Life’s like a never-ending game of juggling, isn’t it? With all the chaos swirling around, it’s the little wins that keep us going. That’s where life hacks swoop in like caped crusaders, offering us simple shortcuts to navigate the daily grind.
Sure, we’ve all heard those wild tales of life hacks that seem straight out of a sci-fi flick. But fear not, fellow humans, because I’ve scouted out some down-to-earth hacks that are actually worth a shot. Check out a few below and decide for yourself if they are worth your time.
#1
If you ever have to park in a city at night, park in front of a bank. Why? They’re lit up and have cameras everywhere.
#2
Want to charge your phone faster ,Keep your phone in airplane mode.
#3
Whenever you like a product online, look for the bad reviews first.
#4
Put your favorite song as a custom ringtone for people you don’t like. That way, you can enjoy the song while neglecting their calls.
#5
Don’t fill in the ‘To” field in an email until you are completely done writing it. Saved me a lot of badly-written or half-finished emails – and emails I never ended up sending because I had time to think better of it.
#6
Last week I felt exhausted. I got home on Friday at around 6:30 p.m. and went straight to bed.
I did a few things over the weekend but mostly slept – I got up late, took naps and went to bed early.
I can’t tell you how differently things have felt this week. I am more focused at work and make less of an effort to get things done. I feel more patient, more lenient, less irritable. Everything feels less catastrophic.
Last night I went to yoga and felt I had the best class I’d had in months – I felt I was breathing rather than pushing myself through something too difficult.
You want a clever life hack? Go to bed.
#7
When in an argument, act as if you are being recorded. This will prevent you from saying stupid things you don’t mean.
#8
If you have a spare minute at home, always take a few seconds to just pet your dog or cat and really appreciate them. Pets are only a part of your life but you are your pet’s entire life.
#9
There’s a cartoon I watched as a kid where the hero gets thrown in jail high up in a tower. There’s an old man there who has been in the jail all his life. The hero demands to be let out and the gate opens. The hero walks out. The old man looks at the open door and then turns to the audience and mutters: “You mean all I had to do was ask?”
I laughed at this when I was a kid but reflecting on my life, I’ve had countless moments where I was that old man. A crush of three years who I never talked to, questions in meetings that I never voiced and promotions that I never pushed for.
Over the last five years, I’ve experimented with doing what the hero in the tower did and ask for what I want. And in many cases, just like in the cartoon, the door really opened. This is from little things like requesting no olives in my salad to larger demands like having 20% time at work to pursue self directed initiatives.
As long as you’re sincere and reasonably competent, you will be amazed how far simply asking for things will take you.
#10
When heating leftovers, space out a circle in the middle, it will heat up much more evenly.
#11
Never make fun of someone’s laugh, someone’s smile, or how they dance. Let them express happiness without trying to harsh their joy.
#12
If you fall into cold, open water try to float first to calm yourself down and resist the urge to swim. With your breathing and body under control, you can then start swimming to safety.
#13
About a week ago, my mother was out of town. So, my father and I decided to go to a restaurant because both of us suck at cooking.
Over there, I ordered a Masala dosa off the menu. After a 20 min long video call with my mother, the food arrived.
I had only eaten a couple of bites before I found a hair strand in the Sambhar. Pretty unappetizing.
I told my father and was about to call the waiter to change the food but my father actually had a fool proof plan.
He suggested me to add a lot of salt in the sambhar and then call the waiter so that I could ensure the food was actually changed and it wasn’t just the hair that was removed.
I did the same and was very excited for the sambhar to be back. So was my father. We waited for a little while and then the waiter served the sambhar. Voila! It was saltier than ever. Plan successful. I told my father and he was smiling like a child and at the same time he was really proud.
Not gonna lie I was amazed as hell.
Later we called the waiter and told him the entire story. He got really defensive but all that’s unnecessary. What really matters is the life hack you learnt today.
#14
If you sit for several hours a day, find a simple routine to stretch out your hips and chest.”It’s an absolute game-changer for people who suffer from chronic lower back pain as a result of being hunched over a desk.
#15
Forget about oven mitts. Get a pair of welding gloves!
Wait, hear me out.
My mom always complained about her oven mitts. They were either too thin, making prolonged handling of hot dishes difficult. Or they were too thick, making them clumsy. For some reason, the fabric would quickly deteriorate, even when using non-budget pairs. And more often than not, they were too short — she’d often get burns on her forearms when reaching inside a hot oven, oven mitts only protect your hands.
However, one day she found a pair of welding gloves lying around, and got the genius idea to use them in the kitchen.
These things are:
Very robust, literally industrial strength. No fear of them falling apart.
Heat-proof up to hundreds of degrees Celsius
Made of rough fabric, and have fingers, making handling of various dishes very simple. No slipping and dropping your lasagne ever again!
Quite long, offering total protection not only for your hands, but your wrists and forearms too. No need to worry about touching the edge of a blazing hot oven when reaching into it.
Are generally quite cheap, $20 bucks or so. Not much difference to “premium” (but still garbage) oven mitts.
I recently received a pair from her as a birthday gift. I tossed my oven mitts immediately. From then on, it’s welding gloves all the way.Disclaimer: I was made aware that some gloves may contain fire retardant chemicals, which may be dangerous when ingested. Keep this in mind and check the manual / detailed information before using a pair.
#16
Start every phone call with ‘My battery is almost dead.’ That way, you can hang up on them at any time.
#17
The human appendage signal.
I’m in tight traffic, and nobody will let me in to change lanes. They ignore my blinking turn signal. So I open the window and stick out my arm. Invariably, the car in the next lane slows and makes a spot for me to move into.
I think the human appendage signal turns car into a person. It is no longer a blinking car that wants to change lanes, but a human. That triggers empathy and politeness.
This hack can be used elsewhere. The gay liberation movement made its greatest strides when gays came out of the closet, and people realized that they knew such people. They were no longer abstractions, but people, friends, and it created a phase transition.
Make sure others always see you as a person, not as a symbol or as a professional or as a thing.
#18
Golden spending rule: If you can’t afford two of it, you can’t afford it.
When you’re thinking about buying something you don’t necessarily need, imagine the item in one hand and the cash in the other. Which one would you take?
If you have trouble choosing, flip a coin. While you’re waiting to get the result, your mind automatically starts to wish for what it wants. Then you can choose easily.
Honey does not go bad; if it has gone solid it has just crystallized and can become liquid again with just a little heat.
If you put something down temporarily, say out loud “I’ve put the screwdriver by the microwave” or whatever.
Read the three and four star reviews for the most reliable information on Amazon items.
When moving house, always set up your bedroom/ make the bed first so when you’re exhausted and just had enough you can fall into bed. Nothing worse than being exhausted and having to make the bed before getting into it.
If there’s a jar or container you can’t open, run the lid under hot water for about 30sec. Dry it so you can get a good grip, then open. It really works.
Secretaries, tech support, and janitors are the true power in an office. Make friends with them and you’ll be able to get anything you need!
When a friend is upset, ask him one simple question before saying anything else: “Do you want to talk about it or do you want to distract from it? ” It is important to know when to stop arguing with people, and simply let them be wrong.
If someone offers you something you want, take it. Don’t decline every kind of offer out of politeness.
#19
You can sharpen your knives with a ceramic bowl. Rub the blade up and down on the bowl’s ceramic ring.
#20
If you park in a big parking lot, take a pic of the letter/number marker so you can find it easily.
#21
Appear more confident. The bottom line is to be interested, not just interesting.
#22
Refer to people you’ve just met by their name. People loving being referred to by their name, and it will establish a sense of trust and friendship right away.
#23
About 15 years ago I’m visiting my mother’s cousin after not seeing him for a long time.
A few hours into our meeting he stares at me and says “Asim son… why do you always smile at me when I look at you?”
Do I? I don’t know. And I tell him that.
I soon realise that I do smile a lot, and several years later I come to the view that it has played a key role in achieving the success I have attained at work and in business.
Smiling breaks down barriers, it makes tense situations into more comfortable ones, it makes you more attractive, it gives a sense of energy, it makes people want to be around you, it makes you more likeable, it makes people feel that you want to be around them, it makes people trust you.
Smiling is very powerful, massively underestimated.
And I semi-consciously knew it all along. Which is why I did it.
It also makes everyone happier, including you.
Smile more…