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Workload distribution is the backbone of a productive, high-performing team. In this article, we’ll unpack what it really means, why getting it right matters more than you might think, and how thoughtful workload distribution can improve collaboration, reduce burnout, and help your team consistently deliver their best work. The post Workload Distribution for Project Managers: Best Strategies to Balance the Load appeared first on The Digital Project Manager. View the full article

FFIN 2025-3's average loan balance, $16,366 was lower compared with the 2025-2 deal, when it was $19,993, and the WA interest rate on the current deal is 12.15%, down from 12.56%. View the full article

To increase social media engagement, you need to employ effective strategies that resonate with your audience. Consider connecting your content to current events or holidays, as this can improve relevance. Sharing customer testimonials provides social proof, whereas promoting live events creates anticipation. Engaging your followers with polls and questions nurtures interaction. These strategies not only diversify your content but likewise build a sense of community. What other innovative ideas can you implement to make your posts stand out? Key Takeaways Share timely posts related to current events or seasonal holidays to resonate with your audience and increase visibility. Highlight customer testimonials and user-generated content to build trust and authenticity, enhancing engagement significantly. Promote upcoming live events with teasers and behind-the-scenes content to create excitement and boost participation rates. Use interactive online polls and encourage questions from followers to foster engagement and gather valuable audience insights. Create captivating headlines and utilize live video for real-time interaction, enhancing community connection and engagement levels. Connect Content to Current Events How can you effectively connect your content to current events? Start by sharing timely posts that relate to seasonal holidays or industry conferences. These creative Instagram post ideas can greatly boost engagement, as 68% of users feel social media helps them connect with Instagram through relevant discussions. Engaging with trending topics allows you to join conversations that resonate with your audience, increasing visibility and interaction rates. Furthermore, utilizing hashtags related to current events can improve discoverability; studies show that posts with relevant hashtags can increase engagement by up to 12.6%. Share Customer Testimonials Sharing customer testimonials serves as a strong tool for enhancing your brand’s credibility and cultivating trust with potential buyers. When you share customer testimonials, you’re not just showcasing feedback; you’re influencing purchasing decisions. Here are a few reasons why you should share customer testimonials: Boosts engagement: Highlighting positive experiences can lead to a 29% increase in social media engagement. Builds trust: 88% of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations, which nurtures community trust. Incorporates visuals: Adding photos or videos alongside testimonials can increase post engagement by up to 48%. Promote Upcoming Live Events Promoting upcoming live events on social media is vital for maximizing engagement and guaranteeing a successful turnout. To effectively promote upcoming live events, use teasers and countdowns to build anticipation. For example, an Instagram post example could include a countdown graphic, letting followers know when to join. Incorporate behind-the-scenes content to create a sense of exclusivity, making your audience feel more connected to the event. Utilize interactive features like polls to gather insights on topics your followers want covered. Encourage them to submit questions ahead of time, which boosts participation and guarantees the event’s content aligns with their interests. Host Engaging Online Polls Why not leverage the influence of online polls to boost your social media engagement? Hosting engaging online polls can greatly improve interaction, making your audience feel valued. Here are some effective strategies to implement: Use platform-specific features like Instagram Stories or Twitter polls for higher visibility. Ask for opinions, as 65% of users prefer brands that engage them in this way. Gain valuable insights into your audience’s preferences to tailor your content effectively. Including polls in your strategy can lead to increased shares and discussions, with 71% of consumers more likely to buy based on social media referrals that involve direct engagement. Encourage Questions From Followers Encouraging questions from your followers can greatly improve engagement on your social media platforms. By nurturing open dialogue, you not merely gather valuable insights into customer preferences but likewise build trust through meaningful interactions. When you invite your audience to share their thoughts, you’re likely to see increased visibility and relevance in your content, thanks to social media algorithms prioritizing high-engagement posts. Fostering Open Dialogue Nurturing open dialogue with your followers not just builds a sense of community but also encourages meaningful interactions that can greatly impact your brand. By inviting questions, you can create posts for IG that resonate with your audience. Here’s how to cultivate that dialogue: Ask open-ended questions to spark conversation and insights. Encourage followers to share their thoughts and experiences related to your products. Use polls and quizzes to actively involve your audience in decision-making. With 71% of consumers more likely to engage with brands promoting interaction, cultivating dialogue can reveal valuable insights into follower interests. This can help tailor your content to better meet their needs and potentially influence their buying decisions. Building Trust Through Engagement When you encourage questions from your followers, you not just improve engagement but also nurture a deeper sense of trust within your community. Engaging in this way makes your audience feel valued, which can influence their buying decisions. By inviting inquiries, you gain insights into their preferences, allowing for more customized creative Instagram posts. This approach leads to higher interaction rates, driving customer spending considerably. Benefits of Encouraging Questions Engagement Impact Trust Building Cultivates community 20-40% increase Transparency Informs content creation Higher rates Long-term loyalty Improves brand advocacy Influences decisions Builds rapport Share Your Newsletter Updates Sharing your newsletter updates on social media can effectively promote exclusive content and subscription benefits, drawing in new followers. By highlighting key topics and using eye-catching visuals, you can entice your audience to engage with your brand and consider subscribing. Don’t forget to incorporate clear calls to action, inviting them to stay informed with regular updates customized to their interests. Highlight Exclusive Content Highlighting exclusive content from your newsletter on social media can greatly improve your audience engagement and subscriber numbers. Sharing valuable insights will attract followers and encourage them to subscribe. Here are some effective things to post on Instagram: Industry trends: Share key statistics or insights that showcase your expertise. Tips and tricks: Provide actionable advice that your audience can implement right away. Success stories: Highlight testimonials from current subscribers that showcase the impact of your content. Using intriguing visuals and snippets from your newsletter can increase visibility and encourage shares. Don’t forget to include a call-to-action, inviting your followers to subscribe for more exclusive content. By doing this, you promote a sense of community and loyalty among your audience. Promote Subscription Benefits Promoting your newsletter updates on social media is vital if you want to maximize engagement and attract new subscribers. You should regularly share highlights or exclusive insights from your newsletter, as 96% of small companies use social media for marketing and audience growth. Incorporating calls to action in your posts that link directly to newsletter sign-ups can greatly boost conversion rates, since 71% of consumers are more likely to buy based on social media referrals. Highlighting testimonials or success stories from your newsletter builds trust and credibility, showcasing the real-world impact of your content. Furthermore, utilizing engaging visuals and intriguing headlines when sharing these updates can increase click-through rates, ensuring your post ideas effectively promote subscription benefits. Post Informative Blog Articles When you post informative blog articles on social media, you can greatly boost audience engagement and establish your authority in your field. Sharing valuable content can drive user interest, with 78% ready to buy after a positive experience. Here are key strategies for your posts to post on Instagram: Offer actionable insights that address your audience’s needs. Use eye-catching visuals and summaries to improve click-through rates. Promote your blog content regularly to maintain steady website traffic. Use Captivating Headlines How can you capture your audience’s attention effectively? Using engaging headlines is vital. Start by promising benefits or incorporating numbers; headlines between 10 and 20 words perform best for engagement. Research shows that headlines with questions can increase click-through rates by up to 14%. To improve effectiveness, A/B test different headlines to find the phrasing that resonates most with your audience. Emotional triggers, like “surprising” or “essential,” can additionally draw attention and spark curiosity. Furthermore, including relevant keywords not just boosts SEO but aligns your content with what your audience is searching for. Create Interactive Live Videos Creating interactive live videos can greatly improve your audience engagement. By incorporating real-time questions and showcasing behind-the-scenes moments, you not only promote a sense of connection but additionally keep viewers invested in your content. Engaging with your audience in this way encourages participation and allows you to gather valuable insights into their preferences. Engage With Real-Time Questions Why should you consider using interactive live videos to engage your audience? Live videos can greatly improve viewer engagement, as people tend to watch them three times longer than recorded content. By hosting interactive live sessions, you can facilitate real-time Q&A, allowing your audience to ask questions and receive immediate feedback. This nurtures a sense of community and connection. Here are three effective strategies to implement during your live sessions: Incorporate polls to gauge viewer opinions. Use quizzes to test knowledge and spark interest. Challenge your audience with fun tasks to encourage participation. Showcase Behind-the-Scenes Moments Showcasing behind-the-scenes moments can greatly improve your brand’s authenticity and connection with your audience. Interactive live videos, such as Q&A sessions or virtual tours, are among the best posts to share on Instagram. They allow real-time participation, making your audience feel involved and connected. Research shows that 80% of users prefer live content over traditional posts, enhancing viewer engagement remarkably. Utilizing platforms like Instagram Live or Facebook Live can further increase your visibility, as algorithms prioritize this content. Engage actively during these sessions by responding to comments, which nurtures a sense of community. Finally, don’t forget to promote your upcoming live events in advance, as 67% of marketers find it essential for maximizing audience turnout. Leverage User-Generated Content How can brands effectively connect with their audience in a meaningful way? One of the best strategies is to leverage user-generated content (UGC). It not only improves authenticity but also builds trust among consumers. By incorporating UGC into your marketing, you can greatly boost engagement and conversions. Here’s how: Encourage customers to share their experiences: This makes your brand relatable. Feature UGC on social media: It nurtures a sense of community and drives more traffic. Highlight customer stories: These can influence purchasing decisions and improve brand loyalty. Brands that actively promote UGC can see a 20% increase in website traffic and a 4.5% higher conversion rate, showcasing its effectiveness in driving sales and engagement. Frequently Asked Questions What Is the 5 5 5 Rule on Social Media? The 5-5-5 Rule on social media suggests that you should balance your posts by sharing five informative or entertaining pieces for every five promotional posts. This strategy helps keep your audience engaged, as they receive valuable content instead of constant promotions. How to Boost Engagement on Social Media? To boost engagement on social media, incorporate interactive content like polls and questions, as they encourage user participation. Share user-generated content and testimonials, which build trust and authenticity. Leverage seasonal themes and current events to attract attention and encourage sharing. Regularly analyze engagement metrics, such as likes and comments, to refine your strategies. What Is the 70/20/10 Rule in Social Media? The 70/20/10 rule in social media marketing suggests you allocate your content as follows: 70% should be valuable and relevant to your audience. 20% should consist of curated content from other sources, and only 10% can be promotional. This strategy helps you engage your followers more effectively, nurtures community trust, and keeps promotional messages from overwhelming your audience. Finally, it improves engagement rates and enhances brand visibility and loyalty. What Type of Social Media Posts Get the Most Engagement? To maximize engagement on social media, focus on several effective post types. Open-ended questions encourage followers to share their thoughts, whereas visual content, like images and videos, can greatly increase views. Interactive elements, such as polls or quizzes, boost participation. Furthermore, sharing user-generated content nurtures community and influences purchasing decisions. Finally, incorporating trending topics or popular hashtags improves visibility and engagement, making your posts more appealing to your audience. Conclusion https://elements.envato.com/photos/social+media+post+ideas By implementing these ten creative post ideas, you can effectively boost your social media engagement. Connecting your content to current events, showcasing customer testimonials, and promoting live events are just a few strategies to reflect upon. Furthermore, utilizing polls, encouraging follower questions, and sharing user-generated content improve interaction and authenticity. By diversifying your content and cultivating community involvement, you’ll not just increase your brand’s visibility but likewise strengthen connections with your audience, leading to sustained engagement over time. Image via Envanto This article, "10 Creative Post Ideas to Boost Social Media Engagement" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

To increase social media engagement, you need to employ effective strategies that resonate with your audience. Consider connecting your content to current events or holidays, as this can improve relevance. Sharing customer testimonials provides social proof, whereas promoting live events creates anticipation. Engaging your followers with polls and questions nurtures interaction. These strategies not only diversify your content but likewise build a sense of community. What other innovative ideas can you implement to make your posts stand out? Key Takeaways Share timely posts related to current events or seasonal holidays to resonate with your audience and increase visibility. Highlight customer testimonials and user-generated content to build trust and authenticity, enhancing engagement significantly. Promote upcoming live events with teasers and behind-the-scenes content to create excitement and boost participation rates. Use interactive online polls and encourage questions from followers to foster engagement and gather valuable audience insights. Create captivating headlines and utilize live video for real-time interaction, enhancing community connection and engagement levels. Connect Content to Current Events How can you effectively connect your content to current events? Start by sharing timely posts that relate to seasonal holidays or industry conferences. These creative Instagram post ideas can greatly boost engagement, as 68% of users feel social media helps them connect with Instagram through relevant discussions. Engaging with trending topics allows you to join conversations that resonate with your audience, increasing visibility and interaction rates. Furthermore, utilizing hashtags related to current events can improve discoverability; studies show that posts with relevant hashtags can increase engagement by up to 12.6%. Share Customer Testimonials Sharing customer testimonials serves as a strong tool for enhancing your brand’s credibility and cultivating trust with potential buyers. When you share customer testimonials, you’re not just showcasing feedback; you’re influencing purchasing decisions. Here are a few reasons why you should share customer testimonials: Boosts engagement: Highlighting positive experiences can lead to a 29% increase in social media engagement. Builds trust: 88% of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations, which nurtures community trust. Incorporates visuals: Adding photos or videos alongside testimonials can increase post engagement by up to 48%. Promote Upcoming Live Events Promoting upcoming live events on social media is vital for maximizing engagement and guaranteeing a successful turnout. To effectively promote upcoming live events, use teasers and countdowns to build anticipation. For example, an Instagram post example could include a countdown graphic, letting followers know when to join. Incorporate behind-the-scenes content to create a sense of exclusivity, making your audience feel more connected to the event. Utilize interactive features like polls to gather insights on topics your followers want covered. Encourage them to submit questions ahead of time, which boosts participation and guarantees the event’s content aligns with their interests. Host Engaging Online Polls Why not leverage the influence of online polls to boost your social media engagement? Hosting engaging online polls can greatly improve interaction, making your audience feel valued. Here are some effective strategies to implement: Use platform-specific features like Instagram Stories or Twitter polls for higher visibility. Ask for opinions, as 65% of users prefer brands that engage them in this way. Gain valuable insights into your audience’s preferences to tailor your content effectively. Including polls in your strategy can lead to increased shares and discussions, with 71% of consumers more likely to buy based on social media referrals that involve direct engagement. Encourage Questions From Followers Encouraging questions from your followers can greatly improve engagement on your social media platforms. By nurturing open dialogue, you not merely gather valuable insights into customer preferences but likewise build trust through meaningful interactions. When you invite your audience to share their thoughts, you’re likely to see increased visibility and relevance in your content, thanks to social media algorithms prioritizing high-engagement posts. Fostering Open Dialogue Nurturing open dialogue with your followers not just builds a sense of community but also encourages meaningful interactions that can greatly impact your brand. By inviting questions, you can create posts for IG that resonate with your audience. Here’s how to cultivate that dialogue: Ask open-ended questions to spark conversation and insights. Encourage followers to share their thoughts and experiences related to your products. Use polls and quizzes to actively involve your audience in decision-making. With 71% of consumers more likely to engage with brands promoting interaction, cultivating dialogue can reveal valuable insights into follower interests. This can help tailor your content to better meet their needs and potentially influence their buying decisions. Building Trust Through Engagement When you encourage questions from your followers, you not just improve engagement but also nurture a deeper sense of trust within your community. Engaging in this way makes your audience feel valued, which can influence their buying decisions. By inviting inquiries, you gain insights into their preferences, allowing for more customized creative Instagram posts. This approach leads to higher interaction rates, driving customer spending considerably. Benefits of Encouraging Questions Engagement Impact Trust Building Cultivates community 20-40% increase Transparency Informs content creation Higher rates Long-term loyalty Improves brand advocacy Influences decisions Builds rapport Share Your Newsletter Updates Sharing your newsletter updates on social media can effectively promote exclusive content and subscription benefits, drawing in new followers. By highlighting key topics and using eye-catching visuals, you can entice your audience to engage with your brand and consider subscribing. Don’t forget to incorporate clear calls to action, inviting them to stay informed with regular updates customized to their interests. Highlight Exclusive Content Highlighting exclusive content from your newsletter on social media can greatly improve your audience engagement and subscriber numbers. Sharing valuable insights will attract followers and encourage them to subscribe. Here are some effective things to post on Instagram: Industry trends: Share key statistics or insights that showcase your expertise. Tips and tricks: Provide actionable advice that your audience can implement right away. Success stories: Highlight testimonials from current subscribers that showcase the impact of your content. Using intriguing visuals and snippets from your newsletter can increase visibility and encourage shares. Don’t forget to include a call-to-action, inviting your followers to subscribe for more exclusive content. By doing this, you promote a sense of community and loyalty among your audience. Promote Subscription Benefits Promoting your newsletter updates on social media is vital if you want to maximize engagement and attract new subscribers. You should regularly share highlights or exclusive insights from your newsletter, as 96% of small companies use social media for marketing and audience growth. Incorporating calls to action in your posts that link directly to newsletter sign-ups can greatly boost conversion rates, since 71% of consumers are more likely to buy based on social media referrals. Highlighting testimonials or success stories from your newsletter builds trust and credibility, showcasing the real-world impact of your content. Furthermore, utilizing engaging visuals and intriguing headlines when sharing these updates can increase click-through rates, ensuring your post ideas effectively promote subscription benefits. Post Informative Blog Articles When you post informative blog articles on social media, you can greatly boost audience engagement and establish your authority in your field. Sharing valuable content can drive user interest, with 78% ready to buy after a positive experience. Here are key strategies for your posts to post on Instagram: Offer actionable insights that address your audience’s needs. Use eye-catching visuals and summaries to improve click-through rates. Promote your blog content regularly to maintain steady website traffic. Use Captivating Headlines How can you capture your audience’s attention effectively? Using engaging headlines is vital. Start by promising benefits or incorporating numbers; headlines between 10 and 20 words perform best for engagement. Research shows that headlines with questions can increase click-through rates by up to 14%. To improve effectiveness, A/B test different headlines to find the phrasing that resonates most with your audience. Emotional triggers, like “surprising” or “essential,” can additionally draw attention and spark curiosity. Furthermore, including relevant keywords not just boosts SEO but aligns your content with what your audience is searching for. Create Interactive Live Videos Creating interactive live videos can greatly improve your audience engagement. By incorporating real-time questions and showcasing behind-the-scenes moments, you not only promote a sense of connection but additionally keep viewers invested in your content. Engaging with your audience in this way encourages participation and allows you to gather valuable insights into their preferences. Engage With Real-Time Questions Why should you consider using interactive live videos to engage your audience? Live videos can greatly improve viewer engagement, as people tend to watch them three times longer than recorded content. By hosting interactive live sessions, you can facilitate real-time Q&A, allowing your audience to ask questions and receive immediate feedback. This nurtures a sense of community and connection. Here are three effective strategies to implement during your live sessions: Incorporate polls to gauge viewer opinions. Use quizzes to test knowledge and spark interest. Challenge your audience with fun tasks to encourage participation. Showcase Behind-the-Scenes Moments Showcasing behind-the-scenes moments can greatly improve your brand’s authenticity and connection with your audience. Interactive live videos, such as Q&A sessions or virtual tours, are among the best posts to share on Instagram. They allow real-time participation, making your audience feel involved and connected. Research shows that 80% of users prefer live content over traditional posts, enhancing viewer engagement remarkably. Utilizing platforms like Instagram Live or Facebook Live can further increase your visibility, as algorithms prioritize this content. Engage actively during these sessions by responding to comments, which nurtures a sense of community. Finally, don’t forget to promote your upcoming live events in advance, as 67% of marketers find it essential for maximizing audience turnout. Leverage User-Generated Content How can brands effectively connect with their audience in a meaningful way? One of the best strategies is to leverage user-generated content (UGC). It not only improves authenticity but also builds trust among consumers. By incorporating UGC into your marketing, you can greatly boost engagement and conversions. Here’s how: Encourage customers to share their experiences: This makes your brand relatable. Feature UGC on social media: It nurtures a sense of community and drives more traffic. Highlight customer stories: These can influence purchasing decisions and improve brand loyalty. Brands that actively promote UGC can see a 20% increase in website traffic and a 4.5% higher conversion rate, showcasing its effectiveness in driving sales and engagement. Frequently Asked Questions What Is the 5 5 5 Rule on Social Media? The 5-5-5 Rule on social media suggests that you should balance your posts by sharing five informative or entertaining pieces for every five promotional posts. This strategy helps keep your audience engaged, as they receive valuable content instead of constant promotions. How to Boost Engagement on Social Media? To boost engagement on social media, incorporate interactive content like polls and questions, as they encourage user participation. Share user-generated content and testimonials, which build trust and authenticity. Leverage seasonal themes and current events to attract attention and encourage sharing. Regularly analyze engagement metrics, such as likes and comments, to refine your strategies. What Is the 70/20/10 Rule in Social Media? The 70/20/10 rule in social media marketing suggests you allocate your content as follows: 70% should be valuable and relevant to your audience. 20% should consist of curated content from other sources, and only 10% can be promotional. This strategy helps you engage your followers more effectively, nurtures community trust, and keeps promotional messages from overwhelming your audience. Finally, it improves engagement rates and enhances brand visibility and loyalty. What Type of Social Media Posts Get the Most Engagement? To maximize engagement on social media, focus on several effective post types. Open-ended questions encourage followers to share their thoughts, whereas visual content, like images and videos, can greatly increase views. Interactive elements, such as polls or quizzes, boost participation. Furthermore, sharing user-generated content nurtures community and influences purchasing decisions. Finally, incorporating trending topics or popular hashtags improves visibility and engagement, making your posts more appealing to your audience. Conclusion https://elements.envato.com/photos/social+media+post+ideas By implementing these ten creative post ideas, you can effectively boost your social media engagement. Connecting your content to current events, showcasing customer testimonials, and promoting live events are just a few strategies to reflect upon. Furthermore, utilizing polls, encouraging follower questions, and sharing user-generated content improve interaction and authenticity. By diversifying your content and cultivating community involvement, you’ll not just increase your brand’s visibility but likewise strengthen connections with your audience, leading to sustained engagement over time. Image via Envanto This article, "10 Creative Post Ideas to Boost Social Media Engagement" was first published on Small Business Trends 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. If you don’t need luxury earbuds and are simply looking for wireless sound with solid performance, the JLab Go Air Pop Bluetooth Earbuds are a great option. Right now, they are on sale for $17.49 (originally $29.38), making them a great option for everyday buds that you can toss in a bag with your other daily essentials. At this price point, you might even want to grab a backup pair in case you misplace them. JLab Go Air Pop Bluetooth Earbuds $17.49 at Walmart $29.38 Save $11.89 Get Deal Get Deal $17.49 at Walmart $29.38 Save $11.89 While these earbuds don’t have active noise cancellation (ANC), they have moderate noise isolation and minimal sound leakage for the price, blocking out a fair amount of background noise. And while there isn't a dedicated companion app, these earbuds do have several EQ presets that allow you to customize the sound output. Battery life lasts around nine hours, but the charging case can provide an additional three charges. Design-wise, this PCMag review notes that they’re small but secure, and an IP44 rating means that they can withstand a sweaty workout and a quick wipedown with a damp washcloth. The outer panels of the earbuds have touch-sensitive controls, but according to the review, they may take multiple taps to register input. Ultimately, if you need comfortable and budget-friendly wireless earbuds that perform well for workouts and everyday use (and if you don’t mind touch controls that can sometimes be a little finicky), the JLab Go Air Pop Bluetooth Earbuds offer strong value, especially at over 40% off. Our Best Editor-Vetted Tech Deals Right Now Apple AirPods Pro 2 Noise Cancelling Wireless Earbuds — $169.99 (List Price $249.00) Apple iPad 11" 128GB A16 WiFi Tablet (Blue, 2025) — $299.00 (List Price $349.00) Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Plus — $29.99 (List Price $49.99) Shark AV2501AE AI XL Hepa- Safe Self-Emptying Base Robot Vacuum — $459.95 (List Price $649.99) Ring Pan-Tilt Indoor Cam, White with Ring Indoor Cam (2nd Gen), White — $59.99 (List Price $99.99) Blink Video Doorbell Wireless (Newest Model) + Sync Module Core — $29.99 (List Price $69.99) Blink Mini 2 1080p Indoor Security Camera (2-Pack, White) — $27.99 (List Price $69.99) Ring Video Doorbell Pro 2 with Ring Chime Pro — $149.99 (List Price $259.99) Introducing Amazon Fire TV 55" Omni Mini-LED Series, QLED 4K UHD smart TV, Dolby Vision IQ, 144hz gaming mode, Ambient Experience, hands-free with Alexa, 2024 release — $699.99 (List Price $819.99) Blink Outdoor 4 1080p 2-Camera Kit With Sync Module Core — $51.99 (List Price $129.99) Deals are selected by our commerce team View the full article

Instances of miscommunication between servicers and borrowers have declined, but some warn that CFPB stepping back from enforcement could create oversight gaps. View the full article

Prime minister declines to rule out higher income taxes as Treasury lays foundations for bigger fiscal bufferView the full article

Escalation is averted for now, but underlying source of friction remainsView the full article

We may earn a commission from links on this page. If you're looking for your next pair of running shoes, why not look for guidance from the runners logging more miles than the rest of us? After all, finding the perfect running shoes is about much more than style or brand preference—the right shoes are essential for performance, comfort, and injury prevention. But with countless options available for both men and women, choosing the perfect pair can feel overwhelming. That's where data from Strava comes in: Thanks to thousands of runners logging their gear into the app, we know what some of the most popular shoes that real runners trust to carry them all 26.2 miles. Nike Women's Flyknit $99.99 at Amazon $107.78 Save $7.79 Shop Now Shop Now $99.99 at Amazon $107.78 Save $7.79 Nike Men's Flyknit $118.80 at Amazon Shop Now Shop Now $118.80 at Amazon Women's Nike Vaporfly 3 $209.00 at Amazon Shop Now Shop Now $209.00 at Amazon Men's Nike Vaporfly 3 $154.99 at Amazon $167.42 Save $12.43 Shop Now Shop Now $154.99 at Amazon $167.42 Save $12.43 Saucony Women's Endorphin Pro 4 $239.95 at Amazon Shop Now Shop Now $239.95 at Amazon Saucony Men's Endorphin Pro 4 $239.95 at Amazon Shop Now Shop Now $239.95 at Amazon SEE 3 MORE The most popular running shoes, according to StravaStrava has this data from runners who log the shoes they use for each. (Quick aside: If you aren't a Strava user, I recommend a spreadsheet like this to keep track of all your juicy data). Not everyone uses Strava's gear-tracking feature, but for those who do, it's a great way to keep tabs on mileage per shoe. Most experts suggest swapping shoes every 300 to 500 miles, so it can be a handy reminder of when it’s time for a new pair...unless you're my colleague Beth Skwarecki, who recently put over 1,000 miles on a pair of cheap running shoes (things turned out just fine). According to Strava's tracking data from last year's race, the three most popular shoes worn by NYC Marathon runners were: Nike Free Run Flyknit. Sock-like, light and flexible, comfortable for long distances. (Women's here, men's here.) Nike Vaporfly. Carbon-plated and lightweight, a surprising choice for longer distances like the marathon. (Women's here, men's here.) Saucony Endorphin Pro. A well-cushioned racing option with a softer feel than the Nike options. (Women's here, men's here.) If you ask me, the top choice is particularly intriguing. While the running world has been dominated by carbon-plated super shoes promising faster times and better energy return, the most popular shoe at NYC was the Nike Flyknit—a traditional trainer without the high-tech features that define modern racing shoes. The Vaporfly and Endorphin Pro, on the other hand, uphold the carbon-plated trend that's been all the rage in the running scene. These shoes promise improved speed and reduced fatigue, though they come with steep price tags ($200 to $270) and shorter lifespans of just 150-250 miles. My personal choice: Saucony Endorphin Speed 5While many runners opted for full-on racing shoes or traditional trainers, I'll be wearing the Saucony Endorphin Speed 5 for the marathon this Sunday. For me, the Speed 5 occupies a sweet spot between everyday trainer and race-day weapon. It features Saucony's responsive cushioning and a nylon plate (rather than carbon), making it versatile enough for training runs but still peppy enough for race day. Unlike the racing shoes that dominated the Strava data, I prefer a shoe that offers: Better durability: lasting 300+ miles compared to 150-250 for most super shoes. More versatility: comfortable enough for daily training, responsive enough for racing. Lower price point: typically $160-170 vs. $225-270 for top-tier racers. Reduced injury risk: the less aggressive plate and moderate cushioning are easier on the legs. For runners like me, who want performance without the commitment (and cost) of dedicated racing shoes, the Endorphin Speed line has become a go-to option. It's proof that you don't need the most expensive super shoe to have a great race. If none of this data is helpful to you, here's my guide to finding the perfect pair of running shoes, no matter what kind of runner you are. The beauty of running is that there's no single right answer. Whether you're in traditional trainers, cutting-edge carbon racers, or something in between, the best shoe is the one that works for your feet and your goals. See you at the finish line. View the full article

A reader writes: I’ve worked part-time at this company for a little over a year. It’s my first job out of college. I work in events, so my hours can vary wildly — during the weeks leading up to an event, I can be working 35-45 hours a week, but the slow times can be 5-15 hours a week. I’ve been promoted once already since working here, about eight months in, to a role that was sort of invented for me. It’s very much a small, creative, wear-a-lot-of-hats kind of company. We have another big event coming up, and the event’s producer has approached me about taking on two additional roles for this project (in addition to my current one). In my current job, I’m responsible for setting up and running events. The first new role was for me to join the production team as an assistant, in addition to my regular role. This would be an hourly part-time position at my regular rate (and represents work that I’ve already been doing in some ways anyway), so I’m happy to accept that. My question is about the other role they’ve asked me to take on: to also be a designer for this event (again, on top of my regular roles). With the way it was pitched to me, this would be a contract position separate from my hourly work, and the money from this job would get paid out to me as a bonus at the end of the year (I believe this is to prevent me from being listed as both an employee and an independent contractor, but I’m not entirely sure on the details). I suspect this is at least in part because during the last big event there was frustration that I was an hourly employee and couldn’t work more than 40 hours/week (they really try to avoid paying overtime; most of our salaried employees were working 50-70 hours a week, and it was noticeable that I had to leave before the rest of the team). I’m still waiting for them to get back to me with actual contracts (and numbers!) on all of this, but … this is a bad idea, right? I’m really trying to make positive impressions at this company before I hopefully move on in a year or two, and getting extra money at a time when there is more work available would help a lot during those slow months. But I also have concerns: These three jobs are all somewhat related by their very nature, and I’m worried about not knowing whether work fits within my production role or design role (and thus whether it’s paid time or part of that lump sum). 1. I’ve worked as this kind of designer a handful of times previously, and while I love the work, it’s a really hard job to set boundaries around (it’s susceptible to a lot of scope creep and it’s hard to predict how big the job will be before you sign a contract). I’m worried that we could get into situations where I hit 40 hours in a week and get told, “It’s not a big deal, just clock out and the rest of the time will be part of your design work.” 2. I’m also not entirely sure how legal this all is. I’ve done research on employees also being contractors, but all of the info I can find is for really unrelated roles with a clear division of duties (i.e., a receptionist who is also employed as a janitor on the weekends). Apparently this set-up of taking on additional work in exchange for an end-of-year bonus is something the CFO has set up in the past, but I don’t yet have a contract from them to look at how it’s actually structured. In case it matters: we’re based in California, and it’s possible that before accounting for the bonus this would leave me making less than minimum wage (design hours + regular hours / hourly rate for the regular hours). So my question: is this as bad of an idea as I think? Are there ways of making this work that would make it more feasible (I’ve floated the idea of making the production and design roles both part of the same contract, which is easier as far as knowing which work counts as what, but I’m not thrilled about the idea that a ton of the work I do in August won’t get paid out until December). This isn’t legal! Because you’re non-exempt, you need to be paid for all hours you work, including overtime for any hours over 40 within a week. (And in fact, because you’re in California, you also need to be paid overtime for any hours over eight you work in a day.) You need to be paid for those hours in the paycheck for that pay period, not at the end of the year … and not as a lump sum that might not correlate to the specific number of hours you worked. Your employer can’t get around that by making part of your work “contract work” on top of your regular employee work. In theory, they could make you a contractor for an additional job on top of your work as an employee, but it would need to be very different from the work you’re already doing (your receptionist vs. janitor example was a good illustration of what would be allowed), and setting up/running events is not sufficiently different from event design to qualify. You’re also absolutely right to worry that that they’ll just try to allocate any overtime hours to the “design job,” thus conveniently getting them out of paying you for them. Anyway, the whole thing is a no-go because it’s illegal. And that’s the best way to approach it: “I looked into it, and legally we can’t do it that way. We’re required to pay non-exempt employees for all their work in the corresponding pay period; it can’t be a lump sum at the end of the year.” If they push you overlook that and do it anyway: “I wouldn’t be comfortable doing that since legally we can’t, and I don’t want us to risk getting into trouble.” You could also say, “I’d be happy to do the work as part of my regular job, but it’s likely to mean logging overtime hours, which I know we’d rather avoid — so it might not make sense for the company to have me take that on.” The post my job wants me to be both an employee and a contractor appeared first on Ask a Manager. View the full article

For U.S. soldiers who find themselves at the front lines of a future conflict, it’s fast becoming gospel, due to the way warfare is rapidly evolving on the battlefields of Ukraine, that drones will be crucial to winning (or losing) the fight But the roughly 500 U.S. dronemakers can only build about 100,000 a year combined, according to Ryan Carver, communications manager for the Association for Uncrewed Vehicle Systems International. For comparison: One Chinese firm, DJI, can pump out millions of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) a year — 70% of the global supply. To ameliorate this challenge/problem, a number of startups believe 3D printing, specifically of drones, can help deploy new tech more quickly in the field. And the military is interested. Firestorm Labs, a San Diego-based startup building industrial 3D-printing solutions for the military, envisions those soldiers not just flying drones, but manufacturing them near the battlefield. The firm’s xCell expeditionary manufacturing system fits drone production within a 20-foot-long shipping container. Inside, customized HP industrial 3D printers can spin a six-foot-long drone body out of nine cubic inches of Nylon 12 powder in about 14 hours. “Industrial 3D printing allows us to leapfrog a lot of the problems we have today,” Firestorm CEO Dan Magy says. “You can solve part of the drone manufacturing gap with new ways to build drones that don’t require them to be exquisite.” A number of startups like Firestorm hold up 3D printing, specifically of drones, as a means to not necessarily fully catch up to a rival, but to more quickly deploy new tech in the field. And the military is interested. In June, the Air Force awarded Firestorm a $100 million contract to make additively manufactured UAVs. Numerous groups within the military have already been experimenting and training with 3D printing and drones. The tech has become more established in the defense world as a means for replacing parts, especially at remote bases or at sea — Snowbird Technologies out of Jacksonville, Florida, makes 3D-printing systems for naval ships so they can replace parts without having to return to port. Now it’s being piloted as a means to churn out UAVs. It fits within the goals of the new administration, which includes an aggressive push toward drone warfare. In a memo this past July, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth ordered the military to “bolster the nascent U.S. drone manufacturing base” in part by focusing on low-cost drones. The army is launching a drone marketplace so different units can quickly try and test models. The U.S. military also just started SkyFoundry, a pilot program to ramp up production of small drones via innovative manufacturing methods, aiming for at least 10,000 a month. At Fort Campbell in Kentucky, soldiers in the 101st Airborne have been experimenting and training with EagleMav 3D-printed drones and the ABE 1.01, which is made via computer-controlled milling machines, says Major Jonathon Bless, the unit’s deputy director of public affairs. As part of an effort called “transformation in contact,” where soldiers are building their own drones on base using commercial parts, the 101st has put hundreds of drones through their paces. “This is a bit of a cultural shift in the Army,” Bless says. “Previously, drones have been looked at as expensive reconnaissance equipment with fancy cameras. You don’t want to lose one. These have been purposely designed at a low dollar value so we can start looking at them as lethal, kamikaze drones.” Advocates for additive manufacturing have championed the tech as a nimble way to build outside of the highly regulated, risk-averse supply chains of traditional defense contracting, and as a mobile means of custom production. The Ukrainian army offers a real-time case study. ​​Tali Rosman, an analyst with RHH Advisory, says a significant number of the nation’s drones are 3D printed. On the front lines, if certain munitions or parts run out, additive manufacturing can spin up relatively instantaneous solutions to adapt and deploy deadly drones. Since they’re likely only flying a handful of times before they’re destroyed, cost and speed are paramount. “[3D printing] technology is getting faster, better, and taken seriously for the first time,” says Ben Wynne, CEO of Intrepid Automation and an additive manufacturing expert. “We’ve reached this kind of perfect point where if people want to make simple quadcopter frames and iterate the design, they can scale up to hundreds or thousands rather quickly.” Magy, who believes Firestorm can get its printing time down to under 4 hours, believes it’s a production race the nation needs to win. “Everyone’s starting to build their own drone army,” he says. “We’re going to solve that for the U.S.” View the full article

Whitehall officials hope resolution can be found to row between Beijing and London over key buildingsView the full article

There are big differences in the level of risk and likely returns of Big Tech’s spendingView the full article

Deal activity in the small business marketplace is heating up, even as broader economic uncertainties put pressure on margins and long-term confidence. According to new data from BizBuySell’s Q3 2025 Insight Report, the number of completed small business sales surged to 2,599 — an 8% increase from the same period last year and an 11% jump from the previous quarter. The total value of those transactions reached $2.13 billion. At first glance, this upward trend in acquisitions might suggest growing optimism. But a closer look reveals a more nuanced reality for small business owners: many are selling not out of confidence, but out of concern. Owner confidence has dropped below neutral on BizBuySell’s Buyer-Seller Confidence Index, sliding from 50 to 48. That dip is largely attributed to the financial toll of ongoing inflation and tariff-driven cost increases. In fact, more than half (53%) of surveyed small business owners report higher operating costs due to tariffs, while 62% say inflationary pressures have yet to ease. “Things are expensive, especially insurance and maintenance costs. We’re a small company, so it’s tough,” said Donny Ravas, owner of Dell Transport in West Virginia. “We’ve been around for 27 years in January 2026 and have seen just about everything. Fuel has come down, though.” With inflation eating into profitability and many owners eyeing retirement, a growing number believe now is the right time to sell. In the report, 55% of business owners said they think they can achieve their desired price today, and 60% worry that waiting until next year could result in the same or even lower offers. Still, buyers aren’t waiting either. Deal cycles are moving faster than they have in years — businesses spent a median of just 149 days on the market in Q3, down from 176 days in Q2 and the fastest pace recorded since 2017. This speed signals urgency among buyers who want to secure deals while prices are favorable. Despite that urgency, sale prices are slipping. The median sale price in Q3 fell to $320,044, down 2% year-over-year and 9% quarter-over-quarter. This trend reflects weakening financial performance among sellers, with median cash flow and revenue each down 2% YoY and 6% QoQ. It’s not necessarily that buyers are negotiating better deals — it’s that higher costs are eroding seller profitability. As a result, valuations are taking a hit even as buyer interest remains strong. That interest is reflected in relatively stable buyer sentiment. While the Buyer-Seller Confidence Index dropped slightly from 54 to 52, a majority of buyers still feel positive about their prospects. A full 77% believe they can purchase a business at a fair price today, and 78% expect to find comparable or better value in the year ahead. “There are many more buyers than there are sellers,” said Joe Braier of Lake Country Advisors. “Sellers who have a good cash flow business in a desirable industry are typically choosing from multiple LOI’s.” That imbalance has made business ownership particularly attractive for displaced professionals. According to the report, 40% of today’s buyers are “corporate refugees,” many of whom are mid-career professionals in the 40–59 age bracket who see acquisition as a pathway to autonomy and income. Notably, the service and retail sectors are seeing the most momentum. Service business transactions rose 11% year-over-year, while retail saw a 14% increase. Buyers appear to be gravitating toward essential service categories like HVAC, plumbing, roofing, and landscaping — industries considered recession-resilient. “The market is still hot for HVAC, P&H, Electrical, Roofing, Landscaping, etc.,” said Adam Pratt of Atlantic Business Brokers in Maine. “I have 300+ active buyers in my database. There are not enough listings for all the buyers.” However, those deals are trending toward more modest valuations. The median sale price of service businesses fell 8% YoY to $300,000, with a 15% drop in cash flow. Retail business sales followed a similar pattern, with sale prices down 5% and cash flow down 4%. Restaurants also held relatively steady in Q3, with a 2% year-over-year uptick in completed deals and a 27% jump quarter-over-quarter. The sector posted a 4% YoY increase in cash flow and an 8% boost in revenue — suggesting some resilience despite persistent headwinds. Operators have adapted by narrowing menus, streamlining operations, and focusing on profitable staples. Meanwhile, manufacturing took a step back. Transactions in the sector declined 11% from last year, with the median sale price tumbling 37% to $550,000. Revenue and cash flow also dropped sharply — down 27% and 28%, respectively. Tariffs and supply chain issues have created an environment of hesitation, with many buyers holding back or delaying deals until the outlook becomes clearer. The macroeconomic picture continues to weigh heavily on small business decisions. Tariff uncertainty, inflation, and the possibility of further government shutdowns all cloud the horizon. Yet despite those challenges, the entrepreneurial engine remains active — and increasingly driven by strategic exits and value-focused acquisitions. That’s particularly evident in the adoption of AI among small businesses. The report found that 55% of owners are using AI tools, primarily for marketing (69%), analytics (56%), and customer service (39%). And they’re seeing results: 76% say AI has improved their performance. While AI adoption has led to some role reductions (13% of businesses reported a smaller workforce since implementing AI), it’s also created new roles for 5% of respondents. As AI continues to mature, its impact on staffing, costs, and productivity is expected to grow, offering small businesses another lever to pull as they navigate a complex environment. Looking ahead, retirement continues to drive seller motivation, with 42% citing it as the primary reason for listing their business. That trend is likely to persist, especially as Baby Boomers exit the workforce in greater numbers. For owners in this position, the message from brokers is clear: focus on your readiness, not the market’s. “Sell when you, your family, and your company are ready. Don’t let the economic factors stand in your way,” advised Bill White of Murphy Business & Financial Corp. of Ohio. “In the end, it won’t make that much of a difference.” With the Federal Reserve projecting additional interest rate cuts this year and into 2026, borrowing may soon become more affordable, potentially fueling even more deal activity. But even without that tailwind, the small business acquisition market shows signs of resilience and adaptability. For buyers, the landscape offers a chance to secure essential service businesses at competitive prices. For sellers, especially those nearing retirement or facing cost pressures, the current market presents a real — if slightly imperfect — opportunity to exit on reasonable terms. And for all involved, staying focused on long-term fundamentals and operational efficiency may be the best way to navigate the uncertain road ahead. Images via BizBuySell This article, "Small Business Sales Surge as Owners Exit Amid Inflation Pressures" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

Deal activity in the small business marketplace is heating up, even as broader economic uncertainties put pressure on margins and long-term confidence. According to new data from BizBuySell’s Q3 2025 Insight Report, the number of completed small business sales surged to 2,599 — an 8% increase from the same period last year and an 11% jump from the previous quarter. The total value of those transactions reached $2.13 billion. At first glance, this upward trend in acquisitions might suggest growing optimism. But a closer look reveals a more nuanced reality for small business owners: many are selling not out of confidence, but out of concern. Owner confidence has dropped below neutral on BizBuySell’s Buyer-Seller Confidence Index, sliding from 50 to 48. That dip is largely attributed to the financial toll of ongoing inflation and tariff-driven cost increases. In fact, more than half (53%) of surveyed small business owners report higher operating costs due to tariffs, while 62% say inflationary pressures have yet to ease. “Things are expensive, especially insurance and maintenance costs. We’re a small company, so it’s tough,” said Donny Ravas, owner of Dell Transport in West Virginia. “We’ve been around for 27 years in January 2026 and have seen just about everything. Fuel has come down, though.” With inflation eating into profitability and many owners eyeing retirement, a growing number believe now is the right time to sell. In the report, 55% of business owners said they think they can achieve their desired price today, and 60% worry that waiting until next year could result in the same or even lower offers. Still, buyers aren’t waiting either. Deal cycles are moving faster than they have in years — businesses spent a median of just 149 days on the market in Q3, down from 176 days in Q2 and the fastest pace recorded since 2017. This speed signals urgency among buyers who want to secure deals while prices are favorable. Despite that urgency, sale prices are slipping. The median sale price in Q3 fell to $320,044, down 2% year-over-year and 9% quarter-over-quarter. This trend reflects weakening financial performance among sellers, with median cash flow and revenue each down 2% YoY and 6% QoQ. It’s not necessarily that buyers are negotiating better deals — it’s that higher costs are eroding seller profitability. As a result, valuations are taking a hit even as buyer interest remains strong. That interest is reflected in relatively stable buyer sentiment. While the Buyer-Seller Confidence Index dropped slightly from 54 to 52, a majority of buyers still feel positive about their prospects. A full 77% believe they can purchase a business at a fair price today, and 78% expect to find comparable or better value in the year ahead. “There are many more buyers than there are sellers,” said Joe Braier of Lake Country Advisors. “Sellers who have a good cash flow business in a desirable industry are typically choosing from multiple LOI’s.” That imbalance has made business ownership particularly attractive for displaced professionals. According to the report, 40% of today’s buyers are “corporate refugees,” many of whom are mid-career professionals in the 40–59 age bracket who see acquisition as a pathway to autonomy and income. Notably, the service and retail sectors are seeing the most momentum. Service business transactions rose 11% year-over-year, while retail saw a 14% increase. Buyers appear to be gravitating toward essential service categories like HVAC, plumbing, roofing, and landscaping — industries considered recession-resilient. “The market is still hot for HVAC, P&H, Electrical, Roofing, Landscaping, etc.,” said Adam Pratt of Atlantic Business Brokers in Maine. “I have 300+ active buyers in my database. There are not enough listings for all the buyers.” However, those deals are trending toward more modest valuations. The median sale price of service businesses fell 8% YoY to $300,000, with a 15% drop in cash flow. Retail business sales followed a similar pattern, with sale prices down 5% and cash flow down 4%. Restaurants also held relatively steady in Q3, with a 2% year-over-year uptick in completed deals and a 27% jump quarter-over-quarter. The sector posted a 4% YoY increase in cash flow and an 8% boost in revenue — suggesting some resilience despite persistent headwinds. Operators have adapted by narrowing menus, streamlining operations, and focusing on profitable staples. Meanwhile, manufacturing took a step back. Transactions in the sector declined 11% from last year, with the median sale price tumbling 37% to $550,000. Revenue and cash flow also dropped sharply — down 27% and 28%, respectively. Tariffs and supply chain issues have created an environment of hesitation, with many buyers holding back or delaying deals until the outlook becomes clearer. The macroeconomic picture continues to weigh heavily on small business decisions. Tariff uncertainty, inflation, and the possibility of further government shutdowns all cloud the horizon. Yet despite those challenges, the entrepreneurial engine remains active — and increasingly driven by strategic exits and value-focused acquisitions. That’s particularly evident in the adoption of AI among small businesses. The report found that 55% of owners are using AI tools, primarily for marketing (69%), analytics (56%), and customer service (39%). And they’re seeing results: 76% say AI has improved their performance. While AI adoption has led to some role reductions (13% of businesses reported a smaller workforce since implementing AI), it’s also created new roles for 5% of respondents. As AI continues to mature, its impact on staffing, costs, and productivity is expected to grow, offering small businesses another lever to pull as they navigate a complex environment. Looking ahead, retirement continues to drive seller motivation, with 42% citing it as the primary reason for listing their business. That trend is likely to persist, especially as Baby Boomers exit the workforce in greater numbers. For owners in this position, the message from brokers is clear: focus on your readiness, not the market’s. “Sell when you, your family, and your company are ready. Don’t let the economic factors stand in your way,” advised Bill White of Murphy Business & Financial Corp. of Ohio. “In the end, it won’t make that much of a difference.” With the Federal Reserve projecting additional interest rate cuts this year and into 2026, borrowing may soon become more affordable, potentially fueling even more deal activity. But even without that tailwind, the small business acquisition market shows signs of resilience and adaptability. For buyers, the landscape offers a chance to secure essential service businesses at competitive prices. For sellers, especially those nearing retirement or facing cost pressures, the current market presents a real — if slightly imperfect — opportunity to exit on reasonable terms. And for all involved, staying focused on long-term fundamentals and operational efficiency may be the best way to navigate the uncertain road ahead. Images via BizBuySell This article, "Small Business Sales Surge as Owners Exit Amid Inflation Pressures" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

I run marathons. I post about running marathons. But you won't see my sweaty face mid-stride, my pace per mile, or the unglamorous truth of what 26.2 miles does to a body. No shots of my form breaking down at mile 20, no documentation of the new insecurities that crop up when you realize your running gait is asymmetrical or your breathing sounds like a dying dog. I share the accomplishment—the medal, the bib number, maybe a scenic shot from the course—but I carefully curate out the messy reality. Is this humility? Self-protection? Or am I just bragging with plausible deniability, performing health while refusing to actually perform it? After all, isn't social media fundamentally a bragging platform, a highlight reel we all tacitly agree to maintain? But then why does hitting "post" feel like walking a tightrope between inspiration and judgment, between pride and shame? And why am I so acutely aware that in 2025, as thinness resurges as the aesthetic ideal and fatphobia floods our feeds with renewed vigor, any post about fitness exists in a minefield of interpretation? Social media may not be "the real world," but when it comes to our mental health and how we perceive our bodies, it's very much a real world—one with real consequences. I put out a call on Instagram asking people about their relationship with posting workout data and fitness content. The response was overwhelming: well over a hundred replies, from fitness influencers building their brands, to private account holders who rarely post, and everyone in between. People were bursting to talk about this, which suggests we're all grappling with the same question: When does sharing our health journey become performing it—and what do we lose in translation? The performance of health on social media"Social media didn't create this—it just amplified what was already there in fitness culture," says Echo Wang, founder at Yoga Kawa. "It's become a place to gain clout and sell an image, so it's no surprise that wellness and gym culture thrive there. People have always wanted to look a certain way, which social media has just made public and constant." What's shifted isn't necessarily the desire for fitness or even the vanity that sometimes drives it—it's the volume and velocity. Wang says that what’s really worrying "is how body image expectations keep getting more extreme. The duality of social media is that you have access to an infinite amount of knowledge and community, but at the same time, you are swimming in comparison and misinformation. The flood of conflicting advice keeps the industry spinning because everyone's searching for that quick fix or magic formula." This sense of being pulled in contradictory directions was a major theme in my inbox. "I feel like I'm non-consensually being pulled in a million different directions regarding what I should be doing to benefit the most from working out," says Polina Jewel. "I'm thinking about reps, calorie deficits, and creatine, when the only way for me to feel better about exercising (read: being in my body) is turning inward and listening to what feels good, and using that information to better myself." Even when you’re performing for no one but yourself, you internally negotiate the relationship between what you see in the mirror and what you feel in your body. Social media isn’t designed to cater to such a delicate, fraught balancing act. These platforms designed to share information have created such an overwhelming cacophony that the only escape is to tune it all out and listen to your own body. The true cost of "public accountability"Ryan Nilsen sums up what many seemed to feel, saying that “public accountability helped me start a routine right off the bat for going to the gym, but never helped performance. I feel like I need to trick myself sometimes when developing a new routine." Dr. Simon Faynboym, a psychiatrist at Neuro Wellness Spa, outlines both sides of the public accountability equation: "Posting your workouts can feel like you have your own cheer team; likes, leaderboards, and streaks make effort visible and give you quick hits of social reward. That public accountability can help people show up more consistently, especially if you thrive on competition, enjoy friendly challenges, or find it motivating to see progress over time." But he quickly identifies the pitfall: "On the flip side, it's easy to chase vanity metrics like pace or the amount of steps at the expense of recovery and/or sleep. Constant benchmarking can create fitness performance anxiety, where the fear of looking slow, running less, cycling lower distance, or lifting less pushes people to overtrain or to curate only 'good' workouts." One Instagram response about step tracking perfectly captured this sort of performance anxiety: "I've had a 10,000 step streak going since last year. I've been updating my friends online regularly, so I feel determined to push the streak to at least 365 days, but at some point within the past few months it became less about keeping myself fit and more about hitting the number even when I should probably rest." I’d be remiss not to mention that there’s nothing special about taking 10,000 steps each day in the first place. But the reasoning behind these goals gets lost in the pursuit of posting about achieving them. And when metrics inevitably don't align with expectations, people feel like failures.What started as a tool for accountability morphed into an obligation, potentially at the expense of the very health it was meant to promote. Sara Lebow also voiced this contradiction behind the “public accountability” defense. She says, “most of what people are doing online is pseudoscience wellness, or a form of optimization that can only be described as an obsession with control, one that's bleeding into every part of our lives from work to dating. I want to work out and not track everything in this world. And yet, I weigh myself and then feel insecure, because that is what we do." The illusion of effortlessnessIf you’ve ever been served a “candid” photo of a fitness influencer, it probably hasn’t made you feel great about your own body. But isn’t it oh-so inspiring? #Bodygoals, right? Matthew Singer, a yoga teacher, says most “fitspo” (fitness inspiration) “is as helpful for fitness as previous winning lottery numbers are for winning millions. Fitspo cannot take into account genetics, job and family circumstances, health history, or any of the other countless factors that influence health outcomes." This gets at a fundamental problem: fitness inspiration content presents results without context, and bodies without the invisible scaffolding that created them. Similarly, actor Sean O'Connor says, “you have to remember that everything through the lens of a camera from a phone or otherwise is relatively propped up and fabricated, in the same way food commercials never use actual food.” The same mechanics apply to fitness influencers, O'Connor argues: "Even the selfie cam with no additional filters/digital trickery is a lens that doesn't exist in reality. Simply turning on a ring light illuminates your face in a way that would never happen organically out in the world." But it's not just about angles and lighting. O'Connor describes the invisible infrastructure that makes aspirational bodies possible: "All these public figures have teams of people helping look effortless. They have nutritionists, private chefs, personal trainers, state of the art equipment at their homes and some even have a team of PR people helping them manage an eating disorder, scheduling out how to give them the bare minimum of nutrition to keep them relatively functional, not unlike a warden at a prison labor camp." The class dimension is impossible to ignore: "These people don't have to work, commute, rush through lunch breaks, have to cook their own food or pack lunches so they won't be subject to the ever-declining quality of fast casual restaurant food. There is absolutely no reason to make yourself feel bad for comparing yourselves to wealthy public facing rich people with every resource imaginable at their disposal." O'Connor reframes what fitness actually is: "Fitness is less about looking perfect and is more about taking small steps to achieve and maintain longevity to live a long and healthy life. Anyone trying to sell you a quick fix is lying. Fitness is a marathon. And it takes a ton of frustratingly small steps to see what you want to see in the mirror. Don't let the smoke and mirrors of social media dent the resolve of a slow and steady approach. Your body will thank you. (And so will your bank account because we live in a deeply stupid propaganda-riddled society where the healthcare system is run like a casino)." Mason Boudrye, who describes himself as "someone known to post gratuitous thirst traps," offers perhaps the most layered perspective on the pressure to perform fitness online. "I think the first thing to consider is how many of the men literally flexing their physique online are enhanced using steroids/tren/testosterone etc.," he says. "Removing those from the equation, the next thing to consider is that for many creating this content is their job, so they're dedicating hours a day to achieving their aesthetic, which isn't remotely practical or realistic for most people." Boudrye also describes the dark side to achieving the perfect thirst trap: "Body dysmorphia, disordered eating, and exercise bulimia,” that last one describing when “bulking” is actually binging and “cutting” is unhealthy restriction. “This is certainly true for me, and I know it's common, even if people don't admit that the obsessive tracking and strict adherence to diet qualifies as disordered eating." But even with that self-awareness, Boudrye acknowledges the mental toll: "I have bad days where I am terrible to myself for failing to exercise, which sometimes transforms into resentment and indignation at the belief that people feel entitled to my body. This all might feel disingenuous considering my literal naked body is being liked and shared thousands of times as we speak. There's so many levels and elements to it." When you feel pressured to always perform a version of perfection—something unsustainable even to you—there’s naturally going to be shame on the days where you just can’t sustain it. It’s so much more than metricsTake it from me: Fitness is boring, incremental, unsexy work that happens outside the frame of social media entirely. The performance of fitness—the ring-lit selfie, the carefully pumped muscle, the optimized angle—bears almost no relationship to the actual practice of maintaining a healthy body over time. But that doesn't get likes. Instead, another recurring theme was the observation that social media fitness culture has become almost entirely divorced from actual health. Especially when it comes to viral fitness content, the need for perfect aesthetics gets absurd. "The need to go viral causes these influencers to be absolutely out-of-pocket," says Andrew Barlow. "On the male side, I see extreme workouts including once a guy doing decline sit-ups while lifting a literal bench. From women influencers, it's hyper-sexualized, where their target demographic doesn't even seem to be women looking to be fit. Both of these are obviously issues in our culture in general, but exacerbated by the algorithm and chase of likes." Echo Wang frames this disconnect in terms of what gets lost: "From a wellness point of view, that incessant chatter is what causes anxiety and burnout. The pressure to show that you are 'healthy' enough, 'fit' enough, or 'disciplined' enough is very tiring. When everything is about data, validation, and aesthetics, you lose the connection with your body." This goes for aesthetic-based apps like Instagram, but also ostensibly fitness-based ones too, like Strava with its leaderboards. Because when I post my runs on Strava, I keep all my data private—I'm too self-conscious to reveal what an utterly average runner I am, and I know plenty of runners who share my shame-based privacy. So, if you're anything less than perfect, why post at all? Who is this performance really for?Perhaps the most revealing question is: Who is the intended audience for fitness posts? The responses suggest even the posters themselves aren't always sure. Claire Lower, former Lifehacker writer and powerlifting enthusiast, offers a perspective rooted in genuine love for her sport: "I like lifting, I look forward to it. I go to the gym whether I post or not. It has nothing to do with accountability—that's why I pay my trainer. Posting is a good way for me to document for myself and track my progress. But if you look at any video of a woman powerlifting, a man has something to say about her form; I don't want to reach a wider audience." Here, posting serves a documentary function—a digital training log—but Lower deliberately limits her audience to avoid unsolicited feedback and mansplaining that plague women in fitness spaces online. Good on her. Chika takes a different approach, posting strategically with a specific political intent: "I post heavy lifts intentionally because it's really important to me that people see women lifting over 200 pounds, especially as there's this move to thinness. Granted, health/fitness is very low on the list of my online presence, and some of that is probably because I don't have the body of a traditional 'fitness girl', and so I fear if I posted regularly about working out, people would assume I'm on a 'fitness journey,' instead of just doing what I always do." Plus, I know firsthand that Chika is correct in saying that fitness content "is guaranteed to get a good response, so I often do it intentionally when I want to promote something else on my story." For others, the audience becomes an unwelcome source of anxiety. Shenuque Tissera says, "I feel like there's some really great representations of fitness for the sake of health, but a lot of the content and performance of fitness online has made me feel bad. I definitely now feel a bit compelled to work out because of online health performance even though I started working out for my own needs and health concerns. And while I used to not judge myself over the regular fluctuations of my own body, I find myself doing way more negative talk about my body that gets heightened with social media." Maya Almogy describes the comparison trap succinctly: "When I see other people post, all that functions as a reminder that I personally didn't run today. Even if I did run that day, and I saw a post that someone ran more? Now I get an overwhelming sense of inadequacy." The fatphobia factorThe resurgence of thinness as the beauty ideal emerged as a particularly concerning theme. Jo Wild articulates the cognitive dissonance many feel: "I've recently seen a rebirth of fatphobia being seen as 'cool' that really disgusts me, and honestly makes me embarrassed to intentionally change my body in any way. I worry that the reason I want to be strong is that secretly I want to be skinny, and I don't want people to know that secretly I want to be skinny. At the same time, I don't fit into my favorite pants anymore, so maybe I only exercise in the hope that one day the button will close again. But I keep most of my gym time and dance classes off of socials, because I don't like to think I'm contributing to a 'health craze' that's really just fatphobia in a poor disguise." This represents a new layer of anxiety, not just about whether you're fit enough, but about whether your pursuit of fitness makes you complicit in a larger cultural problem. It's performance anxiety about the performance of fitness itself. Alex Phipps, a fitness instructor, gave me an interesting counterpoint about online fitness classes: "People who normally didn't work out or like working out really got into it way more than they did in person, and a lot of them told me that they felt that they couldn't work out any other way, because they were terrified of being perceived by other 'conventional' fitness people. But online, they felt free to try and actually push themselves. The idea of strength as opposed to thinness being the goal is what has always motivated me, and it's what I'd try to cultivate in my students." This suggests that for some, the digital space actually provides more freedom from judgment than physical gyms—though this creates its own irony given how much anxiety others experience from posting workouts online. Finding balanceFaynboym offers practical advice for navigating this landscape: "The best fix is to occasionally hide or de-emphasize numbers that trigger you, share selectively, set goals you control, think of long-term progress, and post about rest days and form wins as often as you feel. Ultimately, use the crowd for support and let the metrics follow your body's needs, not the other way around." But one of my favorite assessments comes from Dorian Debose, who posts fitness progress as part of adult content: "I think the vast majority of people are happy to see you make an effort. They understand it's a process and they're accepting of your faults. I project my own insecurities out onto them. I think for me, that's like shadow boxing." In other words, much of the performance anxiety around posting fitness content isn't about what the audience actually thinks. It's about what we fear they think, which is often just a projection of our own harshest self-judgments. The overwhelming message from these responses is that fitness culture on social media exists in a state of productive tension: It can inspire and support, but it can just as easily trigger comparison, anxiety, and a disconnection. The question isn't whether to post or not to post—it's whether we can find a way to engage with these platforms that keeps the focus on our actual bodies and health, rather than the performance of health for an audience that may be more imagined than real. And maybe that starts with posting the sweaty face after all. Or not posting at all. Or posting only on days when it feels like record-keeping, rather than performance. The answer, frustrating or freeing as it may seem, is there is no answer to how you should post. Like with posting pictures of your kids, or your political opinions, or that perfectly curated gym selfie you snuck in the locker room: It’s your choice. There’s private physical experience, and there’s how we package that up for a wider audience. It’s an ongoing negotiation, and you need to be honest with yourself if you’re getting a raw deal. View the full article

Buyout bosses intend to contest any attempt by competition watchdog to disqualify them as directors of British companiesView the full article

Until August, Bell was the executive director for loan guaranty service at the Department of Veterans Affairs, where he was credited with growing the program. View the full article

Company officials credited recent mortgage rate pullbacks, a nonagency servicing partnership and Improvements in technology behind recent momentum. View the full article

Adobe just wrapped up its Max keynote, which means its time for its biggest free competitor to announce its own set of new features. While Adobe's done its best to keep up with Canva by adding its own free, web-based tools to its lineup, the simple browser-based editor has become a key part of my creative routine. Now, it's coming for more of Adobe's lunch by launching a "creative operating system," which while largely a rebrand of existing (but expanding) tools, smacks of the Photoshop makers' "creative cloud" branding. As part of the update, Canva's introducing a bunch of—say it with me—AI to its products, but is also taking a big swing by making popular Photoshop alternative Affinity free for everyone. AI will hold your hand while designing Credit: Canva Adobe made its own AI promises during its Max keynote, with the biggest one being "AI Assistant in Adobe Express." The feature essentially lets you create or refine whole designs from an AI chat box, all in the company's Canva-like free web editor. Not to be outdone, Canva is also bringing an AI assistant to its browser-based designer, but it's promising finer control than Adobe's version. AI Assistant in Adobe Express is a bit odd, in that toggling it on takes away your toolbar. The idea is to simplify things, but it also adds a bit of a barrier to asking for help. Meanwhile, Canva's trying to naturally integrate AI into its entire workflow by upgrading its existing Ask Canva chatbot. Right now, Ask Canva simply sits in one spot on your screen, where you can ask it to generate text or images for you. Now, Canva says you can summon it anywhere in your design, and it'll be able to give you feedback, make suggestions, or make edits for you, all related to specific design elements. Alongside an updated AI model, the idea is to make it a "true creative partner," but personally, I'm just glad that accidentally bringing it up won't dismiss my tools. Canva Video 2.0 Credit: Canva Keeping with the AI theme, Canva's also redesigning its video editor with a new mobile-friendly interface and an expanded ability to instantly create a publishable video with a single prompt. You'll still be able to manually edit a timeline if you like, and you can still generate AI footage as separate clips to put alongside or layered over your other footage, but the new system aims to make it easy to go right from raw footage to posting a video on your timeline. Called Magic Video, it works like the existing Magic Design feature, but Canva says it's a bit more powerful. You'll upload clips and tell the AI what type of video you want, just like with Magic Design, but you'll also be to select a tone for your video and an editing style from dropdown menus, then navigate through a "new library of on-trend templates" to get your final result. That should mean more control, but also more transition effects and title cards. It's all free, and it reminds me of Adobe's upcoming YouTube Shorts feature for Premiere, which is getting added to the free Premiere iPhone app as well as directly into YouTube. That's not set to release for a while yet, but Adobe says it'll come with "exclusive" effects, transitions, stickers, and templates, although no AI to put it all together for you. It will, though, let you publish directly to YouTube without having to leave the app. Canva can do this with a few platforms, like Instagram, but doesn't have direct integration with YouTube yet. Whether you prefer having an AI assistant and a more platform-agnostic approach, or an editor with a direct pipeline to publishing, is up to you. Affinity is now free for everyone, "forever" Credit: Canva Moving away from AI and browser-based editors, Canva's also got some news regarding the popular standalone Photoshop alternative, Affinity. As a downloadable tool, this offers finer control than Canva's web-based editor, including tools like vector editing, and that makes sense—it wasn't always part of Canva's family. Canva actually bought Affinity in March of last year, and while an acquisition of a beloved tool isn't always good news for existing users, Canva's latest announcement should go a long way towards earning some good will. Part of what made Affinity stand out was its buy-it-once-and-keep-it-forever pricing, which made it highly competitive next to Photoshop's subscription model. Now, Canva says it's making Affinity free for everyone, "forever." That's an improvement over the app's prior free models, which were limited to iPad spinoffs and Education accounts. It's also a shot across the bow at the competition. While Adobe has been making free light versions of its core apps for mobile and web over the past few years, it has yet to take the plunge with a fully-featured free desktop editor. Aside from pricing, Canva also says it's combining all of Affinity's various functions into one program, so you'll no longer need to swap between Affinity Photo, Affinity Designer, and Affinity Publisher based on your needs. Improvements for businesses Credit: Canva While many of Canva's users are individuals using the free versions of its editors, the company does have an enterprise plan for businesses, and a few of today's updates are tailor-made for them. That includes Canva Grow, a new product aimed at marketers for launching ads, as well as a "brand system" that will help teams stay consistent with which apps they're using. On a smaller scale, though, you can also now finally use Canva to design HTML elements for email, which could be useful to large and small businesses and individuals. Additionally, Canva is getting its own survey system called "Forms," which can be added to websites or other designs and will flow responses into your Canva Sheets. Speaking of Canva Sheets, it can now interact with Canva Code, meaning you can use data from Sheets to power interactive widgets like live dashboards or calculators. All of that's a bit more intensive than what I use Canva for, but I'm sure some folks are raising their hands up in relief right now. When is all of this going live?Compared to Adobe, where most of the features announced at Max are either still in beta or development, Canva's newest updates will start rolling out in their live versions today, as part of its Creative Operating System launch. Personally, I'm not big on using AI in design, but free Affinity could carry the launch for me in and of itself. Add in those quality-of-life features for businesses, and it's clear Adobe will have to keep experimenting with its low-cost and browser-based editors to keep up. View the full article

Sam Altman’s concessions to win approval from US officials expose his company to litigation and non-profit oversightView the full article

IDEAS shared have the power to expand perspectives, change thinking, and move lives. Here are two ideas for the curious mind to engage with: I. Robert A. Heinlein on the importance of knowing your history: “A generation which ignores history has no past —and no future.” Source: Time Enough for Love II. Rasmus Hougaard and Jacqueline Carter on AI objectivity: “We all like to think we’re wise. And in our own ways, we are. But we’re also all quite limited. A powerful way for leaders to leverage the potential of AI systems is to use it to challenge what they think they know and who they think they are. In leadership, it’s incredibly beneficial to people who are willing to tell you when you’re making a big mistake. But as we rise through the ranks of leadership, it can be more and more difficult to surround ourselves with people who are comfortable challenging us. This reluctance among peers or subordinates is due to positional power and natural human biases regarding social hierarchies. “The great thing about your AI-based leadership partner is that it doesn’t care about hierarchy, it doesn’t have an agenda, it doesn’t know about organizational politics, and it isn’t vying for your position. If designed properly, AI systems can provide insight and advice that human peers may not see or may not be willing to say. In this way, AI systems can help a leader shed light on faulty thinking. This objective outlook creates potential for leaders to be more attuned to challenges and potentially more open-minded.” Source: More Human: How the Power of AI Can Transform the Way You Lead * * * Look for these ideas every Thursday on the Leading Blog. Find more ideas on the LeadingThoughts index. * * * Follow us on Instagram and X for additional leadership and personal development ideas. View the full article

The 30-year rate dropped just 0.2 percentage points, as Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's recent comments caused Treasury yields to rise. View the full article

Last year Canva reworked its user experience and tools in a full-frontal attack on the productivity and enterprise markets now dominated by Microsoft Office and Google Workspace. Now the Australian company is going for Adobe’s jugular. Affinity—the British company Canva bought in 2024—is out with a new app that aims to sink Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign with a simple proposal: If you are a professional designer, here’s an integrated photo editing, vector illustration, and page layout studio seamlessly integrated into a single application, with a feature set comparable to Adobe’s apps and a fully customizable UI. For free. You know, free free. “Free forever,” as Canva’s cofounder and chief product officer Cameron Adams tells me in a video interview. Free as in not paying a single dime for eternity (allegedly) instead of the up to $70 per month that Adobe charges for its full Creative Cloud subscription. If the new Affinity lives up to its promise—and, from what I’ve seen, it may actually do that and then some—it will be a hard thing to ignore for any Adobe Creative Cloud user, even if they are fully invested in the company’s apps.​ Cameron Adams When Canva bought Affinity, it kept British company independent and injected the capital needed to revamp the Affinity suit of apps into a bona fide Adobe competitor. As Adams tells me, the move was born from a radical rethinking of the entire creative world. “We’re really viewing the entire design ecosystem as one big entity,” he says. “It’s not about separation anymore. It’s not about professionals on one side, nonprofessionals on the other. It’s really about your entire team working together.” The company also saw an opportunity in the feedback they were getting from the creative community, who Adams says are fed up with “pricing model increases, with lack of transparency, just the feeling they weren’t being listened to, and a lack of innovation in the tools that they’ve been using for a very long time.” Break the workflow walls For Affinity CEO Ashley Hewson, this launch fulfills a vision his team has had for a long time: to finally bring the separate apps of Affinity Designer, Photo, and Publisher into one consolidated experience. “That’s what we’ve been building— an entirely new app,” he says. Simply called Affinity, it organizes its immense power into dedicated “studios”—Vector, Pixel, and Layout—that you can switch between instantly within the same window, using a button bar switch on the top left corner of the UI. This is similar to other apps like DaVinci Resolve, which moves from edit to color correction, automagically morphing the interface to show you the tools you need at each stage without having to move to a new app, import a file, save, and move back to the previous tool. Ash Hewson With Affinity, the canvas, the layers, and everything else stays as you switch from bitmap to vector to layout and back. This isn’t just about convenience; it’s about eliminating the maddening workflow interruptions that kill creativity. “Previously, you’d have to kind of change app to do some more advanced vector sort of design work, and that would always mean kind of exporting this, bring it into a different app,” Hewson explains. “Whereas now, I can just go to the Vector Studio if I want to do any of that work.” Thanks to full GPU acceleration, everything is live and nondestructive, from applying a Gaussian blur to a vector object to painting a pixel-based mask on a filter effect. As Hewson demonstrated for me, you can adjust a gradient, warp text, or scrub through your entire edit history with zero lag. Even with thousands of layers, he claims. “I keep saying it, but it’s kind of very important because, obviously, it’s kind of what the competitors don’t do,” he says with a hint of pride.​ Custom interface In the new Affinity, you can customize the UI in any way you want. Hewson showed me how users can create their own “perfect studio,” a custom workspace that mixes and matches tools from any of the core disciplines. “Let’s say your workflow often includes raster brushes, vector tools, maybe even some layout tools as well,” Hewson says. “What you can do is actually just create your own studio.” This is a level of personalization that goes far beyond rearranging a few panels. You can build a lean UI for logo design, a robust one for photo compositing, and another for publication layout. These custom studios can then be saved and shared, creating a new way for teams to standardize workflows. It’s an appealing proposal, given that every designer works differently. It’s also a good solution against the one-size-fits-all bloat that has plagued professional creative software for years. The new Affinity gives you the power to build the exact tool you need, and hide the rest.​ ‘Craft to scale’ So, how does a free professional tool make business sense for Canva? Adams explains it to me with a simple mantra: “craft and scale.” The high-end, pixel-perfect “craft” happens in Affinity Studio. The “scale”—where that craft is used to generate massive amounts of content—happens in Canva. By making the craft tool free, Canva is betting it can grow the entire design ecosystem.​ The strategy is to build a frictionless bridge between these two worlds. For enterprise teams, this is the endgame. “The high-end designers or the creative team within an enterprise [will be] using Affinity to create all of their brand assets, their templates,” Hewson explains. “But then they upload all of those to Canva seamlessly so the rest of the teams within the business, who are not skilled designers, can scale on that.”​ The AI question Hewson says that unlike Adobe’s tools, the new Affinity remains a pure, unadulterated craft tool with no generative AI baked in except for enhancing existing tools like image scaling, which runs on-device.​ However, for those who want to edit with AI, that’s available through a new dedicated “Canva AI Studio” panel in the app. This is an optional, subscription-based layer. As he explains, you need a Canva Premium plan, and the AI features use the same credit pool as your main Canva account. Crucially, the optionality respects the designers who resent paying for AI they don’t want or trust. You can run the entire free experience without ever touching it (or just take it out of the UI altogether). The generative features, like Generative Fill, run on cloud servers using models from Leonardo, an AI company Canva acquired in 2024. It’s a good approach that runs counter to Adobe’s all-in-on-AI strategy. For professionals who are fed up with Adobe force feeding them generative AI in their subscriptions, Canva’s opt-in assistant option will be appealing. Combined with a good toolset (still have to test this one) and the zero price tag, Canva may be launching a philosophical and strategic H-bomb at one of its biggest competitors. If it delivers, the creative world is about to feel the shockwave that may finally bust Adobe’s decades-old foundations. View the full article

Retainage in construction is a key practice that helps keep projects on track and ensures work meets quality standards. By holding back a portion of payment until project milestones are completed, owners and contractors stay focused on timely delivery and problem-free execution. Using retainage in construction promotes accountability, encourages careful workmanship and supports smoother project management, helping teams avoid delays, minimize disputes and maintain consistent progress from start to finish on every construction project. What Is Retainage in Construction? Retainage in construction is the practice of withholding a portion of a contractor’s payment until a project reaches certain milestones or is fully completed. This ensures that work is finished according to contract specifications, defects are corrected and all obligations are met before the final payment is released. It protects owners, motivates contractors to maintain quality and helps manage financial risk throughout the construction process. Project management software streamlines the retainage process by tracking project milestones, payment schedules and completion status in real time. It allows owners and contractors to document inspections, approvals and any outstanding issues digitally. Automated alerts, dashboards and reporting make it easy to see which retainage amounts are pending or ready for release, reducing confusion, preventing errors and ensuring the retainage process is transparent and efficient for all parties involved. ProjectManager is ideal for managing retainage in construction because it combines scheduling, resource management and real-time tracking in a single platform. Its dashboards provide instant visibility into milestone completion, with AI adding summaries and recommendations. Automated alerts ensure retainage conditions are met before payments are released. Teams can track progress, approve work and manage financial records seamlessly. By integrating all aspects of construction management, ProjectManager helps maintain accountability, reduce disputes and ensure projects are completed on time and within budget. Get started with ProjectManager today for free. /wp-content/uploads/2025/10/AI-Project-Insights-Lightmode-Dashboard-CTA.pngLearn more How Much Construction Retainage Can Be Withheld? The amount of construction retainage that can be withheld typically ranges from five to 10 percent of the contract value, depending on state laws and contract terms. Some jurisdictions may allow slightly higher or lower percentages, but this range is standard to ensure fair protection for owners while not overburdening contractors. Retainage is usually held until major project milestones are completed or final inspection confirms work meets quality standards. Understanding the typical retainage percentage helps both owners and contractors plan cash flow, manage financial risk and maintain accountability throughout the construction process. Why Is Retainage Important in Construction Projects? Retainage is important because it ensures accountability and quality throughout the construction process. By holding back a small percentage of each payment, project owners maintain leverage to guarantee that contractors and subcontractors complete all work according to the contract specifications. It also protects owners from incomplete or defective work while encouraging timely project delivery. For contractors, clear retainage terms build trust and financial discipline by linking final payment to verified performance. Ultimately, retainage aligns incentives between all parties and supports smooth project closure with proper documentation and quality assurance. Key Benefits of Retainage in Construction Now that we’ve established the importance of retainage in construction projects, let’s take a closer look at its key benefits. Encourages Quality Workmanship: Retainage motivates contractors and subcontractors to maintain consistent quality throughout the project. Knowing that a portion of payment is tied to final inspection, teams are more likely to meet specifications, comply with codes and address punch list items quickly to ensure full payment release. Ensures Project Completion: Retaining a small percentage of payments provides strong financial motivation for contractors to complete all agreed-upon work, including minor details. This system ensures that projects reach substantial and final completion, preventing delays or abandoned tasks that could otherwise compromise project delivery. Protects Against Defective or Incomplete Work: Retainage serves as a safeguard against poor workmanship or unfinished deliverables. If defects or noncompliance issues arise, the withheld funds allow the owner to cover the cost of necessary repairs or adjustments without financial loss or legal dispute. Promotes Financial Accountability: Because a portion of funds remains unpaid until completion, contractors must carefully manage cash flow and maintain transparency in billing. This accountability encourages accurate cost tracking, proper documentation and timely resolution of issues to secure release of the retained amount. Strengthens Contractual Compliance: Retainage ensures that all contractual obligations, such as documentation, permits, lien waivers and warranties, are fulfilled before the final payment is made. This process helps owners confirm that the project meets every technical, legal and administrative requirement before closure. /wp-content/uploads/2025/01/2025-construction-ebook-banner-ad.jpg Common Types of Retainage in Construction There are several common types of construction retainage that contractors and owners use to manage payments and ensure project completion. Each type sets specific conditions for withholding and releasing funds, providing flexibility depending on project size, complexity and contractual agreements. Understanding these types helps both parties plan cash flow, maintain accountability and reduce disputes throughout the construction process. Fixed Construction Retainage Fixed construction retainage is a predetermined percentage of the contract value that is withheld from each payment. This amount remains constant throughout the project regardless of progress or milestones. It provides a simple and predictable way to ensure contractors complete work to specification. Fixed retainage encourages accountability, reduces the risk of defects and protects owners while giving contractors a clear understanding of what portion of their payment will be held until completion. Variable Construction Retainage Variable construction retainage changes based on project milestones, performance or progress. The withheld amount may increase or decrease depending on completed tasks or the quality of work. This approach provides flexibility to align retainage with specific stages of the project. Variable retainage motivates contractors to meet or exceed requirements at each phase, ensures timely completion and allows owners to adjust financial risk based on project performance and observed progress during construction. Related: Project Milestone Template Cumulative Construction Retainage Cumulative construction retainage involves withholding funds that accumulate over multiple payments rather than being applied individually. Each payment contributes to the total retainage, which is released only when defined milestones or completion are achieved. This method provides an ongoing incentive for contractors to maintain quality and meet deadlines throughout the project. Cumulative retainage protects owners while keeping contractors accountable for consistent performance from the start to the end of construction. Conditional Construction Retainage Conditional construction retainage is released only when specific conditions or contractual requirements are met. These conditions may include passing inspections, completing punch lists or achieving agreed-upon milestones. This type ensures that all obligations are fulfilled before final payment is made. Conditional retainage motivates contractors to address deficiencies promptly, provides assurance to owners that work is complete and reduces disputes by clearly linking payment release to objective project requirements. /wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Construction-budget-template.jpg Get your free Construction Budget Template Use this free Construction Budget Template to manage your projects better. Get the Template How Does Construction Retainage Work? Construction retainage works by withholding a portion of payments until project milestones or completion are achieved. This ensures work is completed to specification and protects owners from defective or incomplete work. Properly managing construction retainage involves clear agreements, applying retainage to payments and tracking obligations across all contracts and subcontracts to maintain accountability and smooth project progress. 1. Define Construction Retainage Terms During Contract Negotiation Defining construction retainage terms during contract negotiation establishes how much will be withheld, the conditions for release and the payment timeline. Clear terms help both owners and contractors understand expectations, reduce disputes and ensure fair handling of withheld funds. Establishing retainage early in the contract allows all parties to plan cash flow effectively, align responsibilities and set measurable milestones that trigger partial or final payment, ensuring accountability and smooth project execution. 2. Apply Construction Retainage to Progress Payments Applying construction retainage to progress payments means withholding a set percentage from each invoice or payment as the project advances. This ensures contractors remain motivated to complete work correctly and address issues promptly. Progress-based retainage also allows owners to monitor ongoing performance, reduce financial risk and maintain leverage throughout the project. By linking retainage to incremental milestones, both parties can manage cash flow effectively while ensuring consistent quality and timely completion. Related: 20 Free Excel Construction Templates 3. Manage Construction Retainage Across Subcontracts Managing construction retainage across subcontracts involves tracking withheld amounts and release conditions for each subcontractor. Owners or general contractors must ensure retainage terms are applied consistently and align with the main contract. Proper management prevents disputes, ensures quality work at every level and maintains accountability throughout the supply chain. By monitoring retainage across subcontracts, project teams can coordinate payments efficiently, reduce risk and guarantee that all parties complete their obligations before final disbursement of funds. 4. Achieve Substantial Completion Substantial completion is the stage where a construction project is sufficiently finished for its intended use, even if minor items are incomplete. Reaching this milestone triggers partial release of construction retainage and allows owners to occupy or use the facility. It motivates contractors to complete major work on schedule and ensures that any remaining issues are minor and manageable. This stage provides a clear benchmark for progress, helping both owners and contractors track performance and plan for final inspections and payments. 5. Verify Work and Approve Final Payment Before releasing the final construction retainage, owners or project managers verify that all work meets contract specifications. This includes inspections, punch list completion and confirming compliance with quality standards. Approval of the final payment ensures contractors are compensated for all completed work while protecting owners from incomplete or defective work. This verification process provides accountability, reduces disputes and confirms that the project has been delivered as agreed, giving both parties confidence in the fairness and accuracy of the retainage system. Related: 5 Best Construction Risk Management Software of 2025 (Free & Paid) 6. Release Construction Retainage Releasing construction retainage occurs after substantial completion and final approval of work. The withheld funds are paid to the contractor once all contractual obligations, inspections and punch list items are satisfied. This step completes the retainage process, rewarding contractors for meeting project standards and timelines while protecting owners from incomplete or substandard work. Properly managing the release ensures transparency, maintains financial accountability and reinforces trust between contractors and owners for future projects. What’s the Difference Between Retainage and Withheld Payment for Defective Work? Retainage and withheld payment for defective work are often confused but serve different purposes. Retainage is a standard portion of payment withheld throughout a project to ensure completion and compliance with contract terms. Withheld payment for defective work occurs only when specific issues or deficiencies are identified that do not meet quality standards. While retainage motivates contractors to finish work correctly and on time, withheld payments address corrections for substandard or incomplete work. Understanding the distinction helps owners manage financial risk and ensures contractors are fairly compensated for properly completed work. Free Related Construction Templates These free construction templates help contractors and owners manage retainage, track payments and maintain accurate financial records. They simplify project oversight, improve accountability and ensure transparency throughout the construction process. Using these templates reduces errors, keeps projects on schedule and provides a clear record of payments and obligations, making retainage management more efficient and reliable. Payment Schedule Template Download this free payment schedule template to outline when and how much will be paid to contractors during a project. It helps manage cash flow, ensures payments align with milestones and tracks retainage amounts. By using this template, owners and contractors can maintain clear expectations, prevent disputes and keep financial management organized throughout the construction process. Schedule of Values Template Use this free schedule of values template to break down the total contract amount into specific line items for work completed. It provides a detailed framework for tracking progress payments, calculating retainage and verifying completed work. This template helps ensure accurate billing, improves transparency and allows project teams to monitor financial performance while maintaining accountability at every stage of construction. Payment Tracker Template This free payment tracker template records all payments made, retainage withheld and pending invoices. It provides an at-a-glance view of financial status for the project, helping prevent missed payments or disputes. By using this template, contractors and owners can monitor cash flow, maintain accurate records and ensure that retainage and progress payments are managed efficiently throughout the construction lifecycle. How to Manage Construction Projects With ProjectManager ProjectManager is a comprehensive platform designed to help construction teams plan, execute and monitor projects from start to finish. It centralizes scheduling, task management and communication in one place, allowing managers to keep track of timelines, budgets and quality standards. By providing real-time visibility and collaboration tools, ProjectManager ensures projects stay on schedule, resources are allocated efficiently and teams can address issues before they become costly problems. Plan and Track Projects With Multiple Views ProjectManager offers multiple project views, including Gantt charts, kanban boards and task lists, giving construction teams the flexibility to visualize work in the way that suits them best. Gantt charts help schedule tasks and track dependencies, kanban boards show workflow status and task lists break down responsibilities for individual team members. These views allow managers to monitor progress, identify bottlenecks, adjust schedules proactively and ensure that all milestones, including retainage-related tasks, are completed on time and to specification. /wp-content/uploads/2022/07/construction-gantt-resources-costs-150.jpg Manage Resources and Monitor Performance Resource management tools like workload charts and the team page help construction managers balance labor and equipment across multiple projects. Workload charts highlight over-allocated or underutilized team members, while the team page provides a daily or weekly overview of progress and priority, allowing tasks to be updated without leaving the page. Combined with real-time dashboards, timesheets and AI-powered reporting, these features allow managers to monitor labor costs, track productivity and ensure resources are used efficiently. Our software makes it easy to keep projects on track, control budgets and maintain quality standards across every stage of construction. /wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Team-Light-2554x1372-1.png Content Related to Construction Retainage Retainage in construction is one part of the larger construction project management process. For readers who want to go further into the subject, follow the links below. They lead to articles on schedule of values, payment schedules and much more. Schedule of Values in Construction (Example & Template Included) How to Make a Contractor Payment Schedule 14 Types of Construction Contracts: Pros, Cons & Best Practices 32 Construction Documents (Templates Included) ProjectManager is online project and portfolio management software that connects teams whether they’re in the office or on the job site. They can share files, comment at the task level and stay updated with email and in-app notifications. Get started with ProjectManager today for free. 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