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A messaging template is an essential tool for enhancing communication within your organization. It helps guarantee your messages are consistent, clear, and aligned with your brand’s values. For instance, by defining core messages and providing context customized to different audiences, you can streamline your communication efforts. This approach not only saves time but likewise strengthens your brand identity. Nonetheless, creating an effective messaging template requires careful consideration of several key components. What exactly should you include? Key Takeaways A messaging template is a structured framework that standardizes communication within organizations for clarity and consistency. It includes a clear value proposition, core messages, and supporting messages tailored to specific audiences. Templates streamline message creation, saving time and ensuring uniformity across various communication platforms. Regular refinement of templates keeps messaging relevant to strategic goals and market trends. Implementing templates fosters collaboration and improves professionalism, enhancing overall customer engagement and brand identity. Understanding the Purpose of Messaging Templates Messaging templates serve a crucial role in enhancing communication within organizations, as they provide a structured approach that promotes consistency and clarity. By utilizing a messaging framework template, you can streamline your communication efforts, guaranteeing that your key messages remain uniform across various platforms. These templates often highlight value propositions and supporting messages, which effectively convey your brand’s identity and offerings. With messaging templates, you save time and improve efficiency, as you won’t need to create messages from scratch each time. In addition, they align team members by acting as a central reference point, enabling everyone to communicate the same core messages and maintain a consistent brand voice. Regularly updating these templates likewise guarantees they stay relevant to changing market conditions. Key Components of an Effective Messaging Template An effective messaging template contains several key components that guarantee your communication is both impactful and relevant. To align with your brand messaging framework, consider these vital elements: Clear Value Proposition: Describe the unique benefits of your brand or product succinctly to your target audience. Core Messages: These should encapsulate your brand’s beliefs and propositions, ensuring they align with your business objectives and customer needs. Supporting Messages: Reinforce your core messages with additional context, providing credibility and depth to your communication. Target Audience Identification: Utilize detailed buyer personas to tailor your messaging, ensuring it resonates with specific demographics. Regularly refining your template is critical to maintain relevance and alignment with evolving strategic goals and market trends. Benefits of Using Messaging Templates in Communication Using messaging templates in communication offers numerous advantages that can greatly improve both efficiency and effectiveness. These templates streamline your messaging efforts by providing standardized formats, saving you time and ensuring consistency. With a messaging template, you boost clarity and professionalism, making it easier for you to convey vital information without misunderstandings. Moreover, using these templates can increase customer engagement, allowing you to personalize messages in the process of maintaining a cohesive brand voice. Establishing clear guidelines with a messaging template helps you achieve specific business goals, such as promoting sales or improving customer service. In the end, consistent use of messaging templates contributes to a unified brand identity, which is fundamental for building trust and recognition among your target audience. Steps to Create a Messaging Template Creating a messaging template requires a strategic approach that aligns with your brand’s objectives. To develop an effective messaging structure, follow these steps: Define your core message, highlighting your brand’s value proposition. Identify key messaging pillars that showcase your unique selling points. Tailor messages for specific buyer personas, considering demographics and pain points. Incorporate proof points, such as testimonials or data, to improve credibility. Best Practices for Implementing Messaging Templates Implementing messaging templates effectively is crucial for maintaining consistency and clarity across your organization’s communication efforts. Start by utilizing standardized templates to streamline your messaging, guaranteeing professionalism across different channels. Pair these templates with style guides to keep your brand messaging architecture consistent in tone and language, which builds brand recognition and trust. Regularly audit your templates to identify any discrepancies and align them with your current business goals and audience needs. Encourage team collaboration during the development process, as diverse perspectives can improve the templates’ effectiveness in addressing the audience’s pain points. Finally, conduct training sessions to confirm your staff understands how to use the templates correctly, promoting alignment in your messaging strategies throughout the organization. Conclusion In summary, utilizing a messaging template can greatly improve your organization’s communication efforts. By ensuring consistency and clarity, these templates align your messaging with your brand’s values and target audiences. The key components and best practices outlined here will guide you in creating an effective template, ultimately enhancing engagement and nurturing a unified brand identity. By implementing these strategies, you can streamline your communication processes and build trust with your stakeholders effectively. Image Via Envato This article, "What Is a Messaging Template That Improves Communication?" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

A messaging template is an essential tool for enhancing communication within your organization. It helps guarantee your messages are consistent, clear, and aligned with your brand’s values. For instance, by defining core messages and providing context customized to different audiences, you can streamline your communication efforts. This approach not only saves time but likewise strengthens your brand identity. Nonetheless, creating an effective messaging template requires careful consideration of several key components. What exactly should you include? Key Takeaways A messaging template is a structured framework that standardizes communication within organizations for clarity and consistency. It includes a clear value proposition, core messages, and supporting messages tailored to specific audiences. Templates streamline message creation, saving time and ensuring uniformity across various communication platforms. Regular refinement of templates keeps messaging relevant to strategic goals and market trends. Implementing templates fosters collaboration and improves professionalism, enhancing overall customer engagement and brand identity. Understanding the Purpose of Messaging Templates Messaging templates serve a crucial role in enhancing communication within organizations, as they provide a structured approach that promotes consistency and clarity. By utilizing a messaging framework template, you can streamline your communication efforts, guaranteeing that your key messages remain uniform across various platforms. These templates often highlight value propositions and supporting messages, which effectively convey your brand’s identity and offerings. With messaging templates, you save time and improve efficiency, as you won’t need to create messages from scratch each time. In addition, they align team members by acting as a central reference point, enabling everyone to communicate the same core messages and maintain a consistent brand voice. Regularly updating these templates likewise guarantees they stay relevant to changing market conditions. Key Components of an Effective Messaging Template An effective messaging template contains several key components that guarantee your communication is both impactful and relevant. To align with your brand messaging framework, consider these vital elements: Clear Value Proposition: Describe the unique benefits of your brand or product succinctly to your target audience. Core Messages: These should encapsulate your brand’s beliefs and propositions, ensuring they align with your business objectives and customer needs. Supporting Messages: Reinforce your core messages with additional context, providing credibility and depth to your communication. Target Audience Identification: Utilize detailed buyer personas to tailor your messaging, ensuring it resonates with specific demographics. Regularly refining your template is critical to maintain relevance and alignment with evolving strategic goals and market trends. Benefits of Using Messaging Templates in Communication Using messaging templates in communication offers numerous advantages that can greatly improve both efficiency and effectiveness. These templates streamline your messaging efforts by providing standardized formats, saving you time and ensuring consistency. With a messaging template, you boost clarity and professionalism, making it easier for you to convey vital information without misunderstandings. Moreover, using these templates can increase customer engagement, allowing you to personalize messages in the process of maintaining a cohesive brand voice. Establishing clear guidelines with a messaging template helps you achieve specific business goals, such as promoting sales or improving customer service. In the end, consistent use of messaging templates contributes to a unified brand identity, which is fundamental for building trust and recognition among your target audience. Steps to Create a Messaging Template Creating a messaging template requires a strategic approach that aligns with your brand’s objectives. To develop an effective messaging structure, follow these steps: Define your core message, highlighting your brand’s value proposition. Identify key messaging pillars that showcase your unique selling points. Tailor messages for specific buyer personas, considering demographics and pain points. Incorporate proof points, such as testimonials or data, to improve credibility. Best Practices for Implementing Messaging Templates Implementing messaging templates effectively is crucial for maintaining consistency and clarity across your organization’s communication efforts. Start by utilizing standardized templates to streamline your messaging, guaranteeing professionalism across different channels. Pair these templates with style guides to keep your brand messaging architecture consistent in tone and language, which builds brand recognition and trust. Regularly audit your templates to identify any discrepancies and align them with your current business goals and audience needs. Encourage team collaboration during the development process, as diverse perspectives can improve the templates’ effectiveness in addressing the audience’s pain points. Finally, conduct training sessions to confirm your staff understands how to use the templates correctly, promoting alignment in your messaging strategies throughout the organization. Conclusion In summary, utilizing a messaging template can greatly improve your organization’s communication efforts. By ensuring consistency and clarity, these templates align your messaging with your brand’s values and target audiences. The key components and best practices outlined here will guide you in creating an effective template, ultimately enhancing engagement and nurturing a unified brand identity. By implementing these strategies, you can streamline your communication processes and build trust with your stakeholders effectively. Image Via Envato This article, "What Is a Messaging Template That Improves Communication?" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

The title industry sustained improvement first seen last year, with second-quarter premium totals up on both a quarterly and annual basis, ALTA said. View the full article

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. Did you know you can customize Google to filter out garbage? Take these steps for better search results, including adding my work at Lifehacker as a preferred source. Since the AirPods Pro 3 were released this September, I've been anticipating a big price drops for the older 2nd-generation AirPods Pro, and that price drop is now here: Amazon is selling refurbished 2nd Generation AirPods Pros for $139.99, down from the previous price of $209.99 for a refurbished pair and $249 for a new pair. This is the lowest price yet for this model of AirPods Pro, according to price tracking tools. Apple AirPods Pro (2nd Generation) (Renewed Premium) $139.99 at Amazon $209.99 Save $70.00 Get Deal Get Deal $139.99 at Amazon $209.99 Save $70.00 If you don't mind them being refurbished, these are great earbuds for a great price. This model, which came out in September 2023, is the first to feature charging via USB-C. They also came out with a few features that still older models didn't have, like adaptive transparency. You can expect solid battery life, with Apple claiming up to 30 hours of listening time on a single charge. The AirPods Pro offer excellent noise cancellation, plus their silicone tips provide a good seal that will naturally block a lot of background noise without the need to turn the ANC feature on. Transparency Mode lets you have a conversation with someone while your audio is still playing, and Conversation Awareness will automatically lower the volume of your media and boost the voices of the people you're talking to. The Adaptive Audio feature is also pretty cool: It reduces any loud sounds to a tolerable 85 dB, so sudden loud noises in your media don't startle or distract you. All of that to say: While they don't have all the bells and whistles of the AirPods Pro 3, these earbuds still offer many features that make them a great option in 2025—especially at their current discount. Our Best Editor-Vetted Tech Deals Right Now Apple AirPods Pro 2 Noise Cancelling Wireless Earbuds — $199.00 (List Price $249.00) Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge 256GB Unlocked AI Phone (Titanium JetBlack) — $699.99 (List Price $1,099.99) Apple iPad 11" 128GB A16 WiFi Tablet (Blue, 2025) — $299.00 (List Price $349.00) Roku Streaming Stick Plus — $29.00 (List Price $39.99) Deals are selected by our commerce team View the full article

The lender is seeking to dismiss the lawsuit, calling the purported scheme to also deprive its loan officers of full compensation implausible. View the full article

Did you know you can customize Google to filter out garbage? Take these steps for better search results, including adding Lifehacker as a preferred source for tech news. Netflix's October lineup has a little something for everyone. There are new seasons of familiar favorites, including the ninth installments of both Love Is Blind (Oct. 1), this time set in Denver, and real estate reality show Selling Sunset (Oct. 29). Nobody Wants This (Oct. 23), the rom-com series starring Adam Brody and Kristen Bell, is returning for another season, along with other Netflix originals The Diplomat (Oct. 16) and The Witcher (Oct. 30). The documentary slate this month is long: Those who liked the Emmy Award-winning Beckham may also enjoy Victoria Beckham (Oct. 9), a three-part series from the same creators. The Perfect Neighbor (Oct. 17)—a Sundance Film Festival award winner—examines the violent consequences of Florida's stand-your-ground laws. On the film side, Keira Knightley stars in The Woman in Cabin 10 (Oct. 10), a psychological thriller based on Ruth Ware's 2016 novel. Knightley plays a journalist on assignment on a luxury cruise, where she believes she witnesses a passenger being thrown overboard. A House of Dynamite (Oct. 24) is a political thriller about the U.S. government response to an unidentified nuclear missile attack. The ensemble cast includes Idris Elba, Rebecca Ferguson, Gabriel Basso, Jared Harris, Tracy Letts, and Anthony Ramos, among others. Finally, Netflix is streaming the Six Kings Slam (Oct. 15), an exhibition tennis tournament held in Saudi Arabia featuring top players like Carlos Alcaraz, Janik Sinner, and Novak Djokovic. Here's everything coming to Netflix in October, and everything that's leaving. What's coming to Netflix in October 2025Available soonPhysical: Asia—Netflix Series Available October 1Love Is Blind: Season 9—Netflix Series RIV4LRIES—Netflix Series About My Father Austin Powers in Goldmember Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me Beverly Hills Cop Beverly Hills Cop II Beverly Hills Cop III Blue Crush The Book Club Murders Casper The Christmas Contract Coach Carter Coming to America Daddy Day Care Death Becomes Her Dirty Dancing Dr. Seuss' The Lorax Dracula Eddie Murphy: Raw Elysium Fifty Shades Darker Fifty Shades Freed Fifty Shades of Grey Friends with Benefits The Goonies Hacksaw Ridge Halo: Seasons 1-2 The Hurt Locker I Still Know What You Did Last Summer Law Abiding Citizen The Lincoln Lawyer The Mask Meet Joe Black Molly's Game Mr. & Mrs. Smith NCIS: Seasons 18-19 Pineapple Express Point Break Red Dragon Scarface Sinister 2 Sister Act Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit Slender Man The Strangers Taxi Driver Training Day The Way Home: Seasons 1-2 When a Stranger Calls The Wrath of Becky Available October 2Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story Dudes—Netflix Series The Game: You Never Play Alone—Netflix Series The Martian Rockstar: DUKI from the End of the World—Netflix Documentary Available October 3Genie, Make a Wish—Netflix Series Monster: The Ed Gein Story—Netflix Series The New Force—Netflix Series Old Dog, New Tricks—Netflix Series Rhythm + Flow France: After the Beat—Netflix Documentary Steve—Netflix Film Available October 4Angel Has Fallen Night of the Living Dead Ranma1/2: Season 2—Netflix Series Available October 5Despicable Me 3 Ip Man Ip Man 2 Ip Man 3 Ip Man 4: The Finale Available October 6Dr. Seuss’s Horton!—Netflix Family Available October 7Nurse Jackie: Seasons 1-7 True Haunting—Netflix Documentary We Have Always Lived in the Castle Available October 8Caramelo—Netflix Film Is It Cake? Halloween—Netflix Series Néro the Assassin—Netflix Series Available October 9Boots—Netflix Series The Maze Runner Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials Maze Runner: Death Cure The Resurrected—Netflix Series Victoria Beckham—Netflix Documentary Available October 10Kurukshetra: The War of Mahabharata—Netflix Series My Father, the BTK Killer—Netflix Documentary Old Money—Netflix Series Swim to Me—Netflix Film The Woman in Cabin 10—Netflix Film Available October 11Typhoon Family—Netflix Series Available October 14Everybody Loves Me When I'm Dead—Netflix Film Splinter Cell: Deathwatch—Netflix Series Available October 15Held Hostage in My House Inside Furioza—Netflix Film No One Saw Us Leave—Netflix Series Six Kings Slam 2025—Netflix Live Event Taken in Plain Sight Available October 16The A Team Confessions of a Shopaholic The Diplomat: Season 3—Netflix Series Romantics Anonymous—Netflix Series Starting 5: Season 2—Netflix Sports Series The Time That Remains—Netflix Film Available October 1727 Nights—Netflix Film Good News—Netflix Film The Perfect Neighbor—Netflix Documentary She Walks in Darkness—Netflix Film Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem Turn of the Tide: Season 2—Netflix Series Turn of the Tide: The Surreal Story of Rabo de Peixe—Netflix Documentary The Twits—Netflix Family Available October 18Don't Say a Word Available October 21Michelle Wolf: The Well—Netflix Comedy Special The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon: Season 2 Who Killed the Montreal Expos?—Netflix Documentary Available October 22Mob War: Philadelphia vs. The Mafia—Netflix Documentary Series The Monster of Florence—Netflix Series Available October 23The Elixir—Netflix Film Nobody Wants This: Season 2—Netflix Series Available October 24A HOUSE OF DYNAMITE—Netflix Film Parish: Season 1 Available October 25The Dream Life of Mr. Kim—Netflix Series Available October 27The Asset—Netflix Series Dark Winds: Season 3 Sliding Doors Available October 28Babo: The Haftbefehl Story—Netflix Documentary Mo Amer: Wild World—Netflix Comedy Special Nightmares of Nature: Lost in the Jungle—Netflix Documentary Available October 29Ballad of a Small Player—Netflix Film NOS4A2: Seasons 1-2 Rulers of Fortune—Netflix Series Selling Sunset: Season 9—Netflix Series Available October 30Aileen: Queen of the Serial Killers—Netflix Documentary Amsterdam Empire—Netflix Series Juan Gabriel: I Must, I Can, I Will—Netflix Documentary Son of a Donkey—Netflix Series The Witcher: Season 4—Netflix Series Available October 31Bad Influencer—Netflix Series Breathless: Season 2—Netflix Series Rhythm + Flow France: Season 4—Netflix Series What's leaving Netflix in October 2025Leaving October 1A Million Ways to Die in the West A Night at the Roxbury American Graffiti American Pie American Pie 2 Antz Big Daddy Billy Madison Blades of Glory Born on the Fourth of July The Blues Brothers Dazed and Confused The Departed Dune Focus Friday Night Lights Good Burger Grown Ups Grown Ups 2 Krampus Mission: Impossible Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation Mission: Impossible II Mission: Impossible III Neighbors Now You See Me Now You See Me 2 Old School Road Trip Rudy Rush Hour Rush Hour 2 Rush Hour 3 Talk to Me Wayne's World Wayne's World 2 White Collar: Seasons 1-6 Zoolander Leaving October 16Circle Leaving October 20Anyone But You Leaving October 23Empire Records Leaving October 24The Family Business: Seasons 1-4 View the full article

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Did you know you can customize Google to filter out garbage? Take these steps for better search results, including adding Lifehacker as a preferred source for tech news. I acquired a "magic circle" Pilates prop for personal use in my ever-expanding quest to get better at working out at home. I wanted to put it into action right away, so naturally, I turned to my beloved Peloton app, where I figured I'd load up a Pilates workout and get to work. Weirdly, though, that wasn't as easy as it is when I, say, want to follow along with a yoga or stretching class. Eventually, I figured it out and the Pilates workout (which did incorporate my hoop, thank you very much) was great—and challenging, which is how I like it. Where to locate Pilates classes on the Peloton appI knew Peloton had Pilates classes. But when I opened up the app, there was no designated Pilates button the way there are buttons for Meditation and Cycling. I typed "Pilates" into the search bar at the top of the mobile app and it brought up 95 class results, some of which were actually categorized as yoga and others which were listed under strength. So, there are Pilates classes, but they're listed on different landing pages. Across the top of the search results page, you see Classes, Collections, Programs, and Music Artists. Tapping Collections yields a landing page called "Pilates with Equipment," which has subcategories: Pilates with a Ball, Pilates with Sliders, Pilates with a Band, and—crucially, for me—Pilates with a Ring. There are only a handful of classes in each and they're all technically filed as "strength classes" in Peloton's system. I selected "15 min Pilates" from the section that incorporates the magic circle. Things got harder from there. I wanted to play the class on my TV, which is possible because Peloton has an app on the Roku, but there is no search function on the Roku app. Instead, you have to look through the categories to find a class—which I couldn't do, since there is no Pilates category. I ended up getting the one I wanted by adding it to my Peloton Stack, which is like a personal class playlist; deleting everything else from the Stack; and running the Stack on the Roku app. It wasn't efficient or ideal, but ultimately, it worked. What Peloton's Pilates classes are like As much trouble as I had actually finding a class, I hadn't even technically done the "hard" part yet. Pilates is supposed to be challenging, after all, and the intermediate-level class I took definitely was. Armed with my mat and my hoop I followed along with some standard moves, like "hundreds" and clam shells. It was difficult, but not impossible, which is exactly what I was looking for. Again, there are only 95 of these types of classes available and some are more about stretching while others are more strength-focused. That's a small selection compared to how many other types of classes Peloton offers. But what is available is solid. The instruction is clear and precise, modifications are offered, and the audio/video quality is top-tier, making it easy to hear and see what you're supposed to be doing. I did the Peloton class last night and took an in-studio reformer class this morning. Granted, my in-person class was four times longer than the one I did from Peloton, but I'd say that adjusted for time, they were both equal in challenge. Because I am now the proud owner of a hoop and the knowledge of how to find high-quality, expert-led Pilates classes to play through Peloton, I'll certainly be doing more of these. Here's hoping we get a dedicated Pilates page on the Peloton app soon. View the full article

The data suggest U.S. homebuilders are successfully luring buyers off the sidelines with aggressive sales incentives. View the full article

The St. Petersburg, Florida-based company plans to market 18.4 million shares for $18 to $20 each, according to its Securities and Exchange Commission filing. View the full article

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. The JBL Flip 7 (2025) portable speaker is currently on sale for $89.99 as an open-box deal on StackSocial, shipping to the contiguous US with a one-year warranty included. Open-box here doesn’t mean used—it typically refers to excess retail stock that’s been handled, sometimes with stickers or scuffed packaging, but the speaker itself is verified to be in new condition before shipping. On the outside, the Flip 7 looks almost identical to the Flip 6, with the same cylindrical body and fabric covering. The differences show up in durability and usability. JBL reinforced the rubber bumpers, now thicker and longer, to make the speaker drop-proof from a meter onto concrete, and the upgraded IP68 rating makes it fully dustproof and safe for submersion in water. Also, instead of the flimsy string loop from earlier models, there’s now a PushLock system with a built-in carabiner, which makes clipping the Flip 7 onto a backpack or hanging it from a branch much easier. Pair that with Bluetooth 5.4 and a new USB-C audio option that supports lossless playback (if you have high-res sources from Apple Music or Tidal), and you’ve got a speaker that’s both rugged and more flexible than before. When it comes to sound, it does about as well as you’d hope for a speaker of this size. The 25W woofer and 10W tweeter give it enough punch to feel bigger than it is, though you’re not getting window-shaking bass. For anyone who likes to tinker with sound, the app now includes a 7-band customizable EQ that gives you more room to adjust things your way. The app also brings in Auracast, which lets the Flip 7 connect with newer JBL models. The catch is that it won’t play nice with older PartyBoost speakers, but this JBL Flip 7 (2025) on sale for $89.99 is a solid deal. View the full article

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. Did you know you can customize Google to filter out garbage? Take these steps for better search results, including adding my work at Lifehacker as a preferred source. If you’re looking for a new all-in-one robot mop and vacuum to make your life easier, the Roborock S8 Max Ultra Robot Vacuum and Mop is currently 42% off, dropping from $1,300 to $750 in this deal ahead of Prime Day in October and marking its lowest price ever, according to price tracking tools. Roborock S8 Max Ultra Robot Vacuum and Mop $749.99 at Amazon $1,299.99 Save $550.00 Get Deal Get Deal $749.99 at Amazon $1,299.99 Save $550.00 This vacuum and map combo has a robust auto-dock system with auto-dust emptying, mop washing, and mop drying. It has a suction power of around 8,000Pa compared to the 10,000Pa suction of the pricier and more advanced S8 MaxV model, according to this PCMag review. The mop features hot-water washing with smart dirt detection to better clean the spinning pads as well as heated air drying, which reduces odors. A single fill of the automatic detergent dispenser will last you for about three months of cleaning. Like the S8 MaxV, they both have a 100ml built-in water tank, a 4L clean water tank, and a 270ml dustbin. Unlike the S8 MaxV, this model doesn’t include an Intelligent Voice Assistant and remote viewing, though the Roborock app uses AI to adjust cleaning intensity based on certain areas. You can customize cleaning zones by tweaking features like “Add Area” for more targeted cleaning, and “Skip Area” to bypass spots, while the mop lifts to avoid soaking carpets. Furthermore, different modes like deep-carpet cleaning or carpet boost make it ideal for mixed floors. A FlexiArm side brush also reaches edges more effectively, while LiDAR tech and Reactive 3D Obstacle Avoidance stop it from bumping into furniture (and pets) more effectively. Another perk for pet owners, who praise this model on Amazon, is the Pet Area Deep Cleaning setting, which provides extra sanitation of areas where pets sleep or spend their time. Overall, if you’re seeking an advanced robot mop and vacuum hybrid with plenty of hands-free features and don’t mind slightly less suction than the S8 MaxV (which will cost you an extra $350) and the lack of an RGB camera and voice control, the Roborock S8 Max Ultra is a top-tier model with solid performance, strong automation, and only a couple of small tradeoffs, offering strong value at 42% off. Our Best Editor-Vetted Tech Deals Right Now Apple AirPods Pro 2 Noise Cancelling Wireless Earbuds — $199.00 (List Price $249.00) Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge 256GB Unlocked AI Phone (Titanium JetBlack) — $699.99 (List Price $1,099.99) Apple iPad 11" 128GB A16 WiFi Tablet (Blue, 2025) — $299.00 (List Price $349.00) Roku Streaming Stick Plus — $29.00 (List Price $39.99) Deals are selected by our commerce team View the full article

Did you know you can customize Google to filter out garbage? Take these steps for better search results, including adding Lifehacker as a preferred source for tech news. Before you sit down to study or get started on a big project for work, you might want to consider hitting the gym or taking a brisk walk. Besides just generally being good for your health, research also shows it can actually help with cognition. And with, say, the start of a new semester bearing down upon you or a work deadline looming, anything that can give you a brain boost is likely welcome. What the research says about exercise and studyingThere’s no shortage of solid, peer-reviewed research on the effect of exercise on cognition, going back decades. There's just a shortage on explanations. The exact reasons that exercise helps thinking aren’t fully understood, but one 2018 review in Frontiers in Psychology discusses evidence that it may increase blood flow to the brain, boost levels of certain neurotransmitters, and increase your feelings of control and self-esteem. Purely anecdotally, I think that's true. When I leave the gym in the morning, I feel like I've already accomplished something and tend to be a little more of a go-getter at work, riding my smug little wave to continue the day's productive streak. Another review, from 2013, notes that “more active” individuals are better able to pay attention to their surroundings and process information more quickly. Exercise may even change our brains for the long term; the 2018 review concluded that “chronic aerobic exercise is associated with potent structural and functional neuroplastic changes, with an improvement in cognitive functions.” What exercises work best for your brain?The research is pro-exercise in all forms, but especially hones in on acute aerobic exercise—or the kind of exercise where you’re moving around a lot and your heart rate is up. A “single bout” of this kind of movement is related to improved cognitive functions, according to the researchers in Frontiers. So, before you sit down to study, plan your week, or have an important conversation with your boss, consider swimming, biking, jogging, running, hopping on the elliptical, or taking a brisk walk around the block. You want to get in some solid cardio here, even if it is as simple as biking to work or taking your lunch break at the gym. (Here’s a guide to how much exercise you need each week, in general.) How to make time to work outI know it's hard to find time to work out, especially if you're a stressed-out student—but that makes it all the more important you do carve out some time for taking care of your body, regardless of the effect it has on your mind. Taking into account that it could make you a better student, it practically becomes non-negotiable. If getting to the gym, the bike path, or the rec center truly isn't feasible, there is plenty you can do from the comfort of home or your dorm room. Since we're looking to get the heart rate up here, focus on cardio, to the extent possible in your space. YouTube is full of great follow-along workout videos that can get blood pumping, for instance. I'd also recommend having a designated workout app to guide you. I'm partial to Peloton's app, but while that app has all kinds of class types from cycling to walking to yoga, it can also cost up to $44 a month, making it a little difficult to maintain for a student. As a free alternative, you can try Nike Training Club, which has similar classes you can follow along with from home. Check with your university's student center about what's available, too. Schools offer all kinds of wellness-focused resources, from fitness apps to on-campus recreational centers. In grad school, I taught spin classes in my university's rec center that were free for other students to attend—and, true to the research, I always noticed a little cognitive boost when I did it right before class. View the full article

Did you know you can customize Google to filter out garbage? Take these steps for better search results, including adding Lifehacker as a preferred source for tech news. Study methods are usually all about what you can do in your own time to maximize what you learn and that's generally most important, but bringing someone else in to your process can be helpful if done correctly, too. That’s what Richard Feynman, a theoretical physicist, thought—at least in theory. According to many possibly apocryphal sources, the Nobel Prize-winner once said, “If you cannot explain something in simple terms, you don’t understand it. The best way to learn is to teach.” It’s entirely possible Feynman never said that at all. The closest documented quote I could find, courtesy of his colleague and fellow physicist David Goodstein, stated that Feynman’s inability to break a subject (in this case, a complex question of particle physics) down to the level a freshman student could understand it meant that science didn’t effectively understand it. But whether this study method truly came from Feynman or not, the basic principle—to know you truly understand a subject, you should be able to teach it to someone else—is pretty sound. Here’s how the Feynman study method works and how you can use it to master new concepts (just maybe not particle physics, apparently). What is the Feynman method?The Feynman study technique is so popular for learning and retaining information that it’s recommended to college students and even real-world professionals. It’s a four-step technique that should, when practiced correctly, help you fully grasp the content you’re studying. Here are the steps involved: Identify exactly what material you need to learn (to do that, try using a method like KWL or SQ3R to determine which parts of the topic are most critical before you even get started), and then study it on your own using the methods that have proven most effective for you. I recommend the Leitner flashcard method for vocabulary words and simple question-and-answer problems. Then, try blurting, where you write down everything you can remember about the topic before checking it against your materials to see what you missed. Once you feel comfortable with the material, teach it to someone else—ideally someone who has never studied it. Explain the material as though you were doing so to a total neophyte (Feynman advises to imagine talking to a child), as thoroughly and as straightforwardly as possible. Return to your source material whenever you come across an element you have difficulty explaining in detail. Rewrite and streamline your notes, breaking down complex topics into simpler parts, and further clarifying the topic until you reach a level of granularity that seems almost too basic. Step 2 isn't as simple as it seems, though. You need a pretty willing participant for this and they should ask questions while you teach them. Questions are crucial because the other person may come up with ones you didn't think of while studying the material and a back-and-forth dialogue can help you make connections between concepts in your brain. Don't treat this as though you're standing in front of them giving a lecture. Rather, turn it more into a real conversation where you're presenting the material, but they're also participating. If they ask something you can't answer, head to Step 3, look it up, and then go back to them with the details. How the Feynman method worksThe most important element of this technique is in dissecting and simplifying the material until you feel like you could explain it all to a child. As the story from Goodstein above reveals, Feynman believed if you couldn’t reduce a topic to information comprehensible to a young student, you didn’t really understand it. (A similar quote has also been attributed to Albert Einstein, so consider it a pedagogical philosophy with legs—though there’s no proof Einstein actually said anything of the sort, either.) It works fine if you choose an adult who is unfamiliar with the topic to teach it to. The idea is just for you to simplify it to a child's level of understanding, but you'll probably get more substantive feedback if you actually do the discussion with an adult. Maybe they’ll ask a question you can’t answer, or help you find connections between ideas. Maybe their unique perspectives and experiences will inform their understanding of this new material and launch some groundbreaking revelations for you. Who's to say? This feedback will help you as you move to the third step of reviewing your materials, as it will give you additional things to consider as you do so. When you’re done refining your notes further, try teaching the topic to someone else again, or moving on to another technique, like distributed practice or overlearning, where you’ll study your simplified notes periodically until you fully grasp the material. Feynman when no one else is aroundIt's a nice idea to imagine you could call up your mom or best friend to Feynman it out every time you have a big test coming, but realistically, that's probably not possible. If you can't find anyone with whom to practice this technique, turn to AI. Language models like ChatGPT are great study helpers when used correctly. Instruct the chatbot to act like it's totally unfamiliar with the subject, then type everything you can remember about it into the text-entry box, as though you were using the blurting method. Ask if the AI has any questions and go from there. I've done this and actually just told the bot I was using the Feynman method, which it understood, and it worked just as well as talking to a human being, although it felt a little weirder. Fire up ChatGPT before a big test in case of emergency. View the full article

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Did you know you can customize Google to filter out garbage? Take these steps for better search results, including adding my work at Lifehacker as a preferred source. My massage guns are precious to me, and I don't plan on giving them up any time soon. At the same time, the world of sports recovery is so much bigger than a $400 Theragun. Maybe you love your massage gun, but you're still wondering what other tools are out there to help soothe your sore muscles. I've got you covered on this front. After six years of running marathons without any major injury, here are some of my favorite massage gun alternatives that deserve a spot in your recovery arsenal. Percussive foam rollersFoam rolling is a recovery staple on its own, but I recently discovered how the Chirp RPM Rolling Percussive Massager (which I review in-depth here) elevates this classic technique with built-in vibration. This hybrid tool combines the familiar benefits of traditional foam rolling with gentle percussion therapy, which seriously reduces the effort required for effective self-massage. Traditional foam rolling can be exhausting, especially when you're already fatigued from training. The percussive action does much of the work for you, allowing for deeper muscle penetration without the same physical exertion. Anecdotally, I've noticed solid improvements in my recovery time when using the Chirp roller, particularly for IT band and calf muscle maintenance. Chirp RPM Rolling Percussive Massager $249.99 at Amazon Shop Now Shop Now $249.99 at Amazon Orbital massage gunsWhen most people think of massage guns, they picture the typical back-and-forth percussion motion. Lately, I've opted for the Rally orbital massage gun to break up the jackhammering with a unique circular motion pattern. It feels less aggressive than traditional percussion therapy, but just as effective. I've found it particularly effective for post-workout recovery on large muscle groups like quads and hamstrings, where traditional massage guns can sometimes feel too intense. Plus, if you turn the orbital massager at a slight angle, it works just like a percussive massage gun, too. The device is also surprisingly quiet compared to most percussion massagers, making it ideal for apartment living or late-night recovery sessions. It's no small investment, but for me, it's been worth every cent. Rally Orbital Massager $499.00 at Rally Shop Now Shop Now $499.00 at Rally Compression therapy on a dimeProfessional compression therapy systems can cost thousands, but I get a lot out of simple compression socks. While they may not have all the bells and whistles of medical-grade units, there's a good chance you don't need a medical-grade unit—just a $20 3-pack of socks. Tennis or lacrosse ballsBefore massage guns existed, athletes relied on simple tools like tennis balls and lacrosse balls for trigger point release. These remain incredibly effective and cost basically nothing. And trust me, a $5 lacrosse ball from a sporting goods store performs identically to a $25 "recovery ball" with fancy packaging. Pro tip from dealing with plantar fasciitis: You can put your tennis ball in the freezer for a nice cooling effect, especially if you muscles are inflamed. Recovery techniques that cost nothingBefore you drop hundreds on a fancy massage gun or decompression table, make sure you're taking care of yourself for free in these ways: Mobility work. The most overlooked recovery tool is completely free: strategic stretching and mobility work. Spending 15-20 minutes on targeted stretches can be more beneficial than any gadget. Focus on dynamic stretching before workouts and static stretching afterward, paying special attention to areas that feel tight or overworked. Quality sleep. Quality sleep is the foundation of all recovery, yet it's often ignored in favor of expensive gadgets. I've invested in my sleep with this pair of sleepbuds so that I can actually sleep through my partner's snoring. Active recovery sessions. Light movement on rest days can be more effective than complete inactivity. Walking and yoga are great ways to get your blood flowing without adding training stress. The bottom lineThe best recovery protocol is the one you'll actually follow. Whether that includes high-tech gadgets or a simple tennis ball matters less than your commitment to making recovery a priority in your training regimen. I've always made it a priority, and I've yet to be sidelined from marathon running in the past six years (knock on wood). My advice is that a combination of one or two quality devices—alongside all those free recovery techniques—used regularly will always deliver better results than a collection of expensive gadgets used sporadically. And remember that the most powerful recovery tool is time itself, so don't turn to a massage gun when what you really need is a rest day. I'm currently testing a $599 decompression and massage table, so stay tuned on whether I think that sort of device is worth your money. View the full article

Financial markets tend to shrug off threats of a shutdown given the history of standoffs being resolved. Both sides are more dug in this time. View the full article

With comments on the proposed repeal due Sept. 26, stakeholders must demand decisions based on data — not politics, according to the founder of 480 Advisors. View the full article

Refinancing indicators recorded muted gains as home sales challenges persisted ahead of a period when politics may change the market outlook. View the full article

Did you know you can customize Google to filter out garbage? Take these steps for better search results, including adding my work at Lifehacker as a preferred source. As fall creeps toward winter, we know we’ll have to turn on the heat. But when is the right time? If you’re arguing with your partner or roommate about the thermostat, we’re happy to be able to end that argument for you. (They’ll probably never admit they’re wrong, though.) The easiest answer, which is not necessarily the correct answer, is to look for nighttime lows falling below 55 degrees Fahrenheit. That said, neither the calendar nor the weather forecast can give you very good advice here. The temperature inside your house is what matters. If your house occupies a sunny spot in a warm climate, you may be able to delay turning on your heat until it’s nearly the dead of winter. On the other hand, if your house is poorly insulated, sits in a shady area, or your local climate is on the chilly side, you may need to turn it on sooner. So while you can ask your neighbors what date or what outdoor temperature they usually use as their guideline, you’ll need to look at your own thermostat to know when it’s time. Keep the indoor temperature above 64 degrees for your healthA report from the World Health Organization points out that temperatures below 18 degrees Celsius (about 64 Fahrenheit) may cause issues for smokers, people with asthma, and people with cardiovascular disease. Warmer temperatures are associated with better lung function and better blood pressure in these people. They conclude that 64 is a good minimum for most of us, but that people with these conditions—and people who are 65 or older—should be especially sure to keep their house at 64 degrees or warmer. That said, if you’re under 65 years old and don’t have lung or heart conditions, the WHO is fine with you putting on a sweater and dealing with it. They say lower temperatures aren’t a health risk for healthy people who are moving around enough to generate plenty of body heat. You can also safely use clothing, bedding, or heating devices to stay warm at those lower temperatures—say, snuggling up in flannel pajamas with a hot water bottle under a warm duvet. Set your programmable thermostat to turn on the heat when the temperature dropsSo that’s the general rule, but what if you have a thermostat that lets you program different temperatures for different times of day? Energy Star suggests setting your thermostat to kick on the heat when the temperature drops to 70 degrees in the morning or evening. If you have a programmable thermostat, you can set a “setback” to allow the house to cool down a bit at night and when you’re not home. An eight-degree setback is recommended for when you’re out of the house during the day (at the office, for example) and then again for nighttime, since cool temperatures help us sleep, and we can use blankets if we’re too cold. That eight-degree setback would give us an indoor temperature that could fall as low as 62 degrees. Try that and see how the house feels. If it’s too cold, consider bumping up to at least 64. If you want to wait as long as possible, at least do a test runNo matter what I say here, I know that some of you will want to wait as long as possible to turn on the heat for the first time. Just do yourself a favor: Turn on the heat at some point in the early fall just to make sure everything is working OK. When it finally gets too cold to go without the heat, you don't want that day to be the day you learn something isn't working properly. View the full article

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said in a speech Tuesday that the central bank's policy stance is "modestly restrictive," a stance that will give the central bank flexibility to react to an uncertain economic future. View the full article

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. Did you know you can customize Google to filter out garbage? Take these steps for better search results, including adding my work at Lifehacker as a preferred source. Walmart has jumped on the October Prime Day bandwagon in an attempt to sway you away from the biggest online sale of the fall. The main event is Amazon's two-day Prime Big Deal Days promotion, aka October Prime Day. This week, Walmart officially announced its own "Prime Day"-esque promotion, and there's some good news for those of you who balk at the idea of paying for a membership to take advantage of a sale—it's free to everyone. What is Walmart Deals?Walmart Deals is meant to be the answer to Amazon's Prime Day sales. It is both an in-store and online sale with deals on most things that Walmart sells (food being arguably the biggest omission). The sale happens every year around spring, summer, fall, and winter, revolving around Prime Day sales. When does Walmart Deals start?Walmart Deals kicks off Oct. 6 at 7 p.m. ET for Walmart+ members (a five-hour head start) and Oct. 7 for everyone else. It runs until Oct. 12, both online and in stores at local opening times. Do you need to be a Walmart+ member to shop during Walmart Deals?No. But, if you are a Walmart+ member, you'll get early access to the sales beginning Oct. 6 at 7 p.m. ET, the evening before the event opens to the public. You can sign up for a free 30-day Walmart+ subscription or get the annual plan for $98 ($8.17/month). What you can expect from Walmart DealsWalmart says its sale will include many different categories, including deals on electronics, home, toys, travel, and many other categories—similar to the deals we found last year. The sale will be on Walmart.com, the Walmart app, and in stores. You can already see the landing page, even though the sale hasn't started. Here are some deals Walmart says will be available: Electronics ASUS 16” R7 4050 16/512 Gaming Laptop – $400 (Walmart exclusive) Proscan Elite, 14.1” Wi-Fi Digital Picture Frame – $25 Savings VIZIO 50" Class Quantum 4K QLED HDR Smart TV – $100 Savings Home Better Homes & Gardens Farm Apple Pumpkin Scented 1-Wick 16.1oz Ribbed Jar Candle – $7 Savings (Walmart exclusive) Dyson Ball Animal Origin Upright Vacuum – $80 Savings Lasko Oscillating 1500W Electric Motion Heat Whole Room Ceramic Heater with Remote Control – $30 Savings HART 215-piece Mechanics Tool Set, Chrome finish – $52 Savings (Walmart exclusive) Seasonal Decor 5Ft Halloween Inflatable Pumpkin Ghost with 360° Rotating Colorful LED Lights – $102 Savings 4' Pre-Lit Starburst Gold Artificial Christmas Tree – $42.97 (Walmart exclusive) Govee Christmas LED Net Lights – $30 Savings Mr. Christmas Santa's Magical Telephone – $59.88 (Walmart exclusive) Toys Hot Wheels Mario Kart Bowser’s Castle Track Set – $36.42 Savings LEGO Harry Potter Buckbeak – $24.99 Savings Monster High Frankie Stein Make-A-Monser Pet Doll – $20 Savings Pokemon Scarlet & Violet - Prismatic Evolutions Elite Trainer Box – $60 Savings Fashion Free Assembly Women's and Women's Plus Cozy Yarn Welt Pocket Cable Cardigan Sweater – $11 Savings (Walmart exclusive) Chaps Men's Stretch Regular-Fit Denim Jeans, Sizes 30-42 - $10 savings Madden Girl Women's Bells Slide-on Strappy Heeled Mule - $25 savings Beauty Calvin Klein Eternity, Eau de Parfum, 3.4 oz – $55.02 Savings Oral-B iO Series 2 Rechargeable Electric Powered Toothbrush, Peach – $15.03 Savings Food Frito Lay Flamin' Hot Mix 6 Flavor Variety Pack 40 Ct – $6.73 Savings Sanpellegrino CIAO Lime Sparkling Flavored Water – $2.88 Savings Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Frappuccino 13.7oz 12ct – $30.40 Savings You can choose between in-store pickup and different delivery options, including early-morning delivery, late-night express delivery, and next- and two-day shipping. All of the other competing sales for October Prime DayYou can always expect major retailers to have their own competitive sales, the big ones being Best Buy, Target, and, of course, Amazon. Target has been the only other retailer to officially announce their October competition sale. Like in previous years, the dates for these sales will start earlier, overlap, and run longer than October Prime Day. There are usually a couple of deals that are better than Amazon's Prime Day from each of the retailers, but the majority of the good deals will be on Amazon. I will be updating this post with details on those offerings as soon as they've been announced. View the full article

Did you know you can customize Google to filter out garbage? Take these steps for better search results, including adding my work at Lifehacker as a preferred source. In a press conference totally divorced from reality as scientists and doctors understand it, President The President announced yesterday that the FDA would be warning providers and patients away from acetaminophen (such as Tylenol) in pregnancy. There were some other unsubstantiated claims about vaccines and autism mixed in, so let me break down what’s actually known and understood here. What is acetaminophen? Acetaminophen is an over-the-counter medication used to relieve pain and fevers. The flagship products of the Tylenol company are acetaminophen pills and syrups, but Tylenol sells other products as well, including medicines with a mixture of active ingredients. (Always check the Drug Facts label when you take medications to know what you’re getting.) I’ll often use the word Tylenol, since it’s more commonly known, but acetaminophen is also available in other products, like Excedrin and NyQuil.. Outside the U.S., acetaminophen is often known as paracetamol: Same drug, different generic name, though The President seems to have stuck with the brand name Tylenol during the press conference. The Tylenol company now has a pop-up on its website pointing customers to this response, which correctly points out there is no credible link between Tylenol and autism. What the science actually says about acetaminophen and autism The short answer: There is no credible link between autism and the use of acetaminophen in pregnancy. But HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. sorta-kinda spoke correctly when, during the press conference, he said there were some studies that “suggest a potential” connection between acetaminophen and autism. For example, a review published this year (not a study itself, but an analysis of prior studies) found that some studies do in fact show a link between acetaminophen use in pregnancy and autism, although the evidence is mixed. A press release about the review noted, “While the study does not show that acetaminophen directly causes neurodevelopmental disorders [emphasis mine], the research team’s findings strengthen the evidence for a connection and raise concerns about current clinical practices.” That said, it seems most medical experts aren’t convinced that this review, or the studies that claimed to find a link, are strong enough to change clinical practice. (More in the next section on what medical experts are saying about these claims.) So why doesn’t this count as strong evidence? An association (two things tend to occur together) is not the same as causality (this thing definitively causes that thing). People who take acetaminophen during pregnancy tend to be different than those who don’t—for example, if somebody takes Tylenol during pregnancy because they are sick, it may be the sickness rather than the Tylenol that is the risk factor. Or the people who take Tylenol may be different from people who don’t in some other way. A large study published last year took this into account. The researchers looked at 2.5 million children in Sweden, and their initial analysis found an increase in risk of autism in children whose mothers had taken acetaminophen. But then they looked at whether this relationship held up between pairs of siblings, where one was exposed to acetaminophen in utero and the other was not. And the relationship disappeared. In other words, if acetaminophen increased autism risk, you’d expect the sibling exposed to the drug in utero to have a higher likelihood of autism than their sibling who wasn’t. But that wasn’t the case. Instead, it seems some families have a higher likelihood than others of having children with autism, and taking acetaminophen doesn’t increase the risk within that family. What medical experts say about acetaminophen in pregnancyAcetaminophen (including Tylenol) is generally considered the safest pain reliever for use in pregnancy. Other common alternatives, like ibuprofen, have known risks and are not recommended if you are able to take acetaminophen instead. Medical experts also agree that it’s dangerous to leave pain and fever untreated during pregnancy. Several medical organizations issued statements in response to the president’s press conference, all of which are worth reading in full, but here are some key quotes from each: The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists said in a statement: “Suggestions that acetaminophen use in pregnancy causes autism are not only highly concerning to clinicians but also irresponsible when considering the harmful and confusing message they send to pregnant patients, including those who may need to rely on this beneficial medicine during pregnancy.” The statement goes on to discuss the strength of the evidence, saying that “not a single reputable study has successfully concluded that the use of acetaminophen in any trimester of pregnancy causes neurodevelopmental disorders in children.” The Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine said in their statement: “In response to today’s White House press conference announcement, the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine (SMFM) reiterates its recommendation advising both physicians and patients that acetaminophen is an appropriate medication to treat pain and fever during pregnancy. Despite assertions to the contrary, a thorough review of existing research suggesting a potential link between acetaminophen use during pregnancy and an increased risk of autism and attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children has not established a causal relationship.” The American Academy of Pediatrics said in their statement: “Today’s White House event on autism was filled with dangerous claims and misleading information that sends a confusing message to parents and expecting parents and does a disservice to autistic individuals. … Families who have questions about their child’s medications, autism care plans or other health care should consult with their pediatrician or health care provider.” The Autism Science Foundation said in their statement: “Any association between acetaminophen and autism is based on limited, conflicting, and inconsistent science and is premature… Today’s announcement distracts from the urgent scientific work needed to understand the true causes of autism and to develop better supports and interventions for autistic people and their families.” The European Medicines Agency, which plays a similar role in Europe as the FDA does in the U.S., issued a statement that there is no new evidence that would require reevaluating the status or labeling for acetaminophen, which they call paracetamol. “Paracetamol remains an important option to treat pain or fever in pregnant women. Our advice is based on a rigorous assessment of the available scientific data and we have found no evidence that taking paracetamol during pregnancy causes autism in children.” There is no evidence that vaccines cause autism, either The press conference also repeated long-debunked myths about vaccines and autism. There’s no credible link here, either to vaccines in general, to specific vaccine ingredients like mercury, or to combined vaccines like the MMR (measles-mumps-rubella vaccine). And I shouldn’t have to tell any parent this, but babies are not in fact “pumped” with a “vat” of “80 different vaccines” at “one visit,” as The President claimed. Babies see the pediatrician every few months during their first year of life, getting a few shots each time, many of which are combination vaccines (not just the MMR). Many of these vaccines need to be given in multiple doses—it’s not a one-and-done shot for each one. So it’s not true that separating the MMR into its components has “no downside.” Splitting the shots means kids are getting more needle sticks and delaying the date at which they’ll get their last dose of each and be fully protected. (The CDC’s vaccine advisory panel, which was gutted of its longtime experts and filled with controversial replacements handpicked by the HHS secretary, who has long been an anti-vaccine activist himself, has already voted to remove the combined MMR-chickenpox vaccine as a standard option for young children.) The President also repeated the myth that there’s no reason for babies to get hepatitis B shots at birth. Hepatitis B can be sexually transmitted, sure, but it’s not only sexually transmitted. Babies can get it at birth from a parent who doesn’t know they have it; they can also get it during childhood from various non-sexual, non-drug exposures. Hepatitis B is a more severe disease the younger you get it, and it’s one of the vaccines babies’ immune systems can process even in those early days (not all vaccines will work that early) so the risk-benefit calculation is an easy one: this vaccine, like others, offers children real protection. View the full article

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Did you know you can customize Google to filter out garbage? Take these steps for better search results, including adding my work at Lifehacker as a preferred source. When I first reviewed Fitbod (which you can read here), I approached it with the skepticism of someone whose idea of strength training was lifting my water bottle during long runs. Well, that's an exaggeration, but there's some truth in my inability to squeeze proper strength training into my schedule. The big promise of Fitbod is that your strength program is AI-powered to be perfect for you personally. For me, that means a strength program that works around my limited free time and already fatigued muscles. Like many endurance athletes, I usually fall into the trap of "not having time" for anything but running. My weekly routine has easy runs, tempo runs, long runs, and maybe some yoga if I'm feeling fancy. And when minor injuries started creeping in—IT band tightness here, some knee discomfort there—I just take a few days off and get back to pounding the pavement. The truth is, I can be pretty afraid of strength training. Not just afraid of looking foolish in the gym (though that's part of it), but genuinely convinced that building muscle would slow me down. Wouldn't all that extra weight just make running harder? Fast forward a few months, and I'm writing this after completing a deadlift set that would have terrified past-me. Here's how Fitbod transformed my relationship with strength training and, unsurprisingly, made me a better distance runner. How Fitbod works with a running-focused scheduleWhat drew me to Fitbod initially was its promise of efficient, customized workouts. As someone juggling 30+ mile weeks with a full-time job, I didn't have hours to spend in the gym figuring out what exercises to do or how many sets and reps were optimal. Fitbod's interface impressed me from day one. After inputting my goals (I selected "gain muscle"), available equipment, and time constraints, it generated 30-45 minute workouts that felt manageable alongside my running schedule. Fitbod's customization options. Credit: Meredith Dietz Another major factor to understand about Fitbod's programming is its "non-linear" approach. A ton of beginner strength programs go by linear progression. This means you add small, consistent increments of weight to a given lift each workout or week, keeping the exercises, sets, and reps the same. Fitbod doesn’t go by this linear "add 5 pounds every session" approach of traditional programs. The whole AI-powered promise here is that Fitbod pushes you to increase weights when it deems you ready, not according to an arbitrary schedule. So, during my peak mileage weeks, either Fitbod automatically adjusted to lighter loads and fewer sets, or I could easily adjust this manually. Then, in recovery weeks, Fitbod's program knew to ramp up the intensity. This intelligent programming meant I wasn't trying to PR my squat the day before a 22-mile long run. What I like about Fitbod's approachAfter a few weeks of testing, I can report that Fitbod really doesn't just throw random exercises at you. And if you say you're a runner, then tts selections make sense for runners—lots of single-leg work, core stability, and posterior chain strengthening. That posterior chain strengthening that Fitbod prioritized (deadlifts, hip thrusts, rows) is so, so important to complement all the forward-focused motion of running. The app's algorithm seemed to understand that I needed functional strength, not just bigger muscles. On its website, Fitbod explains its algorithm and how the app generates workouts, but simply put, it starts by analyzing multiple factors: previous workout data, muscle recovery status, available time, and your feedback on individual exercises. As you keep using the app, it analyzes your logged data, calculates muscle recovery, measures training volume for progressive overload, adjusts for your specific goals (hypertrophy vs. strength), applies intelligent variation to prevent plateaus, and generates your next customized workout. This process repeats with every session, allegedly making your program increasingly personalized over time. Going into this, most important for me were two factors: Schedule flexibility and education. For the latter, the built-in video demonstrations and form cues are solid as can be. They helped me feel confident with movements I'd always avoided. (Shamefully, this includes deadlifts. I'm terrified of injuring myself during marathon season!) For schedule flexibility: Some days I only had 20 minutes, other days I could spare 45. Fitbod easily adapts without making me feel like I was shortchanging my workout. Of course, integrating Fitbod into marathon training required some strategic planning. I timed strength sessions on easy run days or rest days, never the day before hard running workouts or long runs. Personally, I found Fitbod's workout intensity aligned perfectly with this approach. Plus, Fitbod is a highly visual app, and that can give it a serious edge over pen-and-paper tracking. Like with Strava or Nike Run Club, the app's visual progress tracking turned strength training into a game I actually wanted to win. Hey, I'm a simple man. The bottom lineIf you're reading this as someone who lives and breathes cardio, but has been strength-training-curious, here's my advice: start small, be consistent, and trust the process. Fitbod makes this leap less intimidating by handling all the programming complexity while you focus on just showing up and doing the work. As a runner, I always view my body through the lens of performance—how fast, how far, how efficient. I think strength training introduces a different kind of body awareness focused on power, stability, and resilience. Still: The proof needs to be in the pudding. That's the saying, right? I'll report back with my upcoming marathon time to see if Fitbod's strength program ends up having a tangible impact on my time. View the full article

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. Did you know you can customize Google to filter out garbage? Take these steps for better search results, including adding my work at Lifehacker as a preferred source. TCL makes good non-OLED TVs (arguably some of the best when compared to the cost), as is the case with last year's QM7 that I got my hands on, which is still a bargain in 2025. There are plenty of differences between QLEDs and OLEDs, but unless you're planning on dropping thousands of dollars, a QLED will do just fine. TCL 75-Inch Class QM6K Series $749.99 at Amazon $999.99 Save $250.00 Get Deal Get Deal $749.99 at Amazon $999.99 Save $250.00 SEE -2 MORE Consider TCL's new QM6K QLED, going for $749.99 (originally $999.99) for the 75-inch model. This is the lowest price this TV has been, according to price-tracking tools. I've had mine for a couple of months and have been surprised by its value for the price. If you're looking for different sizes, the 55-inch is $497.99 (originally $599.99), and the 85-inch is currently $999.99 (originally $1,499.99) TCL's QM lineup offers a good value regardless of which size you pick. The QM6K is much better than last year's rendition, now with local dimming zones (500 of them, according to CNET's review) and a mini LED panel, improving contrast dramatically. The color accuracy is also surprisingly accurate out of the box for HDR content, which is great for people who don't like to mess with settings. With the QM6K you get 144Hz native refresh rate, HDR formats like HDR ULTRA with Dolby Vision IQ, HDR10+, HDR10, & HLG, Dolby Atmos Audio, an anti-glare screen, 4 HDMI Inputs (one of which is an eARC), and the Google TV Smart OS (my favorite OS) with Chromecast built in, meaning you can cast your phone to it. You also get Apple AirPlay 2 and Alexa built in, according to ZDNet's review. If you're a gamer, there's a lot to like in the QM6K, according to IGN's review. The Game Bar feature lets you adjust settings on the fly. There's also a VRR accelerator that doubles the refresh rate to a perceived 288Hz. It also has AMD FreeSync Premium Pro, so you can experience smooth gameplay on a PC or console. Truly a lot to offer for a budget QLED TV. Our Best Editor-Vetted Tech Deals Right Now Apple AirPods Pro 2 Noise Cancelling Wireless Earbuds — $199.00 (List Price $249.00) Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge 256GB Unlocked AI Phone (Titanium JetBlack) — $699.99 (List Price $1,099.99) Apple iPad 11" 128GB A16 WiFi Tablet (Blue, 2025) — $299.00 (List Price $349.00) Roku Streaming Stick Plus — $29.00 (List Price $39.99) Deals are selected by our commerce team View the full article

Did you know you can customize Google to filter out garbage? Take these steps for better search results, including adding Lifehacker as a preferred source for tech news. In the years since the launch of ChatGPT, AI tools have developed a bad reputation in the academic world for how easy they make it for students to cheat, passing off the work of a large language model as their own. Even if an LLM can produce writing for you that doesn't come off as unnatural and riddled with hallucinations, you'll be shortchanging yourself, because you won't actually absorb any of the material. But that's not to say these tools serve no purpose in the academic world. If used correctly, they can actually help you study more efficiently. Here are five ways you can use AI in your schoolwork without cheating—or cheating yourself. Use ChatGPT to discuss conceptsOne study technique I've previously recommended is simply having a conversation with another person who doesn’t know anything about the topic you’re studying, to identify areas where your own understanding is lacking. It's a great option because it helps you make connections between concepts as you're working out how to explain them to someone else, and it boosts your confidence in the subject matter when you are able to present it as the expert. But you might not always have someone around to serve as the uninformed rube in your roleplaying, which is when ChatGPT can help you out. When I was in grad school, I asked ChatGPT to allow me to "teach" it about a topic I was studying—community-based health interventions—and we “discussed” different levels of community engagement. ChatGPT actually had interesting questions that helped me think of creative solutions I could investigate in the course of my work. As the American Psychological Association notes, going back and forth with the language model like this not only helps you think critically and creatively, it also helps you practice managing technology in our changing world—a win-win. Use AI to summarize articlesIf you have to read a ton of articles or reports, try getting an AI tool to summarize them for you. This is great when you need to compare similarities or differences between pieces of research or get top-line bullet points to help you round out a paper. I fed ChatGPT an old article and asked for a summary and the language model took about 30 seconds to condense 61 pages into one key paragraph, highlighting the study design, the study goals, its findings, and its recommendations. This gave me a good idea of whether it was worth further study. If you've only got a few documents to read, it's still best to do it yourself, but this trick that can come in handy if you've got a large number of them you're looking to sort through quickly. Just make sure you double-check the summary against the source document before you take anything in it as gospel. My favorite tool for doing this is Google's NotebookLM. Despite my broader hesitancy about AI, I use this free software frequently because I find it's more like a personal assistant than a source of knowledge. It is similar to ChatGPT and other language models in that you can ask it questions via text-entry box, but dissimilar in that it only pulls answers from resources you've provided it. You upload PDFs, links, YouTube videos, and whatever else you want to serve as source material, then NotebookLM helps you sort through that material. When you're using ChatGPT, it pulls answers from the entire internet, and can make serious mistakes as a result. With NotebookLM, anything it generates includes a citation you can click that reveals the exact spot it pulled the info from in your cache of resources. Instead of doing the work for you, this tool just helps you make sense of and organize all your materials. Use ChatGPT to streamline your notesIf your notes are difficult to read or sort through, ChatGPT can help. In grad school, I assigned each of my classes a Google Doc and took notes in it all semester, but inevitably, each document eventually got disorganized, chaotic, and nearly impossible to navigate. As a test, I put my entire semester’s worth of notes for Research Methods into ChatGPT and asked it to pull out the most important information. Not only did it extract the nine steps of research planning and implementation and the principals of the Belmont Report (which were major parts of the midterm), but it reminded me how much of my grade was determined by each test, a fact I had apparently jotted down somewhere in that mess of words. It particularly emphasized things I had written down multiple times, creating a perfect study guide. Use AI to create flashcards and quiz yourselfFlashcards and practice quizzes are excellent ways to study because they force you to use active recall to pull information from your memory. Making these materials yourself is smart, because even by sorting through your notes and writing down your practice questions, you're studying. But I'll be the first to admit that when I'm in charge of making my own quiz, I tend to go a little easy on myself. (When I'm both the student and the teacher, I somehow always get an A+. Funny how that works.) It's better to outsource the creation of these materials to an unbiased third party, and here's another area where AI can be helpful. You can ask ChatGPT to make flashcards and quizzes, but its interface isn't really designed for that, so what it will spit back is an outline of what your flashcards should include based on the notes or resources you upload. From there, you can make the cards yourself, and get to studying (I recommend drilling flashcards using the Leitner system, which is better for helping you retain information over the long-term). You can also ask ChatGPT to quiz you, but you have to be specific with your instructions: Ask ChatGPT to quiz you one question at a time, and to not move on to a new question until you've answered the previous one correctly. But again, here's where I recommend NotebookLM. It has built-in flashcard and quiz features that are much more interactive and easy to use. You can click a button to generate a multiple-choice quiz or flashcard deck based on the materials you uploaded. The quizzes and cards it creates are clickable, like a quiz you would take in an online class, and are based only on what you upload. Use AI to outline essays and suggest sourcesYou definitely don't want ChatGPT or similar language models to "write" your whole essay—more than cheating yourself out of the learning experience, consider the fact that your teacher may run your assignment through a tool like ZeroGPT to get a report on how much of it was likely written by AI, which probably won't do wonders for your grade. Instead, you can use AI tools to help you plan and organize your essays. I've already assembled a list of the best AI essay-helping tools, but here's the gist: You can ask ChatGPT to help you brainstorm a topic or create an essay outline. You can also ask for suggestions for sources you can then research and add into your work that you wouldn't have considered otherwise. Two notes of caution: ChatGPT is sometimes known to make up citations, inventing a convincing article title and attributing it to a well-known source. This is why you don't want to rely on it to fully do the work for you, whether writing or research—just use it to source suggestions that you can hunt down and evaluate on your own. It won't take long to realize a source you've been given just doesn't exist. Likewise, when ChatGPT gives you a link to a source, it adds a little code at the end of the URL that says "/?utm_source=chatgpt.com." Even if you're being as ethical as possible and clicking every link to read the material fully and consider its merits, it's a very bad look to have a bibliography full of links that make it clear you used ChatGPT for your research—a reader might even assume you had the AI write everything for you. So before turning in work, I recommend searching your documents for mentions of "chatgpt," and deleting that sneaky bit of code from any URL where you find it. Snip out everything from the question mark onward and link will still work, but won't make you look like you're doing something untoward. View the full article

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Did you know you can customize Google to filter out garbage? Take these steps for better search results, including adding Lifehacker as a preferred source for tech news. Diversifying your studying techniques is a great way to stay more engaged as you learn new information, but know this: The classic methods are classic for a reason. Take flashcards, for instance. You've certainly used them in the past, but you may not have been using them in a way that maximized their benefits. Behold the Leitner system, which provides more structure to the tried-and-true practice of studying with flashcards and might be the jumpstart your studying needs. This memory-enhancing method is best suited for when you have a substantial amount of time to learn your material, so avoid it for cramming. Instead, get going with it as soon as a semester or new chapter starts. What is the Leitner system for studying?This system was devised by science writer Sebastian Leitner in 1972, which is why he gets the honor of having it named for him. (It’s from his book How to Learn to Learn, but while old copies retail for about $4, they're only available in German, so just trust me on this one.) For the first few decades of its use, it relied solely on on physical tools: flashcards and boxes. (You’ll also need a pen or pencil to make the flashcards.) Writing out your flashcards by hand is generally a good idea, as handwriting something helps stick it into your memory, but these days, you have other, more modern options for your Leitner sessions. We'll get to those, too. At its core, this is a version of spaced repetition, an evidence-based technique that helps learners absorb numerous pieces of information and store them in their memory. The system is best used when you have ample time but have to learn a lot of concepts, phrases, or ideas—so use it for an entire course or a really hefty chapter instead of a section or topic that only includes a few new things to learn. Now let's get into what it is and how to execute it. How to use the Leitner systemLet's assume for a moment you're doing this the old-school way—relying on index cards and a pen. The first thing you’re going to do is make your flashcards. Don’t worry about the other steps involving the boxes just yet. Make the flashcards as you normally would by including vocabulary words, new concepts, phrases, important dates, and anything else you need to know. It helps to first use a reading comprehension technique to go through the chapter or subject at hand, so try the SQ3R method, which has you identify questions you have about the material before you start reading, then has you write down the answers to those questions as you find them, plus anything else you learn. You base those questions on subheadings, graphs, tables, summaries, and other key parts of the chapter, but you can later base your flashcards on those same pieces of information, plus the answers you find. Be thorough and include concepts and words you already feel confident you know, even if that seems silly. It’s all part of the Leitner method and will come in handy. Once you have a comprehensive flashcard deck, it’s time to use the method. You’ll need five boxes (or envelopes or even labeled binder clips, as long as it’s something that can hold big stacks of cards). You should label them on a timeline, ideally by how long you have to grasp the information. If you have a big midterm in two months, for instance, label Box 1 “daily,” Box 2 “every other day,” Box 3 “weekly,” Box 4 “biweekly,” and Box 5 “monthly.” Now, do a round of flashcards. Every card you get right, move to Box 2. Every card you get wrong, keep in Box 1. You see where this is going, but I'll spell it out: Box 1 is a daily review, so you do those flashcards every day, but if you start this activity on a Monday and your Box 2 is designated for every-other-day study, you won’t return to that one until Wednesday. If you answer cards from Box 2 correctly, they’ll go to Box 3, which in this example is your “weekly” box. If you answer any cards in Box 2 incorrectly, you move those back to Box 1, where you’ll study them every day until you get them right. In short, when you answer a card right, it moves forward into a box that will have you reviewing it less frequently. When you answer a card wrong, it moves backward into a box that will have you reviewing it more frequently. Eventually, you’ll have cards all the way down in Box 5. Those will be the cards containing information you have effectively stored in your memory and really grasp, so you don’t need to go over them as often. Cards in the lower-numbered boxes contain information you’re not retaining as well and should go over more. Modifications and things to keep in mind about the Leitner systemHow you use the system will depend on how much time you have to study, as well as how much you have to learn. For instance, if you have just a few concepts you want to drill or you have only two weeks until a big test, you might use three boxes to designated daily, every-other-day, and weekly study. You also have some wiggle room when it comes to incorrect answers. The most faithful adherence to the method would have you moving any incorrect cards all the way back to Box 1 no matter what box it had previously made its way to, for instance, but you can make a judgement call on whether getting it wrong one time means you need to study it every day or whether you think it should only be demoted one box. Personally, I don't see the harm in demoting it all the way to Box 1; if you got it wrong due to a momentary brain fart, it'll make its way back up to the higher numbers easily enough in time; if you got it wrong because the information truly slipped out of your memory, it deserves to get some daily attention until you know it well enough to advance it. You also need to be strategic when you’re studying on a day that involves multiple boxes. If you start on a Monday and use a daily, every-other-day, and weekly setup for your first three boxes, for instance, Friday is going to be pretty big for you. Start with whatever the highest box of the day is, then move backward. By doing this, you’ll get to study any you got wrong and moved backward twice, but won’t have to study any you got right and moved forward twice. Plus, it’ll be a little confidence boost to start on the harder ones and get some right, moving them to a box you won’t have to look at for a while. The goal here is to really hammer the cards that contain information that isn’t sticking for you without bogging yourself down studying things you already know. As more cards move into the higher-numbered boxes, add information from new chapters so your deck is a comprehensive overview of everything you’ll need to know for a cumulative test or, ideally, long-term in the real-world application of the information. Apps can make this easierYes, the classic approach to this involves handwriting cards and physically moving them around in boxes or envelopes and while that can be beneficial in its own way, the process is also laborious, time-consuming, and a little hard to manage. Where will you store all those flashcards? Are you going to bring them around to study on the go? The answer is probably no, which means you may find yourself skipping some days if it's not feasible to haul around a stack of cards—and that defeats the purpose of the system entirely. That's where apps come in. Always be wary when using your phone to study, since it only takes a few taps of your finger to get distracted by non-educational messages and apps, but honestly, flashcard apps make all of this a lot easier if you can exercise the self-restraint necessary to use them. Flashcards in any form are useful, as they force you to engage in active recall and pull the answers from your memory, so any flashcard app you download is better than nothing. Be advised, though, that not all of them follow the Leitner method. For Leitner-specific flashcard drills, I recommend Brainscape (my personal favorite), Cram, and Flashcard Lab. You can read my full reviews of them through those links, but generally, Brainscape is a sleek and well-produced app that comes with a ton of pre-made decks and simple options for making your own, Cram is much more basic but easy to use, and Flashcard Lab creates flashcards out of your own spreadsheets so the production part is almost too easy. All of them let you indicate whether you got a flashcard answer right or wrong, then move it around in your schedule so you see it more or less frequently. Outsourcing the creation and sorting of the cards to tech leaves more time for studying and streamlines the whole process, making you more likely to stick to your Leitner practice. View the full article