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How Leaders Can Make AI Work For Every Employee

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By Aytekin Tank

Two tennis players are given the chance to train for a day with a world-class pro. The expert covers service grips, how to judge an opponent’s topspin, and when to stay at the baseline versus serve and volley. It quickly becomes clear there’s a problem. One student is an experienced tournament player. She absorbs the lessons and puts them into practice. The other is a complete novice. She finds the instruction confusing—and it ends up making her already shaky strokes even worse.

The takeaway: the value of performance-enhancing tools depends largely on the experience of the person using them.

Researchers are finding the same pattern when it comes to AI. For entrepreneurs with solid business expertise, AI improves performance. For those with less experience and judgment, it can actually make outcomes worse. At the end of the day, human judgment is still critical.

In today’s increasingly AI-powered business landscape, whether to use the latest tools isn’t really a choice—if you don’t, your competitors will. The real question is how leaders can ensure employees at every level get the most from AI.

Teach How To Use AI Analytically

Researchers looked at how a generative AI assistant helped small business entrepreneurs in Kenya. One of the findings was that for those who were already doing well, the AI tool boosted profits and revenues by 10-15%, according to the study. On the other hand, it lowered results for those on the low-performing side by about 8%.

The researchers noted a difference in the type of advice that users accepted from the generative AI tool. In short, low performers took worse advice—generic recommendations like lowering prices.

The lesson for business leaders is pretty clear: organizations must provide training and instructions on how to work with AI’s output.

For starters, it’s common knowledge that generative AI tools like Gemini and ChatGPT tend to hallucinate—confidently make up answers rather than admit they’re unsure. Beyond clear-cut hallucinations, you can’t always tell the quality of a response. That’s why it’s important to start with a mindset of evaluation, not assumption.

For example, at Jotform, I encourage employees to ask questions before accepting an AI tool’s answer. Questions like: What assumptions are being made? Is any context missing? Is this advice tailored to our specific [business/product/pain point]?

Generative AI can be a powerful brainstorming, writing, and research partner, but never accept an AI result at face value.

Define AI Points In Workflows

The standard leadership advice—provide employees with training—sounds like an obvious way to level the AI playing field. But speaking from experience at my own company, employees already work hard. They’re deeply committed to the mission. They also have rich personal lives, and that’s a good thing. Rolling out training programs that require after-hours learning or cut into personal time can be a tough sell.

One alternative is to integrate AI directly into existing workflows, so employees build proficiency and confidence on the job. But as teams decide where to incorporate AI, leaders must be explicit on how it fits within each workflow—and where human judgment remains essential. This helps establish ground rules for use, like consult AI for first drafts or working analyses, but leave final revisions and sign-offs to people. AI can offer guidance, but employees ultimately own the decisions.

AI can take over the tedious parts of a process, but humans should stay in the loop at the consequential moments. That’s how employees continue to hone their judgment and build business acumen.

Reward Great Ideas, Not Quantitative Output

The buzzword that’s sending chills down the spines of today’s leaders is “workslop.” Harvard Business Review defines it as “AI-generated work content that masquerades as good work, but lacks the substance to meaningfully advance a given task.” It’s the rapid fire list of ideas that ignores key considerations. It’s the first draft that falls completely flat, requiring a return to the drawing board.

Research confirms the cost of workslop: it can add nearly two hours of extra work and hurt productivity, collaboration, and trust. The onus is on leaders to set clear expectations for effective AI use—and to proactively discourage low-quality output.

Here’s the refrain I repeat often at my company: quantity matters little. Substantive quality is everything.

The sheer number of ideas generated or tasks completed is not a measure of success. What matters is output that moves the needle, such as proposing workable solutions. Even when an idea doesn’t ultimately fly, it still has value if it shows real ingenuity and clear thinking.

Leaders can reinforce this by rewarding great ideas and encouraging transparency around AI use. For example, even if an employee starts with an AI-generated suggestion, I want to understand the original idea, how they evaluated it, and how they revised it.

This causes an important shift, away from rewarding those who use AI the fastest and toward those who use it most thoughtfully. As employees build better judgment about when and how to rely on AI, organizations can cut back on workslop and fully harness the technology’s potential. Hopefully, they can level the impact of generative AI on performance, so that all can get the most from it.

Feature image credit: Annie Spratt on Unsplash

By Aytekin Tank

Find Aytekin Tank on LinkedIn and X. Visit Aytekin’s website.

Sourced from Forbes

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Enhancing customer satisfaction through personal profiles of social media customer service agents

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By Isabel Hicks, edited by Gaby Clark, reviewed by Andrew Zinin

A professor in Montana State University’s Jake Jabs College of Business and Entrepreneurship recently published a paper in a highly regarded academic journal, Production and Operations Management, that explores the influence of social media on customer service.

Huai-Tzu Cheng, a business management professor, was the lead author on the paper, titled “Unveiling the Human Touch: Enhancing Customer Satisfaction Through Personal Profiles of Social Media Customer Service Agents.” It was published online in December 2025 in collaboration with Yang Pan at Tulane University and Rudy Hirschheim at Louisiana State University. The research is published in the journal Production and Operations Management.

The research explores the question of how personalized customer service profiles influence customer behaviour compared to standardized profiles. The team ultimately found that personalized profiles can positively influence customer interaction.

To study this, the research team focused on user interactions with profiles of U.S. telecom giant T-Mobile on the social platform X, formerly Twitter. In February 2017, Twitter introduced a new feature allowing companies to create personal profiles for customer service agents that included profile photos, names, personal interests and biographies—leading to a more “human touch” that inspired the paper’s title. Before this new feature, customers interacting with T-Mobile Help accounts on Twitter could only see the company logo and the initials or name of the customer service agent.

Cheng analysed how customers interacted with T-Mobile Help’s profiles three months before and three months after the shift and then compared those interactions with those of other telecom company help profiles—AT&T Cares, Verizon Support and Spring Care—who had not yet implemented personalized changes in that time frame.

Overall, the analysis found that personalized customer service profiles increased positive sentiment in customer posts on X, reduced the likelihood of complaints and improved customer satisfaction. However, researchers noted the personalized profiles created heightened expectations for timely responses, meaning that delays in response time were more detrimental than with standardized profiles. This finding was a “surprising and critical nuance,” Cheng said.

Another notable finding, Cheng said, is that while “humanization” drives customers to express gratitude, it does not directly drive satisfaction, which is instead driven by “perceived warmth” and “perceived competence.”

“This suggests that simply seeming human isn’t enough for satisfaction,” Cheng said. “The agent must also seem warm and capable.”

These findings will be most useful to businesspeople managing customer service operations on social media or digital platforms, and also to e-service platforms such as X that can gain value by strengthening their features for agent personalization, Cheng said.

People can draw important insights from the research, she added. For one, personalization is a cost-effective strategy for companies to improve profile metrics and customer satisfaction. She identified the shift as “cost-neutral,” meaning that it can use existing customer service staff and requires no specialized training. Additionally, the findings have applicability to artificial intelligence chatbots, indicating that adding humanizing elements to such bots can bolster user connection and trust.

Cheng also identified pathways for future research, which had a narrow scope confined to X and telecom companies. Future research could ask whether these findings hold true on other platforms with different user cultures and interfaces, such as Facebook, Instagram or TikTok, and if they hold true in other industries such as banking, health care or retail.

Finally, researchers could ask if a “virtual agent” or avatar can achieve the same positive personalization results as a real photo, identifying if the benefits of social presence can be simulated artificially, Cheng suggested.

“This work is exactly the kind of expert analysis that generates findings useful for our industry partners,” said Brian Gillespie, dean of the business college. “The publication shows our students the high calibre of research at MSU and the diversity of interests of our faculty. Congratulations to Huai on this significant achievement in her career.”

Feature image credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain

By Isabel Hicks,

Edited by Gaby Clark, reviewed by Andrew Zinin

Sourced from PHYS.ORG

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The 1 Question I Ask Every Successful Person I Meet — and How It’s Changed My Life

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By Chris Sorensen Edited by Chelsea Brown 

I ask every successful person I meet one particular question. Here’s what it is, and how the answers inspired me to chart my own path.

Key Takeaways

  • When I was a young entrepreneur, I set out on a mission to meet successful people and ask them one question: “What is the best advice you ever received in your life?”
  • The answers I received have not only moved my career forward, but they’ve also given me invaluable lessons about how to live a meaningful life.

I’ve always been inspired by the success of others. But I’ve also been curious about where that success comes from. What sets a person on the pathway to becoming a visionary? What sparks their belief that they can go out and change the world?

Today, I run one of the world’s most successful dialling software companies. But many years ago, I was a young entrepreneur who needed some direction. So I turned my curiosity into a sort of mission to meet successful people and ask them one simple question:

“What is the best advice you ever received in your life?”

Here are two of the most memorable answers I’ve ever received. I hope they inspire you the way they continue to inspire me.

Steve Forbes on seizing opportunities

In my early 20s, one of the people I admired most in life was Steve Forbes. He had launched countless successful publications and business ventures. I figured that whatever advice had set him on that path would also hold real value for my life. So I committed myself to finding an opportunity to meet him.

This was back in the early 2000s, and Google search was not yet sophisticated enough to help me figure out how to connect with such a prominent individual. But I eventually came across a small event in Santa Monica where Forbes was scheduled to speak.

I lived in Seattle at the time. It took every spare dollar I had in the bank to buy a plane ticket down there. But that’s what I did.

When I arrived, the room had about 100 people in it. Forbes began by speaking to the group about a book he had recently written called How Capitalism Will Save Us. I spent the next few hours listening to his advice and hearing him answer questions from the audience, wondering when, or if, my moment would arrive.

Towards the end of the night, a line formed so people could get him to sign their books. I cued up with my copy and waited my turn. When I finally made it to the signing table, I looked him in the eye and said:

“Mr. Forbes, I flew all the way from Seattle today just to ask you this question.”

Forbes glanced up. “That’s a lot of effort,” he replied.

“Well,” I said with a smile, “I’m expecting a good answer. Can you tell me the best advice you ever got in life?”

He paused for a moment.

“No one’s ever asked me that before.”

I remember thinking he must have been joking. Surely I couldn’t be the first person to ask Steve Forbes about the advice that helped him become one of the most successful people on the planet.

He folded his arms. Then slowly, he said:

“It’s gotta be what my dad told me when I was young: This isn’t a dress rehearsal.”

What he meant, he explained, was that we get one shot in life. You need to put every ounce of your effort into making sure you’re seizing the opportunities that are in front of you now, because you don’t get a second take.

Ironically, I was already following Forbes’s advice when I bought that plane ticket. If I had let the opportunity pass me by, our paths might never have crossed, and he never would have reinforced my belief in the value of taking risks to achieve your goals.

As you can imagine, this belief has served me well throughout my life and career, especially as a CEO, where success demands action and comes down to inspiring others to take their own shot. But the best leaders don’t push people to act; they help them bring their best selves forward. I saw that lesson come to life years later, in a conversation with NFL coach Pete Carroll.

Pete Carroll on staying true to yourself

Pete Carroll is a coach, most recently for the Las Vegas Raiders, my all-time favourite football team. Years ago, I decided to sign up for a coaching clinic he was running, despite the fact that I am neither a football player nor a coach. Even at 6’4″ and 220 lbs, I was one of the smallest guys there. Not that it mattered; I wasn’t really there to learn football. I was there for the Q&A.

As soon as the questions started, my arm was up in the air. Everyone around me was asking questions about plays, formations and strategy. But when it was my turn, I asked Carroll the same question I had asked Forbes at his book signing.

This time, I got an answer immediately. Without skipping a beat, Carroll said to me:

“The best advice I ever got in my life was to be myself.”

He continued. “When I try to be someone I’m not, things don’t end up working well for me. You need to know who you are. Obviously, we all want to improve, but you shouldn’t try to be someone else. Try to be the best version of yourself.”

Carroll’s advice stuck with me because it was simple but deeply human: You can’t lead or live effectively if you’re pretending to be something you’re not.

That perspective has shaped how I try to show up as a CEO. The best results come from helping people lean into what makes them great. When people feel free to be themselves, they show up with passion and do their best work. It’s a lesson I still carry with me today.

How asking for advice has changed me

The advice I got from Forbes, Carroll and others has done more than move my career forward. It’s given me invaluable lessons about how to live a meaningful life.

Forbes’s answer taught me to seize opportunities, even when the path wasn’t certain. Carroll’s answer taught me to stay grounded in who I am while doing it — a mindset that’s shaped everything from PhoneBurner’s Responsible Communications™ initiative to how I approach fatherhood and family.

Those lessons have a way of resurfacing, often at moments that remind you what really matters.

A few months ago, I found myself writing my mother’s obituary. As I reflected on her life, I realized that a eulogy is not a LinkedIn profile. It’s not a summary of titles, milestones and accomplishments. It’s a story about the things you love most and the risks you’re willing to take for them.

In other words, life isn’t a dress rehearsal. You only get to do it once, so you’d better do it in a way that honours your passion and your unique gifts. One simple question gave me that perspective — so you’d better believe I’ll keep asking it.

By Chris Sorensen 

Chris Sorensen, CEO of PhoneBurner and founder of ARMOR®, has built his career at the intersection of technology, revenue, and compliance. He’s a leading voice for responsible outreach, driving industry standards that protect brands and maximize connection rates.

Edited by Chelsea Brown 

Sourced from Entrepreneur

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How to actually find your personal style

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By Rachel Tashjian, CNN

TikTok influencers no longer have us blindly following a dizzying slate of microtrends – cottagecore one week, dark academia the next, the mob wife aesthetic days later. In place of the churn of trends and overconsumption, a new mindset is emerging: the search for personal style. Finding your personal style, the thinking goes, allows you to shop more confidently and less frequently. By looking more sceptically at fast fashion and fancy labels, you can rise above the whims of brand marketing – and find contentment with pieces that speak, uniquely, to you.

But the search for personal style has become a complicated affair. Methods include distilling your entire being into three words, holding various colours up to your face and declaring yourself a “cool autumn,” or even quitting shopping for a year – should it all be so difficult?

Of course not! We asked stylish figures from in and out of the fashion world for the practices that have helped them figure out what to wear. Some of these people are maximalists, some committed minimalists, others wear nearly the same thing every day. But all have one thing in common: they always feel great in their clothes. Here’s 10 ways you can, too.

1. Go through every single thing hanging in your wardrobe and wear it

If you’re guilty of the classic “closet full of clothes and nothing to wear” feeling, start from the left side of your wardrobe and commit to wearing each item every day. Note how you feel in it: is it uncomfortable? Too stiff? Maybe you should save it for evening wear or chuck it altogether. Did you receive compliments you didn’t expect?

You’ll get a clearer view of what does and doesn’t work, as well as what you’re missing – maybe you’ll see you have zero white collared shirts that would make your sweaters look spiffier, or you simply don’t have enough colour and need a few punchy pairs of socks.

2. Let your passions direct you

“Good personal style requires some expertise,” said Noah Johnson, editor-in-chief of streetwear publication, Highsnobiety. “Skating made me an expert on certain things: sneaker design, how pants fit, being outside in the city for entire days with nothing to do but skate. Everyone has some form of expertise. Those are the things that inform a personal style.”

3. Look more than you buy

Go into stores (or scroll through them) not only when you need a new dress for a wedding or a tie for an interview. Embrace the pleasures of browsing, and even try things on, with the goal of learning what you like instead of acquiring more things. (Importantly, don’t let this tip into doomscrolling. Research is good – mindlessly thumbing through every arrival on a resale site, less so.)

4. Let your life and aspirations inform your style

“Personal style isn’t something you find overnight. It’s something you arrive at,” said Amanda Murray, a New York-based creative consultant and extravagantly well-dressed person. “Over time, through living, failing, heartbreak, love, wanting, shedding, you begin to understand what feels true on your body and what doesn’t.”

Jalil Johnson, writer of the fashion Substack “Consider Yourself Cultured,” took the idea a step further, saying that personal style wasn’t just a reflection of your life up to this point, but “the life you’re aspiring to or think you deserve.” Johnson added that “much like our ever-evolving and changing lives, our style evolves too, and that evolution is not only natural, but necessary.”

In short, let the changes in your life influence your clothes – the trouser cut that feels right for now may feel less comfortable or sharp in a few years, when you have a new job or move to a new town.

5. Don’t pay too much attention to celebrities and influencers

“I think the reason style feels confusing for so many people is because we’re taught to look outside of ourselves first,” said Murray. “Celebrities, what’s in, what’s out, and now the behemoth of social media and algorithms telling us who to be. But the most compelling style is deeply resolved. It reflects a sense of real self-trust.”

6. Listening to yourself, and what pleases you, is much more important than emulating others

“You might be able to put together a nice outfit by copying someone else,” said Noah Johnson. “But you won’t get any closer to real style.” Similarly, fashion writer Leandra Medine said that the answer to feeling good about your clothes wasn’t in finding the right stuff – but learning to trust your gut. “I find that the older I get, the sharper my sense of personal style becomes because I am more comfortable in my skin and therefore more willing to accept its limitations (e.g. what kind of dressing concepts I might love theoretically but not in practice on my body), and also to object to features of popular style culture that don’t align with my taste.”

7. Develop a uniform

“Since I am always working, my base has to be comfortable. I kind of have a work uniform,” said Hillary Taymour, the designer of New York-based brand Collina Strada, who wears her own clothes almost exclusively, with vintage peppered in. “When I’m getting dressed I look at my calendar: am I going to an event after work, will I be working on the floor that day, am I going to be painting clothes. The calendar always dictates the look,” she added. This usually means starting with “a slouchy pant,” Taymour said, noting that she loves to “layer shirts, add some colour with a sweater and always have an over-the-top jacket.” Or alternatively, “a skinnier pant with a dress or skirt layered and a fitted top.”

Uniforms mean you do all the thinking upfront, and can assemble outfits more effortlessly day-to-day.

8. Pay attention to what makes you feel good

For Taymour, it’s a uniform that can dictate her entire mood: “To this day, if I don’t feel comfortable or like my outfit I will in fact have a horrible day,” she said. Finding a footing in your personal style is all about paying attention to what makes you feel good. If something doesn’t feel right, no matter what anyone says, don’t wear it!

9. Play dress up

“Don’t get so stuck trying to define your personal style that you stop playing with clothes!!!” wrote Willa Bennett, the editor of Cosmopolitan and Seventeen magazines, who dresses in a uniform of suits and ties. “Style is supposed to feel like dress-up, fun, and experimental, not like a personality test or a definitive statement you have to defend.” Bennett advised people to be a little more fearless with their wardrobes. “Try the thing you are probably going to return, the emerging designer no one knows about yet, the vintage Depop purchase that your little sister makes fun of you for.”

It’s an approach that works for Taymour, too. “The more you have fun and take risks, the more your style will start to appear,” she said. “So go to your dress up closet and start thinking differently.”

10. Figure out what looks good on your body

“My biggest advice to anyone is to always dress for your body type,” said Taymour. “Once you know what works on your body you can start buying into silhouettes not trends. This is how you build a wardrobe that you feel comfortable in because you always look good.”

It’s time-tested advice, but it doesn’t have to be conservative. Try on lots of things, take pictures, and look back after a few days spent thinking about something else entirely.

11. Don’t be so hard on yourself!

“When did my ‘lucky’ Dries tie deliver a good day? When did my Supreme sweatshirt let me down? The goal is not to judge yourself,” said Bennett. “It is to notice your feelings. That is where real personal style comes from – not from rules, but from learning your own emotional logic and trusting your sense of self.”

Remember: if you wear a bad outfit, it’s not the end of the world. You can always wear a better one tomorrow.

Feature image credit: Touchstone/Kobal/Shutterstock

By Rachel Tashjian, CNN

Sourced from AOL

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The 5-Second Rule: A Simple Trick to Beat Procrastination

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By Adam England

Keep on task by using this quick and simple method

Have you been putting off a big work project? Keep neglecting to fold that big pile of laundry? Constantly telling yourself you’ll pay that bill tomorrow? Pretty much everybody procrastinates at some point or another, and there’s no shame in that. But what if there was something that could stop us from procrastinating and give us the impetus to get things done?

That’s where the 5-second rule comes in.

What Is the 5-Second Rule?

The 5-second rule has become pretty popular on platforms like TikTok as a potential quick-fix for procrastination.

Author and podcast host Mel Robbins came up with the rule, popularizing it in her book “The 5 Second Rule”. The idea is that when we want or need to get something done, we count down from five to one—then do it.1

Counting down engages the prefrontal cortex, which is the area of the brain that assists with decision-making.

— Kevin Connor, founder and CEO of Modern SBC

If you’re enjoying a bit of TikTok brainrot time in bed in the morning and a thought crosses your mind that you should probably brush your teeth or grab some breakfast, the 5-second rule encourages you to do so almost instantly, without even really thinking about it. It engages the part of the brain we use in decision-making, allowing us to begin a task without overthinking.

How Does It Work?

It’s easy to overthink things or tell ourselves we can put things off for 5 minutes, 10 minutes, an hour, a day. The 5-second rule helps us focus on the present and stop procrastinating by encouraging us to get tasks out of the way as soon as possible.

“The rule can help you be more productive because it creates a sense of urgency and importance around you completing a particular task or series of tasks,” says Rashelle Isip, productivity coach at The Order Expert®.

“Our brains are designed to protect us from discomfort, which often leads us to avoid doing things that we find challenging, daunting, or that feel like too much to tackle,” adds Kevin Connor, founder and CEO of Modern SBC. “Counting down engages the prefrontal cortex, which is the area of the brain that assists with decision making.2 That small mental shift is all it takes to bypass doubt and start moving before the brain slams on the brakes.”

What Are the Benefits of the Rule?

“The 5-second rule can be a great tool for breaking the cycle of overthinking and procrastination, giving people a simple way to push past hesitation and take action,” explains Elena Touroni, PhD, a consultant psychologist and co-founder of The Chelsea Psychology Clinic. “By creating momentum, it can help build confidence, reduce self-doubt, and even improve motivation over time.”

In Connor’s view, the rule offers plenty of mental health benefits beyond productivity. When we procrastinate and overthink things, we can develop self-doubt, stress, and guilt.

“Fighting that cycle—by making even the tiniest of moves forward—builds confidence, alleviates anxiety, and provides a sense of purpose,” Connor says. “It’s not simply about doing more; it’s about feeling more in control of your day.”

Ways to Use It in Your Daily Life

You can use the rule throughout the day, whether it’s for work, running errands, or simply making a phone call you’re putting off. Perhaps you’d planned to head to the gym or go for a run after work, but when the evening comes around, you’d rather watch some TV. Using the 5-second rule could encourage you to stick to the original plan.

“You can also use the rule to help motivate yourself and focus your attention throughout your routine, such as getting up in the morning or starting work for the day,” says Isip. So, why not give it a try when you wake up?

Adapting the rule to your own tendencies can help you find a system that works for you. For example. Isip suggests tracking the tasks you’ve accomplished using the rule by recording them in a notepad to help you stay motivated.

“Keep a brief running list of tasks that can be completed in five minutes or less. You can use the 5-second rule to tackle each of these tasks one after another as you see fit,” she adds.

Challenges and Considerations

You might resist the 5-second rule at first. Sure, you’ve counted down from five to one, but there’s nothing actually making you start the task at that point. The rule only has as much meaning as we apply to it.

“Try pairing the rule with an existing task where there’s little to no resistance,” suggests Isip. “This might be something like brushing your teeth or putting on your shoes. This allows you to see the rule being applied with immediate results. You may be motivated to try the rule if you’ve been procrastinating on a particular task.”

Try something small, like a work task that you can complete in a few minutes. Reschedule a meeting, make a phone call, or reply to an email. “Once you realize the rule can help you complete small tasks, you can slowly begin to use the rule in larger or more complex tasks throughout your day,” Isip says.

It’s important to understand that the point of the 5-second rule is to start doing a task we’ve been putting off; it’s not the same as doing any task impulsively or without thinking. For example, if you suddenly decided you felt like eating some chocolate, using the 5-second rule before going to get some wouldn’t be quite the same as using it to sort your laundry.

“Relying on it too much could lead to impulsive choices or mental fatigue, as constantly forcing action without considering long-term consequences can be draining,” says Dr. Touroni. “Like any strategy, it works best when used in balance with thoughtful decision-making and rest.”

Alternatives You Can Try

The 5-second rule might work better for some people than others. If you’ve persevered with it and found that it’s not a good fit, there are alternatives to consider.

Isip explains that she uses similar processes herself. “For instance, if there’s some paperwork I don’t wish to do, I may say something like, “I’m just going to do this paperwork for 30 minutes. That’s easy, I can handle that. And when I’m finished, I’ll feel better because my paperwork will be in order.”

Another thing Isip tries is to take one small step related to her work, like creating a folder on her computer or opening a notebook. “Taking a simple step forward helps reduce my resistance toward starting and continuing with the work,” she explains.

Personally, I find that the Pomodoro Technique is useful. If I’m not feeling motivated to write, I will set a timer for 25 minutes, work on the task, then take a 5-minute break before repeating the process. It works for other things, too—if I want to tidy my apartment, I’ll often do so using this method.3

You might find David Allen’s Getting Things Done system useful for procrastination, too, as well as Brian Tracy’s ‘Eat That Frog’ approach.

Feature image credit: psisa / Getty Images

By Adam England

Sourced from verywellmind

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Hidden AirPods features — 5 things you didn’t know your Apple earbuds could do

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Answer the phone with a nod, and more

Apple’s AirPods are some of the most popular earbuds and headphones that you can buy today. It’s no great surprise why, considering how well they work with iPhone devices and the sheer number of features available out of the box. But; did you know that there’s loads about your AirPods that you might not know about?

There are loads of different hidden features built into the AirPods line, from funky extras that let you take photos with your earbuds to head gestures that can answer and reject calls. Whether you own a pair of AirPods 4, AirPods Pro 3 or AirPods Max, here are the hidden features you didn’t know were in your AirPods.

1. Take a picture

AirPods Pro 3

(Image credit: Future)

I’ll bet you didn’t know you could use your AirPods as a remote control for the camera on your iPhone! It’s super easy as well — you just need to activate it in the settings menu.

Head to the settings menu, and find your AirPods. Scroll down to the camera control section, and choose the option that suits you. You can choose a single or long tap to activate the shutter in the camera app.

From there, open the camera app, and try your new shortcut. You’ll get a countdown on screen, and then your phone takes a picture. Perfect for group photos!

Airpods this works with:

  • AirPods Pro 3
  • AirPods Pro 2
  • AirPods 4

2. Nod to accept a call

AirPods 4

(Image credit: Future/ Alex Bracetti)

Ever found your hands full, only to need to answer a call on your earpuds? Don’t worry, Apple thought of a solution. There’s a setting that lets you nod your head to accept a call and shake your head to decline it. It’s found hidden away in the settings menu.

Open the menu, and find your AirPods settings. Scroll down until you find head gestures, and toggle the option on. Now, you can accept and decline calls with a nod or a shake of your head.

AirPods this works with:

  • AirPods Pro 3
  • AirPods Pro 2
  • AirPods 4
  • AirPods 3

3. Make sure your AirPods fit correctly

AirPods Pro 3

(Image credit: Tom’s Guide)

Finding the right fit with any pair of earbuds can be tricky. Which ear tips should you use? How do they slip in properly? Apple has made it easier to make sure that your earbuds are fitting properly with fit test.

Head to the settings menu, and select your AirPods. Navigate to Ear Tip Fit Test, and then run the test. Adjust their fit as needed with a new set of tips — remember, you might need one side to be bigger than the other.

Once it’s all done, your AirPods will fit better, they’ll even likely sound slightly better. and, as an added bonus, the ANC will block more noise. Make sure you run this test!

AirPods this works with:

  • AirPods Pro 3 (it’s called “Acoustic Seal Test”)
  • AirPods Pro 2

4. Chill out with relaxing sounds

A pair of Apple AirPods Pro 3

(Image credit: Tom’s Guide)

Did you know that your AirPods can help you relax? There are built in sounds that can calm you down. They’re called “Background Sounds,” and there’s a series of different options to choose from. Six, in fact.

Head to the settings menu, and go to the accessibility section. Then you’ll choose the Audio/Visual menu, and navigate to the Background Sounds option. From there, choose your sound. Now you can sleep peacefully without being woken up by your snoring partner. Or the hamster wheel. Or, well, whatever it is that keeps you up.

AirPods this works with:

  • AirPods Pro 3
  • Airpods Pro 2
  • AirPods Pro
  • AirPods 4
  • AirPods 3
  • AirPods 2
  • AirPods Max

5. Watch your movies without disturbing your family

A pair of Apple AirPods Pro 3

(Image credit: Tom’s Guide)

If you’ve got an Apple TV, you can connect your Airpods and listen to the audio without waking anyone else up at more… interesting hours. It’s super easy, and if your AirPods support Spatial Audio, then you’ll get surround with some of your content as well.

To see if your AirPods are connected to your Apple TV, press the power button to bring up control center. Check the audio menu here and find your AirPods. Now you can watch all your movies and TV with your AirPods! Simple, and very useful.

AirPods this works with:

  • AirPods Pro 3
  • AirPods Pro 2
  • AirPods Pro
  • AirPods 4
  • AirPods 3
  • AirPods 2
  • AirPods
  • AirPods Max

Feature image credit: Tom’s Guide

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Google Adds AI-Powered Comparisons To Trends

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Google has announced an update to Google Trends, its comparative search volume tool, which will now include AI suggestions to help contextualize searches, and give you more insight into relative Search interest and engagement.

The big functional change is that Google’s added a suggested terms for comparison option in the right-hand side bar within Trends. These suggestions are powered by Gemini, and will give you more options for your comparative analysis.

As per Google:

“For example, if you’re researching trending dog breeds, up to eight search terms like ‘golden retriever’ or ‘beagle,’ will automatically populate the graph so you can easily compare them. The side panel will also show related ideas like ‘hypoallergenic dog breeds’ or ‘large dog breeds’ to help you dive deeper. Hover over a search term to edit it, or use the country, time and property filters to adjust the Trends timeline.”

Google Trends

So now, rather than having to come up with the right comparisons on your own, you can prompt Gemini for inspiration, which could give you more relevant context for your Trends reports.

Click HERE to read the remainder of the article

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Is It Time to Kill All the Mascots?

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By Paul Blackburn

Cuddly octopi. Nodding dogs. Overly energetic bunnies. Brand mascots are everywhere, and they have been for as long as products and services have been advertised. Done well, they provide connection—a memorable and relatable human face, an endearing animal, or an amusing animation—for an otherwise faceless brand.

Yet too often, mascots are used without thinking. They’re seen as a shortcut for linking with an audience. At best this is a short-term investment; at worst it’s harmful to the brand. As 2026 starts, the creative industry should resolve to stop defaulting to mascots.

Maybe it’s time to kill them.

Mascot winners and losers

They’re not new. Initially used on packaging, they moved onto ads, and now they’re ever-present in social feeds. Tony the Tiger, the Michelin Man, Pilsbury’s Doughboy—mascots have been the foundation of the success of those brands, and of many more.

They do well in sports, often serving to attract children to teams and events. One of the most famous was Waldi, the Otl Aicher-designed dachshund that symbolized the 1972 Olympic Games. Every Games since has rolled out a new mascot character.

Yet, they’re not always successful, as anyone who remembers Microsoft’s ill-fated attempts to bring chirpy personality to its software with Clippy will attest. The animated paperclip from the ‘90s popped up at moments of maximum frustration, cheerily promising to “help.” It quickly became synonymous with problems that plagued the product.

Missed opportunities

However, this is an extreme example of a mascot causing damage to a brand. More often companies introduce mascots copying a market leader that has enjoyed success. This imitative approach to branding rarely succeeds.

Look at the U.K. energy market. In 2019, Octopus Energy introduced Constantine, a cuddly pink octopus. By 2025 it had become the largest energy supplier in the U.K. and was growing into Europe and Asia. The result? Almost every other British energy company has now introduced a mascot. The sector has become a crowded jumble of over-excited, colourful characters competing for attention. Many companies have spent significant sums on their mascots with questionable effect.

When rising firm So Energy asked us to update its identity, we avoided the mascot route. Instead, we developed a strategy, identity and communications that speak in a striking way to the issues facing energy buyers today. It reframes energy as bringing everyday joy, as opposed to a necessary chore. We used with a distinctive “Electric Yellow” palette, geometric iconography and a playful, straight-talking tone that stands out in the sector.

A New Year’s resolution

Energy is not the only industry where this is happening. Too often, the success one company has had with a mascot is slavishly followed by its competitors. Resources are wasted. Opportunities to build brands for the long-term are missed.

It’s up to us in the creative sector to lead our clients away from this. We know there are myriad other, often more powerful, tools at our disposal to achieve the connection and memorability our clients want when they come to us asking for a mascot.

We may not really want to kill the mascots. Indeed, some of them are undeniably successful and many are also quite cute. But let’s make 2026 the year we stop unthinkingly making them. Rather, let’s start giving our clients the creative solutions they deserve.

By Paul Blackburn

Paul Blackburn is the founder of Studio Blackburn. Read more…

Sourced from MUSE by CLIOS

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Is design becoming too safe?

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Nostalgia is replacing reinvention.

In the past year you will have seen many a big brand lean on nostalgia and heritage rather than radical reinvention. It feels like a retreat from bold and daring reinvention, as we snuggle up to nostalgia like a security blanket

Take the case of the poster child of this new-age caution in Cracker Barrel Old Country Store. In August 2025 the chain attempted to modernise a brand rooted in roadside American. Immediately it saw a tsunami of political and social-media uproar. Soulless … bland … lacking resonance. Not long later, the company quietly dumped the redesign and reinstated its classic 70s-era emblem featuring “Uncle Herschel” beside a barrel. Cracker Barrel serves as a costly lesson in caution, with Cracker Barrel’s market value briefly falling by about $100 million before rebounding when the old design returned.

The old Cracker Barrel logo with a barrel and old man and the more minimalist new Cracker Barrel logo side by side

(Image credit: Cracker Barrel)

A similar story has been unfolding at midmarket fashion label Vera Bradley. Long known for its quilted bags in florals and paisley, Vera Bradley launched a brand “refresh” in 2024 aimed at attracting younger buyers. This makeover downplayed the company’s signature prints in favour of solid colours and sleeker lines. But many loyal customers rebelled. By early 2026 the company announced a course correction and its new “Project Sunshine” pivot doubled down on the vintage florals that made the brand famous. The Wall Street Journal reported that Vera Bradley’s executives admitted they had “lost track of what made Vera Bradley special”. The brand reversed its own makeover and leaned into nostalgia, acknowledging that its heritage patterns were, perhaps, core to customer appeal.

Vera Bradley

(Image credit: Vera Bradley)

These high-profile U-turns indicate a broader motive. We exist in an age of political upheaval and economic uncertainty, and many companies seem to be betting on familiarity. Designers and marketers note that nostalgia isn’t just sentimentality – it’s a strategic comfort zone.

Brand Genetics, a human centred insight and innovation consultancy, argues that research shows that nostalgic branding provides comfort during uncertain times and this helps consumers feel familiar and trustworthy with a brand. Nostalgia creates continuity between past and present, acting as a psychological anchor for weary customers. Familiar cues, such as old logos, classic patterns act as anchors.

When the world feels unpredictable, a gool old logo and pattern on your breakfast cereal might, on some level, make you feel a little bit safer.

Brands also face a much-more immediate cautionary environment. Social media and 24/7 news cycles mean that even small design changes can spark big reactions, when the name of the game is click bait. A new logo can be framed as a woke political statement, and any misstep is magnified online. In Cracker Barrel’s case, just removing an old cartoon figure became ammunition for a culture war. That kind of instant, vocal feedback encourages companies to play it safe.

Logo for Jaguar

(Image credit: Jaguar)

Think of one of the most radical examples of not playing it safe, Jaguar’s EV pink explosion. Last month The Telegraph reported: “The designer behind Jaguar’s controversial “woke” rebrand has reportedly been dismissed from the carmaker just days after a new chief executive took over…”

Where does all this leave designers? Innovation still matters, but maybe it should be cautioned with authenticity. Be sure change is kept close to the client’s DNA. Strip away at your risk, be mindful around signature elements that customers love – the very things that can alienate the audience a rebrand seeks to excite. Think colours, patterns, characters or typography as an echo to remind people what they already loved.

For many brands, nostalgia has become a safe space to hide from the judgement of a volatile world. For designers, maybe it’s a reminder that rupture without purpose can be a big bang of hot air. So tread carefully, there are landmines in the market.

Feature image credit: Burger King/Pepsi

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Simon is a writer specialising in sustainability, design, and technology. Passionate about the interplay of innovation and human development, he explores how cutting-edge solutions can drive positive change and better lives.

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