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24 nifty tips to make 2024 even brighter

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24 nifty tips to make 2024 even brighter
A collage of photos showing tips that can improve your life, including, a crumpled up to-do list, a stack of opened books, money folded into a heart, a cup of coffee on a windowsill at sunrise and a close-up of toothbrushes.

At Life Kit, our job is to get great advice from health, lifestyle, finance and relationship experts and share them with our audience. Naturally, your producers and editors are going to have some favorite pearls of wisdom.

Here are 24 helpful tips from our episodes that we loved and really stuck with us this past year. They include practical guidance (like wear sunscreen and eat more fiber!) and a few surprising ones too (treat bread like dessert and use your washing machine’s express cycle!). We hope they’ll help you save money and time and boost your health and happiness this year.

For more fresh ideas on how to improve your life in 2024, check out our New Year’s Resolution Planner.

1. If a task takes less than two minutes, just do it right then and there. It’s not worth the effort to write it down, remember it and do it.

2. Expose yourself to sunlight first thing in the morning to trick your body into feeling more alert. Sunlight helps regulate your internal clock by curbing a sleep-regulating hormone called melatonin. If you live somewhere where it’s dark in the mornings, use a broad-spectrum light box to simulate sunlight.

3. Brush your teeth before you eat breakfast. The acid from food softens the enamel, so brushing too soon after eating could damage that typically hard, shiny protective layer in its weakened state. If you do happen to eat first, wait at least 30 minutes before brushing.

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4. Don’t waste time on a bad book. If you’re falling asleep, checking your phone or rolling your eyes as you read, that might be a sign you aren’t a fan. So put the book down and find something new to read.

5. Spend at least 20 minutes eating your meal. That’s about how long it takes for your body to get the signal to your brain that you are full.

6. The next time someone asks you to do something, pause before you jump to say “yes.” It will give you a moment to assess your time and energy before taking on new responsibilities.

7. Use your washing machine’s express cycle. This option offers a shorter wash cycle and a high-speed spin cycle, which helps quicken drying time. It can also help protect your clothes from abrasion by reducing the amount of time the fabric is rubbing against other fabric in the washer.

8. Before buying something, ask yourself whether you “need it, love it, like it or want it.” Purchase what you need and love, forgo the things you only like or want. It’s likely you’re only buying those items for instant gratification.

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9. To avoid being late, remember that departure time does not equal arrival time. Work backward from when you need to be somewhere to give yourself time for the transition. So if you need to fight traffic or buy a metro card, or pick up flowers or print something, leave time for those errands.

10. To protect your ears, keep your phone volume at 60% or less.

11. When giving advice to someone, you don’t have to fix the problem. Just give your loved one space to express themselves.

12. Use the Ivy Lee method to create your to-do list. At the end of each workday, make a list of six things to work on the following day. List them out in order of true importance. Tackle those things and only those things the next day.

13. Wear sunscreen. Every skin specialist who Life Kit spoke to for our episode on skin care emphasized sun protection as the most important consideration for healthy skin.

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14. Seal your doors and windows. Weather-stripping your doors and windows can keep warm air from escaping your home in winter and cool air from slipping out the door in summer, ultimately saving you money.

15. Start a gratitude journal. Every day, write down three things you’re grateful for. Studies have shown that giving thanks can have positive effects on our mental and physical health. It can help people sleep better, lower stress and improve interpersonal relationships.

16. Cut down how much trash you produce outside the home. Opt for a digital receipt instead of a paper one. Bring your own reusable fork to a restaurant that uses single-use plastic utensils. Or ask your local barista to fill up your coffee mug instead of a paper cup.

17. Set up your phone to decline calls from people you don’t know. To reduce your chances of answering phone calls from scammers, go into your phone settings and select the option to send unknown callers to voicemail.

18. Before you buy something, see if you can borrow it from your local library. In some locations, you can borrow tools, video games, board games, toys and bakeware — saving you money.

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19. Get fiber from a variety of plant-based foods. That means eating different kinds of fruits and vegetables, whole grains, beans, seeds and nuts. Think sweet potatoes, avocados, pears, asparagus, barley, oats, lentils and pumpkin seeds. Not only are these foods a good source of fiber, but they also contain other vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients that promote good health.

20. Before you take a photo, ask yourself: What are you trying to document? Having a “why” can help you focus on what you want to remember. And it may even help you take fewer photos, freeing up more space on your phone and giving you more time to – heck – live in the moment.

21. Shower your friends with platonic affection. Tell them how much they mean to you. Tell them when you think of them in passing. Remind them you are grateful to know them. These simple acts provide a layer of security in the relationship. It shows your friends that you genuinely care for them and lets them know it’s safe to invest in your friendship.

22. When booking a flight, opt for an early and direct flight. With morning flights, your plane has been at the airport overnight, sitting there and ready to go when you get there in the morning. Afternoon flights, on the other hand, depend on planes that are flying in from somewhere else and may be subject to delays. Direct flights have the advantage of not having layovers.

23. To minimize conflict at a family function, it’s OK to avoid people who trigger you. You’re allowed to avoid a the family member who always tries to fight with you or criticizes your life choices. Say hello and goodbye to them, but don’t sit right next to them at dinner.

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24. Treat bread like dessert. A study a few years back gave people bread rolls at the end of a meal versus the beginning of a meal. The researchers found, on average, that the people who ate those rolls at the end had about a 30% lower peak in their blood sugar. If you love breads and muffins, save them for the end of your meal.

The digital story was edited by Meghan Keane. The visual editor is Beck Harlan. We’d love to hear from you. Leave us a voicemail at 202-216-9823, or email us at LifeKit@npr.org.

Listen to Life Kit on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, and sign up for our newsletter.

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House Democrats accuse Trump of ‘hijacking’ America’s 250th birthday for his own gain

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House Democrats accuse Trump of ‘hijacking’ America’s 250th birthday for his own gain

President Trump speaks at a rally kicking off the Great American State Fair last week, part of the anniversary celebrations organized by White House-backed group Freedom 250.

Andrew Harnik/Getty Images


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Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

As America’s birthday celebrations kick into high gear, so too do criticisms of the preeminent national group organizing them, Freedom 250.

Democrats on the House Natural Resources Committee published a 55-page report Thursday accusing the group of aiding President Trump in turning America’s milestone into a “hotbed of corruption and self-enrichment” through tactics that potentially amount to criminal fraud.

It’s titled “From Vanity to Insanity: How the White House Cheated the American People out of their 250th Birthday.”

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Rep. Jared Huffman of California, the ranking Democrat on the committee, told NPR that the report was months in the making. It is based on interviews with unnamed whistleblowers, sworn Congressional testimony, internal Freedom 250 documents and other written responses.

“We put it all together to really tell the story … of how Donald Trump hijacked what should have been a unifying national celebration and repurposed it for his own interests,” Huffman said in a Zoom interview. “This was a team of operatives using the Freedom 250 shell company, but it was also Donald Trump himself telling them what to do.”

The White House referred a request for comment to Freedom 250, though Freedom 250 told NPR that it does not speak for the White House.

Freedom 250 is the public-private partnership behind some of the summer’s most high-profile anniversary events, including a UFC fight outside the White House in June, a controversial state fair on the National Mall, a July Fourth fireworks show opening with a Trump rally, and the “Patriot Games,” a high school athletic competition scheduled for August.

It was created via executive order last year, and describes itself as “the national, non-partisan organization leading the celebration of our Nation’s 250th birthday.” But it’s not the only one: Congress had created a nonpartisan commission called America250 for this same purpose in 2016.

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Why Chanel Is Acquiring Charvet

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Why Chanel Is Acquiring Charvet
Following a runway collaboration with Matthieu Blazy, Chanel has bought France’s oldest shirtmaker as longtime owner-operators Anne-Marie and Jean-Claude Colban seek a succession plan. ‘Charvet is a beautiful jewel. Now there’s work to be done to set it up for its next steps,’ said Chanel fashion president Bruno Pavlovsky.
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Map: See Taylor Swift’s NYC Hotspots Ahead of Her MSG Wedding

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Map: See Taylor Swift’s NYC Hotspots Ahead of Her MSG Wedding

Swift has attended fashion’s biggest night, the Met Gala, a handful of times over the years. Perhaps no appearance was more memorable than 2016’s event where it was not her dress, but her hair that made an impact. Swift’s bleached platinum bob at the star-studded fund-raiser that year was part of a short-lived era known as “Bleachella” to some fans.

Some fans believe the 2016 event, which both Swift and her ex-boyfriend, the actor Joe Alwyn attended, is where the couple might have first encountered one another. A moment Swifties think the songstress referenced in “Dress,” singing “flashback when you met me, your buzz cut and my hair bleached,” a line that describes how both stars looked that night.

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For her first time as host on “Saturday Night Live,” a then 19-year-old Swift arrived having already written the song she would sing as the opening monologue. Seth Meyers, the show’s head writer at the time, later recalled bringing Swift into Lorne Michaels’s office, where she performed a “perfect” musical monologue and noted it was better than what the show’s writers had concocted for her to deliver. Swift has served as host and musical guest on the sketch-comedy show over the years. She’s also made repeated cameo appearances, including appearing alongside Kerry Washington and Betty White in a “Californians” sketch in 2015 for the show’s 40th anniversary.

In 2023, Swift and Travis Kelce both made cameo appearances on the show. The same day, they were also spotted by tabloids holding hands in New York City, one of the earliest public glimpses of them as a couple.

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The iconic arena in Midtown Manhattan will serve as the venue for a private, two-day event around the wedding of Swift and Kelce on July 2 and 3. The first event will reportedly be a smaller gathering of 100 people for a rehearsal dinner at the Infosys Theater, a venue inside the Garden, while as many as 1,000 guests are expected to arrive at the venue the next day for a larger celebration, with possible stage appearances. Swift has some history with the Garden, performing there several times over the years, as well as sitting courtside and cheering the Knicks to a win during a game earlier this summer.

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Whenever the singer is spotted coming and going from the Greenwich Village recording studio — which was founded by Jimi Hendrix and has hosted icons like the Rolling Stones and Chuck Berry over the years — fans are immediately abuzz with whispers about new music. Swift has worked there with Jack Antonoff, her longtime collaborator, on albums including “Lover” and “Folklore,” as well as re-releases of her older albums.

Swift has been spotted plenty of times at this Italian hot spot in the West Village neighborhood of Manhattan, most recently in May, celebrating Lena Dunham’s 40th birthday. If you can’t get a table, try your hand at making their famed — and delicious — salad dressing.

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For a period between 2016 and 2017, Swift rented a four-story townhouse in Manhattan’s West Village. The pad appears to have inspired her 2019 track “Cornelia Street” from the album “Lover.” It’s a road she’ll never walk again, at least according to her lyrics.

Fans still regularly visit the house, even though it has been nearly a decade since Swift inhabited the home, which has an indoor swimming pool. In 2023, some Swifties made pilgrimages to the location after news broke on her split with the actor Joe Alwyn, whose relationship fans believe to be the inspiration for many of the tracks on “Lover.”

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Swift’s residence in the TriBeCa neighborhood of Manhattan has grown over the years. She initially bought two penthouses from the “The Lord of the Rings” director Peter Jackson in 2014. A fan who once visited the apartment recalled Swift’s father saying that when his daughter first viewed the place, the actor Ian McKellen, who had been living there, was sitting in the kitchen. She has since purchased several adjacent properties.

Fans have seen glimpses of the home on social media over the years and, more recently, watched Swift use a fire extinguisher to put out a small candle blaze in the kitchen in a video posted by Swift’s recent musical collaborator Gracie Abrams.

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Good luck getting a table here if you are not Swift or Kelce. The upscale American restaurant in SoHo is known for comforting dishes like a French dip sandwich and an ice cream sundae, as well as its savory sour-cream-and-onion martini from the cocktail menu. Swift has visited several times — including outings with Gigi Hadid and Sabrina Carpenter.

In “Delicate,” Swift sings of an unnamed “dive bar on the East Side.” Swifties believe this dark speakeasy on East Seventh Street is that bar. Fans also believe the song was written about Swift’s ex-boyfriend, the actor Joe Alwyn. The pair broke up in 2023; later that year she met Kelce.

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This exclusive, members-only club in Lower Manhattan is frequented by plenty of celebrities, including Swift. The club bans photography and videos, as well as members of the media, and patrons are barred from identifying others in the room on social media or to the press.

Still, even with the privacy rules, there have been plenty of posts and photos documenting Swift coming and going from Zero Bond. There was a visit in 2023 with the actor Miles Teller and his wife, Keleigh, as well as a recent celebratory evening with the Haim sisters in June after the group watched the Knicks win at Madison Square Garden in matching shirts. There have also been multiple visits with Kelce over the years.

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Swift spent part of her 34th birthday celebration at this rustic American restaurant on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. Wearing a black minidress bedazzled with a moon and stars — a nice nod to the visual themes of her “Midnights” era — she partied the night away at Freemans’ upstairs cocktail bar with guests including Jack Antonoff, Blake Lively, Zoë Kravitz, the Haim sisters, Sabrina Carpenter and her childhood best friend, Abigail Anderson Berard, who was immortalized in Swift’s song “Fifteen.” The pop star was also seen dining here with Gracie Abrams earlier that same year.

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People line up for hours — yes, hours — to secure a spot at this restaurant in the Carroll Gardens neighborhood of Brooklyn. The brick-oven pizza spot, which is B.Y.O.B. and cash only, is a favorite of pizza connoisseurs — though not those at The New York Times — and celebrities alike. (Its owner has said he does not accept reservations.) Beyoncé, Jay-Z, the Beckhams and, of course, Swift have all been seen dining here, though unclear if they had to sweat it out in the line like us mere mortals. Swift, who once sent her dad to hand out pizzas, though likely not from Lucali, to fans camping out in New York to watch her perform on “Good Morning America,” has shared meals here with famous friends including Blake Lively and Selena Gomez, as well as a date night with Kelce.

The Brooklyn neighborhood where, if Swiftie lyrical interpretations are to be trusted, Swift left a now-infamous scarf at the home of one Maggie Gyllenhaal around 2010. Swift was dating Gyllenhaal’s brother, Jake, at the time and their relationship is believed to have inspired Swift’s “All Too Well,” a 2012 heart-wrencher of a song beloved by many fans, which Rolling Stone once ranked as her best song. “You keep my old scarf from that very first week,” Swift sings. In 2017, Maggie Gyllenhaal told Andy Cohen on “Watch What Happens Live” that she was “in the dark about the scarf.”

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Swift later released an updated, 10-minute version of the track in 2021. A red scarf featured prominently as a thematic motif in “All Too Well: The Short Film,” which Swift also released that same year.

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