rate today? Is my sleep score better than yesterday's? When did progressive overload turn into screen time overload, too? The fitness tech boom is showing no signs of slowing down any time soon—and with it, we consume a constant stream of promises that this data will make us healthier, stronger, and faster. With the sheer amount of health insights potentially available to us at any …

If you find yourself in an emergency or crisis situation, the more information you can give first responders, the better. Android users can now share a live stream of their surroundings with 911, allowing emergency services to assess and provide guidance in real time while you wait for help to arrive onsite. Emergency services on AndroidYour Android already shares some information with first responders via Emergency Location Services (unless you disable this feature). This built-in tool sends an accurate location as well as contextual information, such as language settings, when you call or text an emergency number. Now, that includes live video from your device's camera.…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Philips Hue is one of the most well-respected and popular brands in smart lights—but what about its smart security cameras? Parent company Signify has been developing Hue cameras for a couple of years now, with a video doorbell and 2K camera upgrades recently added to the portfolio of devices. (Note: This 2K version hasn't yet landed in the U.S., but the existing 1080p versions are quite similar.) I got a chance to test out the new 2K Hue Secure camera, and alongside all the basics of a camera like this, it came with an extra bonus that worked better than I expected: seamless integration with Philips Hue lights. These two…

They say no one actually uses their phones for phone calls anymore. That's not really true, though maybe the "Phone" app does get underused. Instead, many of us have turned to chat apps for our calls. FaceTime, WhatsApp, Messenger—these apps are now our go-to choices for getting in immediate touch with friends and family. (Not that I'm complaining: The call quality is usually better, anyway.) But one thing the Phone app—and traditional phone calls—have on these chat apps is voicemail. For decades, when you called someone and they didn't answer, you could "leave a message after the tone." That way, when the person saw they had a missed call, they didn't need to guess what…

Whether you're an academically inclined student looking for study hacks, or a more creative person who's just looking to work smarter instead of harder, there are lots of little ways to make getting through school a little easier. Even as students deal with increased competition and rising costs, you can make life just a little bit easier with each of these hacks. Make the most of student discountsEveryone knows about student discounts on laptops, streaming platforms, and some productivity services. However, there are plenty of other great deals for students that aren't as widely known. For instance, you can get a Setapp subscription for 50% off as a student, which gives …

We may earn a commission from links on this page. More than 37 million Americans moved last year—and while that’s actually a historic low, one thing that hasn’t changed is the levels of hair-tearing stress the experience can inspire. Everything about moving, from packing to hiring movers to switching utilities, comes with a little spice of stress and anxiety. Even the most competent and careful planning can leave you with an ulcer and an incipient nervous breakdown as you try to pack your entire life into a truck and transport it to another location. There are lots of little ways to reduce that stress and make moving a little easier. These hacks can help anyone, no matter…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. We travel for a wide variety of reasons—vacations, business, family obligations—and in a variety of different ways, but there’s one constant: The actual traveling can be hectic, stressful, and expensive. Considering Americans took nearly 2 billion trips in 2025 alone, that stress can be pretty epic. From planning to de-boarding, travel can be a challenge—that is, unless you know and utilize these hacks. There are a lot of travel hacks out there in the wild, many of them dubious, but when a hack actually works to lower your costs, increase your comfort, or simply solve an irritating problem, it’s kind of magical. Here are …

Android users are getting more tools to combat the seemingly endless stream of scam texts from bad actors looking to steal your data and your money. Circle to Search and Google Lens can now assess messages for scam red flags, and if possible fraud is detected, you'll get recommendations for what to do (or not do) next. Even if you think you know the telltale signs of a scam—a sense of urgency, a demand for money or personal information, a link to log in or pay—using these tools can confirm your suspicions, especially when you feel pressured to act. Use Circle to Search to identify scamsTo activate Circle to Search, long press the home button or navigation bar on your dev…

A good gift should say, "I see you. I know you. I've been paying attention." In other words, it's the thought that counts—so don't take "thought" out of the equation by turning to ChatGPT for any part of your gift-giving this holiday season. Sure, ChatGPT can rapidly generate gift lists based on demographics, trending items, and surface-level interests. But a truly meaningful gift transcends data points—which, besides, can be far from foolproof. An AI chatbot can suggest a bestselling cookbook for someone who likes cooking, but we're at risk of losing something far more valuable than perfectly matched presents: genuine human connection. The art of gift-giving isn't about …

Following the major image editing upgrades added to Google Gemini back in August—under the whimsical codename Nano Banana—it's OpenAI's turn to supercharge the tools you get for image manipulations inside ChatGPT. The new update is called GPT Image 1.5, and is rolling out now for all users. One of the key improvements here, as was the case with Nano Banana, is the way that ChatGPT can now edit a specific part of an image while keeping everything else consistent. You can add or remove something, or change the color or style of something, without ending up with an entirely different looking picture. Another feature ChatGPT has now borrowed from Gemini: the ability to combin…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Efficient time management takes, well, time to perfect. There are a variety of hacks out there to help you schedule, focus, and complete your work, but it’s still hard to actually do all of that without the right guidance and mindset. If you’re struggling with time management, it might be worth spending some time digging deep on the topic and reading what experts have to say. Here are some of the best books I recommend to help you improve your time management skills. The 5A…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Call me immature, but I’m about a thousand times more likely to participate in activities that are good for me when they can be gamified. Even the simple pleasures of watching a number go up or earning a digital milestone badge can motivate me to get to the gym, track my meals, or form a new habit. Gamification can be used for focusing and studying, too, and a wide variety of apps exist to serve this purpose. Here are some of the best. Gamification apps for focusingFocusing is notoriously difficult, especially in this hyper-connected era in which many of us can’t go five minutes without getting a text or eat a meal withou…

The AI wars continue to heat up. Just weeks after OpenAI declared a "code red" in its race against Google, the latter released its latest lightweight model: Gemini 3 Flash. This particular Flash is the latest in Google's Gemini 3 family, which started with Gemini 3 Pro, and Gemini 3 Deep Think. But while this latest model is meant to be a lighter, less expensive variant of the existing Gemini 3 models, Gemini 3 Flash is actually quite powerful in its own right. In fact, it beats out both Gemini 3 Pro and OpenAI's GPT-5.2 models in some benchmarks. Lightweight models are typically meant for more basic queries, for lower-budget requests, or to be run on lower-powered hardwa…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. America is a car-centric culture—more than 90% of U.S. households have at least one vehicle. There are a lot of different kinds of cars, from old classics being maintained with love, to snazzy new electric rides, or luxury cruisers filled with cutting-edge tech. Whichever kind you drive, getting the most out of your vehicle demands regular maintenance and sensible driving practices, but you can also goose just a bit more out of any vehicle with these universal car hacks. Throw some anti-seize lubricant in your trunkIf you’ve been driving for a while, you know that flat tires only come at the worst possible times. Sunny day…

AirDrop is one of Apple's best features. I use it on a daily basis to share files between my various Apple devices, but it really shines when I'm sharing stuff with other people, or vice versa. It can be tricky to find a quick solution to send larger files. Emails have too low a file size limit, chat apps can compress files, and cloud storage can fill up fast, but AirDrop is simple, built-in, and reliable. It even works with Android now, albeit just the Pixel 10. If AirDrop has one flaw, it's that it's not particularly easy to use with strangers. Apple has changed how this side of AirDrop works over the years. For the longest time, you had two AirDrop settings: "Contacts …

Another PayPal phishing scam is circulating, this time with email notifications about recurring or automatic payments. The messages originate from a legitimate PayPal address, allowing them to evade some security filters and leave recipients worried that their accounts have been compromised—perhaps just enough to ignore the obvious red flags and call or email scammers back. I personally have been targeted by this scam with at least five separate emails, though all have gone straight to my spam folder. Here's how scammers are exploiting PayPal settings to land in your inbox. How the PayPal scam worksIf you're targeted by this campaign, you may receive an email with the s…

There are fewer and fewer hardware differences between iPhones and Androids as the years go on, but back in the day, that was far from the case. At one point, many major Android devices came with dedicated LEDs that would shine whenever you received a notification. It was a passive way to know whether you had something on your phone to attend to, without having to actually wake up the display and risk getting unnecessarily sucked into your device. iPhones have never had this specific feature, but Apple included a workaround for anyone interested in a similar experience. For years, you've been able to dive into Accessibility settings to turn your iPhone's LED flash into a…

Remodeling your house can be an exciting experience. It can also be an expensive one, which is why a lot of homeowners opt to go the DIY route. But any DIY remodel can also be daunting, even if you’re relatively comfortable with home maintenance and repair tasks. Whether you’re contemplating a DIY remodel for the cost savings or because it’s a fun challenge, there are a lot of online tools that can make the planning and execution of your project a lot easier. The 10 apps below can help you find inspiration, identify furniture and other items that will support your vision, and even show you how to tackle the entire project, step-by-step. Best apps for DIY inspirationEvery …

New Year's Eve is my favorite holiday. I love a designated time to look forward and to reflect back, ideally while getting tipsy with friends. The turn of a new year is also a time when I’m grateful for my habit of writing down every little thing—and I don’t just mean getting my thoughts and feelings down in a journal. I’m talking about tracking every book read, every mile run, and every beer crushed (approximately). So if you’re interested in documenting your life—and you should be!—I highly recommend using a wonderfully detailed spreadsheet. I’m not talking about bullet journaling (which can be cool, but which I find too artistically daunting). I simply create a Google …

As I write this, I'm coming off a lunch break that lasted a little too long because I couldn't stop watching YouTube Shorts on my TV. And if Instagram Reels are your own vertical video poison—and you own an Amazon Fire TV device—you can now do the same. Starting today, you can download the new Instagram for TV app to watch Reels on your big screen via a dedicated interface that should be way more natural than simply casting the mobile app from your phone. Currently exclusive to Amazon devices, the Instagram for TV app supports up to five accounts and comes with full functionality for searching for Reels and profiles, as well as liking Reels and browsing comments or reacti…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. Whether you’re looking for a more immersive sound experience (and clearer dialogue) to elevate movie nights and TV shows, or to upgrade your music listening experience, Samsung is widely known for its highly rated soundbars that combine a sleek aesthetic with a space-saving design that avoids the clutter of a full home theater system. Right now, a new Samsung Q990F soundbar is more than 50% off at $967.99 (originally $1,997.99) on Woot, making this an especially good time to invest. Samsung Q9…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. A good productivity method can mean the difference between a disorganized, unfulfilling day and one during which you get a lot done and feel great about it. That tradeoff is why so many of these methods, techniques, and hacks exist. Some are over 100 years old, some were accidentally discovered by everyday people looking to improve their lives, and some come from self-styled gurus who publish entire books on their findings. And some are better than others—though maybe not objectively. To find the one that works best for you, take a look through this guide to seven of my favorites. Notably, these are the ones I like, but t…