Setting Up Your Home Office

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. The Bose Ultra Open Earbuds take a sharp turn from the brand’s usual noise-canceling dominance. Instead of sealing you off from the world, they sit outside your ears, letting in ambient sound while still delivering rich, detailed audio. Priced at $199 (down from its original $299), this is their lowest price yet (according to price trackers), and they cater to people who prefer awareness over isolation. Think cyclists, runners, or anyone who doesn’t want to miss the honk of a car while listening to music. …

There are myriad ways to prioritize your to-do list, but even if you find one that works for you, you might find they can be a little weedy and overcomplicated. That means when it comes to tasks that don't quite require that level of involvement, your productivity method can actually manage to stress you out. If you're tired of your to-do list feeling like such a heavy lift, you can make simplifying things, well, simpler by prioritizing your tasks with the "must, should, want" technique. What is the “must, should, want” technique This technique was developed by Jay Shirley about a decade ago. The blogger set out to enhance not only people’s productivity, but their dail…

I'm always harping about how everyone should familiarize themselves with and start using time boxing and time blocking, the techniques that call on you to pre-plan your entire day down to the minute, filling up every space on your calendar with defined tasks. I stand by my enthusiasm for the methods, but even when you’re time boxing your whole day, you’ll notice you end up with a few random pockets of time sprinkled throughout your schedule. If you don’t have a plan for what to do with these, they’ll become unproductive—so start thinking of how you can maximize your productivity with “time pockets.” What are time pockets?Time pockets are small amounts of time throughout y…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. In theory, wireless headphones are great for working out. But in reality, they often fall out, leak sound, or get damaged during heavy sweat sessions. The Anker Soundcore Sport X20 wireless earbuds are true wireless workout earbuds with ANC that are designed to stay put and deliver during exercise. Right now, they’re just $55.99 (originally $79.99), bringing them down to their lowest price ever, according to price-trackers. Soundcore Sport X20 by Anker …

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. If you’re in the market for a new pair of on-ear ANC headphones from a premium brand, here's a deal to check out: The Bose QuietComfort Headphones are currently $199 (originally $359) in every color. This represents a 45% discount and the lowest price ever for these well-reviewed headphones, according to price tracking tools. Bose QuietComfort Headphones …

Computers are supposed to be unambiguous. When you click a function, that function is supposed to do what it says it does. So, when you click "Update and shut down" on your PC, you assume your PC will install any available updates, then shut down. Simple. As you might expect from this headline, that isn't actually the case. For some reason, when you choose "Update and shut down," Windows only listens to the first half of the command. Sure, your updates will download and install, but if you watch your computer, you'll see that it doesn't shut down, but restarts instead. That might come as a surprise, especially if you walked away from your PC under the assumption that it w…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Promising to "level up your vision," rapper/entrepreneur Soulja Boy recently launched a pair of so-called "AI Smart Glasses." For $64.50, you can own a pair that offers "hands-free music control, live performance enhancements, and seamless social media connectivity." And if a stylish, inexpensive pair of AI smart glasses for $64.50 sounds too good to be true to you, it almost definitively is. I'm not knocking Soulja Boy's hustle, and "Crank That" is an all-time banger, but I am an expert on smart glasses, and I would not recommend that anyone buy these glasses. …

The 12-3-30 workout has taken over TikTok, which is a testament to the algorithm and a few influencers’ abilities to game it. It’s really just treadmill walking, with specific parameters and overblown promises. So let’s break down the pros, cons, and caveats—and make a plan for how to do a similar workout that makes sense for you. What is the 12-3-30 workout?It’s walking on a treadmill with the incline maxed out. In other words, you’ll be walking uphill. You set the incline to 12% (the highest you can go on many treadmills), the speed to 3.0 miles per hour (a pretty typical walking speed for most of us on flat ground) and you do it for 30 minutes. Its popularizer, Lauren…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. The big shopping outlets are gearing up for another Black Friday sale season, and we’ll be on top of all those deals. In particular, I’ll be looking out for deals on fitness gear including fitness trackers and smartwatches, so let me give you a preview of what I’m expecting—and hoping—to see. My predictions here are based on what sales we’ve seen from these models in the past, and what last year’s Black Friday looked like with respect to the then-current models. This year, most of the companies on my list have introduced new watches, but are also still selling their older models. Here are the prices I’ll be looking for t…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. There might be something shifting within Apple's commerce strategy. Whereas in the past, new models of the company's products rarely went on sale, now some of them are getting respectable discounts shortly after release—including, recently, the M4 MacBook Air and, now, the Apple Watch Ultra 3. Despite being released just this past September, the GPS + Cellular 49mm model is already marked down to $699.99 (originally $799), the lowest price it has yet reached, according to price tracking tools. …

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. The JBL Tune Flex 2 earbuds are on sale for $49.99 in open-box condition on StackSocial, which is less than half the $109.95 price of a new pair on Amazon. "Open-box" just means the packaging might have some shelf wear like scuffs, stickers, or light handling marks, but the earbuds themselves are tested, in new condition, and backed by a one-year warranty. If you don’t mind imperfect packaging, that’s a solid savings on a feature-packed set of wireless buds. JBL is known for its bass-driven sound, and the 12mm drivers in the Tune Flex 2 deliver plen…

More accurate translations seem to be making their way to Google Translate, as first spotted by 9to5Google. While Lifehacker has not been able to confirm this independently, the publication says some of its iOS devices now show an option to pick an "Advanced" translation model in the Google Translate app. The new model shows up as an option in a model picker at the top of the page, similar to the Gemini app, and advertises "High accuracy for complex translations." Engadget was also able to get the model picker to appear, where the Advanced model said it "specializes in accuracy using Gemini." Those wishing to use the old translation tools can instead continue to use the "…

The security of a popular wifi router brand is under scrutiny from multiple federal agencies, and devices could be pulled from shelves in the United States in the future. According to reporting from the Washington Post, the US Department of Commerce has proposed a ban on routers from TP-Link Systems, a move that has now received support from Departments of Homeland Security, Justice, and Defense. What is the issue with TP-Link?The proposal reportedly stems from security concerns with routers sold by TP-Link Systems, which is in California but was spun off from the Chinese-based TP-Link Technologies. Commerce officials have warned that the devices handle sensitive data an…

If you've signed up for an Amazon Prime subscription in the last few years, you may have some cash coming your way. Amazon recently settled a lawsuit with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) over deceptive enrollment and cancellation practices, including enrolling customers in Prime without their consent and making it difficult to cancel. The company is now set to pay out $1.5 billion in refunds to affected consumers. Here's who qualifies, and how to make sure you get your money. Am I eligible for an Amazon Prime refund? Refunds will be paid out to select Amazon Prime subscribers in the U.S. In order to qualify, you must also meet the following criteria: You signed up f…

It's been four days since Disney's channels disappeared from YouTube TV, and some subscribers are receiving a surprise hidden away in their account settings: Over on Reddit, there are reports that some users are able to claim $10 credits on their next six monthly bills, though it's not entirely clear if this is intended as a make-good for the streamer's Disney troubles. The credit doesn't seem to be showing up for everyone, but has been redeemed by YouTube TV subscribers at Tom's Guide. Google has yet to make any announcements about the credit, and that based on a post to the YouTube X account, it appears to be entirely separate from the $20 credit the company previously …

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Back in October, I wrote about how I wanted to get a mini label printer during Amazon Prime Day so I could beef up my resale game. I am a woman of my word, and the printer arrived two short days later, immediately allowing me to print out the shipping labels I need for all the packages I sell on Poshmark. This isn't a necessary upgrade for any reseller, especially not someone who is casually just flipping their own clothes and goods online, as most resale platforms—Poshmark included—provide the option for you to simply show the USPS worker a QR code on your phone, which triggers the label to print at the post office. But …

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. When it comes to buying the best headphones at the best price, the Bose QuietComfort Ultra is at the top of the list for active noise-canceling (ANC), while also excelling in other important categories. Right now, the Bose QuietComfort Ultras are $329 (originally $429), matching the lowest price they've ever been, according to price-tracking tools. Bose QuietComfort Ultra Wireless Headphones with Spatial Audio, Over Ear Noise Cancelling Headp…

Much to the chagrin of mundane numbers like 35 and 192, 6-7 has taken over American culture. I assume that young people love 6-7 so much because 67 is the 19th prime number and the atomic weight of holmium, which is essential to samarium-cobalt magnets, but I can't say for sure. I can say 6-7 is everywhere—on TikTok, in memes, and now in the dictionary. And that's only one of the many confusing trends I'm explaining this week. I'll also tell you about Soulja Boy selling smart glasses, the sunglasses on your waist trend, and "Beez in the Trap" (Be-Beez in the trap...) Dictionary.com names "6-7" word of the yearThe Gen-Alpha brainrot slang word 6-7 has been named 2025's W…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. If you’re trying to set up a simple home security system without drilling holes or wiring a maze of cables, this Blink bundle is about as plug-and-play as it gets. Right now, the Blink Outdoor 4 (2-Cam System) + Blink Video Doorbell (2nd Gen) + Sync Module Core is down to $61.99 on Amazon—its lowest recorded price, according to online price-trackers. Normally $189.98, this three-piece setup is basically everything you’d need to secure a small home: two wireless cameras to cover your spaces, a smart video doorbell for the front, and a sync module tha…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. If you have a lot to do every day, it might be hard to figure out how to prioritize it all. You can try to decide what’s urgent and what isn’t, build a detailed schedule, and use tech to stay focused, but sometimes it’s hard to even know where to start. If you haven’t heard of it yet, you should consider getting familiar with Forster’s Commitment Inventory to sort it all out—especially if you’re a person who likes visual aids to conceptualize your day. What is the commitment inventory?The commitment inventory was thought up by British productivity expert Mark Forster, author of Get Everything Done: And Still Have Time to P…

SMART goals are typically associated with work done by a team, but you can implement this productivity-boosting strategy for yourself in all kinds of ways on an individual level, too. Some people use them to study, for instance, and you can use them for personal projects at work, around the house, or whatever else. At their core, SMART goals are designed to help you stay on task and focused on your outcome. What are SMART goals?At their core, SMART goals are designed to help you stay on task and focused on your outcome. If you’re not familiar with SMART goals, let’s break down the acronym: Specific Measurable Achievable Relevant Time-bound It was conceptualized by George …

Apple might be dead last in the AI race—at least when you consider competition from companies like OpenAI, Google, and Meta—but that doesn't mean the company isn't working on the tech. In fact, it seems most of the work Apple does on AI is behind the scenes: While Apple Intelligence is, well, there, the company's researchers are working on other ways to improve AI models for everyone, not just Apple users. The latest project? Improving AI image editors based on text prompts. In a paper published last week, researchers introduced Pico-Banana-400K, a dataset of 400,000 "text-guided" images selected to improve AI-based image editing. Apple believes its image dataset improve…

If you're in the Apple ecosystem, AirPods Pro are just about the best earbuds you can buy. They sound great, work across your various Apple devices, and ship with features like Adaptive Transparency and a built-in heart rate sensor. They're even FDA-certified hearing aids. Not bad for $249. But all those perks don't mean Apple's AirPods Pro are perfect. In fact, you can ask any of the customers complaining of a static noise coming from their AirPods Pro 3, when nothing is actually playing at all. As reported by MacRumors, it appears this is affecting some AirPods Pro 3 users when using Active Noise Cancellation, Adaptive Transparency, and Transparency modes, but only when…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Everyone's talking about AI, but smart glasses are quietly breaking big in 2025. With Meta, Apple, and Google vying for dominance, and the hardware finally powerful enough to be practical instead of mere gimmicky, smart specs are transitioning from awkward face computers for tech-heads, into something potentially useful for everyone. If you’re thinking of jumping in, the sheer range of styles, features, and price points can be daunting, so I put together this guide to help you find your perfect pair. What smart glasses can do The term “smart glasses” is almost too broad to be useful. It's been applied to everything from A…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Earlier this week, YouTube and Disney both warned YouTube TV subscribers that they might lose access to Disney-owned channels, including ESPN and FX, starting on Oct. 31. It's probably not the Halloween treat you were looking for, but now that the end of the month has come, that's exactly what's happened: Right now, more than 20 of Disney's channels have gone dark on YouTube TV. Why did Disney pull its Channels from YouTube TV?Not to be confused with YouTube Premium, YouTube TV is Google's Live TV service—kind of like cable without the cable box. As such, it needs to pay content providers like Disney fees to offer their ch…