Let’s talk about life hacks. And before you start rolling your eyes, let me tell you, I’m on the same page. I think we are all better off without the weird advice on how to “peel onions without shedding a tear” and “open a stubborn banana from the bottom.” So it’s safe to say, internet life hacks don’t particularly have the best reputation out there.
But what if a small fraction of them out of that whole sea of absurdity do indeed work? I’m not implying anything, I am just wondering if we’d all give them one last chance. Last one, bottom line. Would we get to know something genuinely useful?
Well, we’re about to find out, since people in this r/AskReddit thread have been sharing some pretty interesting life hacks that sound crappy but actually work.
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Befriend the "invisible" people that everyone overlooks, the hotel maids, the janitor at your office, anyone doing a thankless job that people often look down upon. Treat them like valuable human beings because they are. These are people working far harder than most of us can imagine, taking care of themselves and their families and often barely scraping by. You never know in this life when you're going to be the one interaction that saved someone's life, or at least made it a little bit better for a day or a moment. And you never know when some person who nobody paid attention to could end up being there for you, especially if they know and like you.
I call it the power of "might as well"
Gonna get up from my desk and go to the kitchen? Oh well, might as well take this plate with me.
Going to pee before bed? Oh well, might as well brush my teeth.
Going to brush my teeth? Oh well, might as well floss.
Going outside? Oh well, might as well bring the trash.
Its ridiculous, but it works.
Writing things down by hand helps you remember them better.
It seems like life hacks have been everywhere lately, on TikTok, Instagram stories, Facebook feeds, even Linkedin. It doesn't take you long to realize that most of them are utterly useless, like “peeling onions without shedding a tear,” which basically means you have to use a bunch of extra weird gadgets, or “opening a stubborn banana from the bottom,” because damn those stubborn bananas! It’s only fair to wonder what’s up with this modern obsession and whether there's anything it tells us about ourselves.
If something’s worth doing, it’s usually worth doing badly.
Half-assing the dishes is better than leaving them to fester in the sink. Sending old friends a happy birthday message when Facebook prompts you is better than losing touch entirely. Taking a quick shower without soap is better than not showering at all. Piling your laundry up in a basket instead of putting in the wardrobe is better than leaving it scattered over the floor.
Also applies to self-improvement stuff as well as maintenance. Don’t worry so much about doing 100 pushups, 100 sit-ups, 100 squats and a 10km run that you do nothing, just walk around the block and do one of each of the others for now. Just write one page a day of that novel, and allow it to be terrible. Write simple, buggy programs. Draw badly. Watch youtubers cook or fix their car or put on makeup or build something, even, if you can’t find the energy to yourself.
If you’re having trouble finding a date start pre-emptively assuming that everyone is off-limits and just focus on finding genuine friends who match your orientation.
Somewhere along the line you’ll lose your discomfort and start getting better at doing what you want or need to do.
This is actually a really good one that I've stuck to over the last few years. It helped me lose weight and get my savings looking healthier. I was always the "I can't afford to save 15% of my wages so there's no point in doing it at all" or "I can't run 5k so why bother" kind of person. Little improvements quickly build up to bigger ones.
Don’t ask someone ‘do you need anything?’ when they are going through something. Ask them ‘what can I do for you?’ and stop talking. Sometimes listening is enough. Being a good listener isn’t easy. You have to stop waiting for your turn to speak and just be there for them. Source: father of daughters.
Yeah. Sometimes some people just need to rant. They don't need your advice they just need to get things off their chest and they'll be fine
Stop setting needless rules for yourself. You can shower in the dark, eat the parts of a sandwich seperately in fistfuls from the bag, run the dishwasher twice. There is no "proper" way to do the mundane things in life so long as they are done to a standard you're okay with.
It sounds like bulls**t but as an adult slowly realising they have ADHD and fighting chronic illness and long term MH issues, this s**t was life changing. I can just find a way to get the job /done/, it doesn't need to be perfect from step A to Z. If I end up only ever putting laundry on at 2am and putting the machine on a timer so it starts at 7, that's fine because it /still gets done/!
Exactly! And let people do things their own preferred way. You can just comment on how you do it without judging their way (like " interesting you wash dishes like that! I wash them like this. Cool people have different ways of doing things"). Then they are given the option to consider a different method. But if they are happy doing it their way, it's fine, even if it takes them more time or the result isn't perfect.
Interestingly, life-hack content in itself is not a new thing. According to Refinery29, the genre can be dated back to roughly 2500 B.C. It’s the time when the “Instructions of Shuruppak,” one of the oldest pieces of “wisdom literature,” came to being, giving people advice that was passed from a father (the king Shuruppak) to his son (Ziusudra). This is an early Sumerian text and it contains practical and philosophical wisdom bites, such as “Don’t pass judgment when you’ve been drinking beer; don’t buy an ass that brays too much; and don’t place your house next to a public square—there’s always a crowd there.”
Take two to ten minutes to tidy up your home before you go to bed. The next morning, you'll feel way better not having to look at all the junk/things you still have to do.
One of my favorite is to bring a couple of new disposable diapers to the beach (lake, river, etc.) If you decide to leave your towel to hit the water, you can wrap your cell phone, car keys, wallet up in diaper, then fasten it up and I promise you NO ONE will mess with your stuff! You're welcome! Hee!
Sees Ökos walking around looking sus....they walk up to my diaper bc "wHY diDn'T sHe pUt iT in THe tRAsh?!?! Shes killing the environment!!" And then proceeds to throw my diaper away...(you know...the kind of militant people who rescue/free a land turtle and thinking doing it a service throw it "back" into the pond.
Clear packing tape over the speakers of plastic children's toys. It muddles the sounds enough that I still have some of my hearing.
This should be higher up. And yes, I did this when mine were little!!
So giving one person advice and receiving it from others is the most basic and ancient form of passing knowledge. This is a human thing to do—we share things we’re good at, or that we have knowledge of through experience and skill. I mean, that’s how the education systems work, and that’s how leaders are born.
But life hacks take the concept of sharing something that’s supposedly valuable to us to the extreme. The problem is not giving a hack per se, but rather the content of it. While we may want to know how to start the car in freezing temperatures with a simple trick, we genuinely don’t need a tip on making storage boxes out of coconut shells. Or do we?
Refinery29 suggests that our fascination with life hacks spreading around the internet may have to do with our “deep-seated need to learn more information, without actually requiring that we engage our brains.” If anything, the internet has taught us we can accomplish things without sacrificing our time and effort too much. And if that’s one more weird life hack, so be it.
I started saying 'silly' instead of 'stupid' like for example 'Oh I'm so stupid' or 'that was stupid'. I've noticed that it helped improve my self esteem
Taking a break when you get frustrated with a task. Seriously!
And stop thinking about the problem. Let your underlying thought precesses do the work in your subconscious. Works wonders.
At the start of the year I'll flip all my clothes hangers around so they're facing the wrong direction. As I wear random items, I'll flip it back to the normal direction. If by the next year I haven't worn something, I know I never will, and so I donate anything that's still flipped backwards.
If you always put your keys in the same place, you won’t lose them.
Being genuinely nice and appreciative with people. They'll 100% help you out in any way they can.
Ignoring toxic family members or work calls can improve your mental health when properly spread out. Sometimes it’s okay to set your phone aside and unplug.
Using leftover bags from grocery stores or whatnot for trash bags. Idk why, but whenever I tell people this, I get a funny look. It works well.
the quickest way to cool the inside of your car down is to open one door, then go to the opposite side and open and close it a few times. this forces the hot air out and draws the cooler air in. I have a black car with black interior, and a few weeks ago when the high was 94 and it had been sitting in the sun for 6-7 hours i tried this before getting in, and holy hell it worked better than i could have ever imagined. i had heard about this before but never tried it.
Taking two steps at a time when walking up the stairs.
You take half the time to get to the next floor, and you get a good glute work out at the same time.
Had a pigeon problem on my balcony. I live in front of a church, so a lot of them gather there. At night and early on the morning, they would come to my balcony, leaving s**t and feathers all around and biting my plants.
One day I saw a plastic raven at a store, that supposedly scares them away. It was expensive and I didn't have much money, so I grabbed a bunch of black plastic bags and some wire, made a fake raven and attached it to the railing.
It's been like seven months and I haven't seen a single pigeon on the balcony since.
Deleting social media of your phone does wonders for your mood and overall mental wellbeing
So does eating chocolate, binge watching your faveroute show, alcohol, sex, music.....ect.
A knitted fake wasp nest. Our wasps buggered off the same day, haven't been seen since.
Do you think you could maybe find the time to knit me a fake Jehova’s Witness?
When someone you like or respect does something confusingly infuriating, imagine the most-favorable-to-them possible explanation, and pretend that's true. Wait until you know more before getting reflexively angry.
Not necessarily crappy per se but I always encourage people to befriend the hospital employees that bring you your meal trays. They’ll hook you up with the good stuff so you’re not stuck eating crappy food.
Choose your reaction before your emotions can.
I was always jealous of people who naturally had a great response to problems (like “I forgot something at home. Oh well, it happens to everyone. I’m sure they’ll understand why I’m late.”). I began really noticing how much easier that must make life, so I started trying to imagine the “right” reaction to situations.
If you make yourself pause to think of a good reaction, you can kind of choose it like “Yeah, that would be a good one” and then you don’t give your stupid brain an opportunity to throw out a sh**ty reaction.
(Someone made me remember something I think is important to add, so I’m pasting it here so it won’t get lost)
I learned to do it despite it seeming impossible. The trick for me was to recognize that I was enabling and feeding my own emotional responses, like “My car won’t start, I should be upset! Why wouldn’t I be?! This will cost me money!” I was choosing to be upset because I was “supposed” to be, or I was entitled to be upset. But I didn’t really want to be.
In facing dilemmas, I ask myself, "What would smart me do?" The answer is usually obvious. Smart me still sometimes gets vetoed, but genuinely helpful tool.
Don't save your banking information on online stores. Makes impulse buying much more difficult if you have to track down your wallet.
Putting kiwi on a steak.
Kiwi juice has enzymes that break down meats, tenderizing the steak. Pineapple does the same thing, but has a much stronger flavor. So put a bit of kiwi mush on your steak about 30 minutes prior to cooking it and it will be amazingly tender without a strange flavor added.
Never shop when hungry.
Habits are formed over a few weeks.
Look after your feet, even a blister can screw up your week.
If you keep forgetting if you locked your door/car/lock, do something silly after locking it. It will help you remember if you have to think back.
Swirling the liquid in a bottle you need to empty fast. Creates a vortex that lets the air in and the liquid out without all that messy glug glug noise.
When you want to pop a zit, pull your fingers apart rather than pushing them together. This stretches the pore open and doesn’t drive the zit deeper, where it would just cause more problems.
Source: my doctor in HS
Mirror checks. I had a severe drinking problem and I used to lecture myself drunkenly in the mirror in the bathroom. I finally listened to that guy and got cleaned up and sober. I still see him, in there. I ask him how he's doing and if he's okay. He usually tells me the truth, too. When I've heard what he has to say, I take it and try to adjust my day accordingly. Sometimes, when you don't have other people around to check on you or monitor your wellbeing, you have to depend on yourself. This is a good way to become in touch with your inner dialog, too. Also, speaking of that inner dialog, we are all in one, long winded argument with ourselves. Usually, I just try to remember that, since I know my own tactics, I can easily and readily outmaneuver myself and win these arguments. Helps me when the desire to sleep in or procrastinate is nearly overwhelming. It's okay to fight dirty with yourself, too.
This is very good advice for those facing addiction problems, etc. Might seem a little weird to those who aren't. Your Inner You wants you well, happy and content. It's the Outer You that wants the (short term) fix.
Bending your knees up using a little stool to support your feet while pooping. It has changed my life.
You can remove pet hair from upholstery by just misting it with water, then swiping it with your hand. The hair starts to ball up. Works surprisingly well and it's free.
If you're struggling at work or at school, tell your boss or teacher, instead of trying to hide it. They want you to succeed, too, and might offer suggestions or reduce your workload a little. Plus, it'll help reduce the anxiety you feel about them finding out you're struggling.
Exercising for mental health. Exercise brings greater stamina, which makes you feel physically and mentally able to take on more. Aside from that, it gives you something else to focus on.
I had a therapist tell me that exercise is the most under-used antidepressant
I learned the other day that, when trying to touch your toes, you should focus on touching your head to the ground rather than fingers to toes. It added a few inches of stretch with no other effort.
I found sitting down and moving your foot towards you is better.
White vinegar and baking soda to clean just about anything
Change your sheets more often than you probably do. It's really not that much work, and let's be honest, who doesn't love crawling into a freshly changed bed?
Learning To do things the Hard way first, makes it easier on the long run, since you cant always use the easy way, but the Hard way always works.
Also, slow is fast. Learn things slowly, at your pace, the increase in speed will come with experience. If you rush through things on the first try, it's very likely you'll mess something up and will have to redo it, taking even longer. It works for me concerning learning any type of new art medium.
Freezing sauces allows the dense portion to settle & the really liquid part to rise. Once it's completely frozen, just decant the sauce & rinse away the clear ice at the top. This will save hours of "cooking off" the sauce to thicken it.
Also, instead of parboiling raw foods to stuff (cabbage, peppers, etc.) just freeze & thaw them to make them pliable.
As a chef I do this a lot. Mostly with brussle sprouts, carrots, and fresh green beans. The problem with blanching greens before cooking them is that the whole vegetable will never be the same texture and now it's covered in water and takes forever to try. The water on the vegetable prevents oil from adhering to the surface of the food and prevents proper browning when roasting. This of course only matters if boiling isn't your objective with the vegetable.
When you done eating pickles and still have pickles brine left in the jar, don't spill it out. Cut up a red onion into rings and throw them into the jar. Refrigerate and couple of days later you have pickled onion rings. Works best with bread&butter type brine IMO, but you do you.
Don’t put something down; put it away.
As a right brained slob, this mantra helps me keep things marginally organized.
"A place for everything, and everything in its place". Heard that in a movie years ago and it changed everything for me, now everything must have a dedicated place in the home, and when it's not being used, it should be put back there. Everything was always clean and ready for use exactly where you left it and you cut down on the clutter in your home, because if it doesn't "have a place" it doesn't come/stay in the house.
Breathing practice is a lot more powerful than I ever thought. I thought it was stupid until I took it seriously. I taught myself to not snore
Breathing in the 4-7-8 pattern (4 in through the nose, hold for 7, 8 out through the mouth) helped me so much with being able to fall asleep, it's downright ridiculous.
Flushing a bit of dish soap down the toilet unclogs it 80% of the time.
Popsicle sticks make great collar stays, if you are in need of a pair.
Just cut to length.
If you've got a paper due at 9 am the next day, and it's midnight and you still have about 3 hours of work to do, go to sleep and set your alarm for 5:00 am to finish it the next day. Sleeping on it will make the writing come easier in the morning because your subconscious will be working on it as you sleep, knowing you literally have no more time to procrastinate will make you work faster, and with a little sleep under your belt, you'll be thinking a little more clearly and will be less likely to make thoughtless mistakes.
Tell someone you live with what you're looking for.
My partner and I do this all time. If I lose something and spent an hour trying to find it, he'll walk in and have it in 5 minutes. If he loses something, he doesn't bother doing more than a focused look and will then ask me, who'll either know where it is, or spot as soon as I walk into the room.
Wait... I need to ask him to find the advent stockings my mum knitted for us lol
Never buy the cheapest, or the most expensive. The middle option is usually the best value.
Ask your coworkers how much they make. It’s a great negotiating tool.
We've been told for years to never talk to coworkers about their salary. The only one who wins with that approach is employers who aren't paying people the same for the same work! End that crazy policy! You SHOULD know if you're being paid less as a woman, as a person of color, or just being treated unfairly and paid less than you can be! Use that info to your advantage.
Working hard and doing things the right way the first time really does pay off in the long run.
Keep in mind that you won't always get things right the first time though. But don't be discouraged. Try again
Does putting multiple chip bags on the same bag clip count?
Place a small bowl of 2/3 water, 1/3 white vinegar (or lemon juice) in your microwave and cook on high for 10 minutes. Any stuck on dried food residue will wipe right off with no effort.
Every time my girlfriend’s toilet is clogged, instead of using a plunger she puts plastic wrap over the entire toilet and flushes. It actually unclogs it. So that’s crappy I guess...
Putting something in an odd place so you will remember to do a particular task.
Make your bed in the morning so after Crappy days, your bed is nice
YMMV, but when you're giving presentations or interviews, literally pretend you're Steve Jobs.
Watch his videos on YouTube. The dude had a questionable personality, but nobody's questioning that he's a damn good public speaker.
I have social anxiety, and literally just pretending that I'm like a presentation God makes a huge difference.
Smiling in the mirror when you're feeling down. The act of smiling releases molecules in the brain that help relieve stress, pain and sadness
I feel like a crazy person when I do this lol it makes me worry about my mental health lol
That trick with cutting watermelon with dental floss actually works. I only had mint dental floss but no one said that the watermelon tasted like mint.
When cooking get an old margarine container (cleaned) and use it to put all the scraps and waste from making dinner. Just set it next to or on the cutting board. So much easier to manage your cooking and cutting.
I have no idea what this means. When I prepare raw vegetables I have the little compost bin nearby for the waste to go in, when I take something out of a plastic wrapping it goes straight in the bin, meaty fat trimmings and the like go in the dog. What exactly is this person putting in a marge tub, and why aren't they putting it straight in the bin?
After a heavy night of drinking, guzzle as much water as you can until you feel like you’re going to burst and that’ll seriously reduce your likelihood of a hangover. Not greasy food the next morning or loads of sleep, just wata
Best solution: never drink too much alcohol. Know your drinking limit and never reach it and you won't have an alcohol problem.
Don't ask people "Are you sure?" People struggle with doubt in their lives enough. Go with what they say and give them confidence about their decision!
Startlite mints (peppermint) beat any OTC for an upset stomach.
Tuck down your shoe laces, it looks like a bad idea but it's saves time tie it again and again (Tie it double knot first is recommended)
Tuck where? Not into the sides of my shoes? That would annoy the living crap out of me.
For Real when you have hiccups, think about a white horse, google a picture and think about it. It's gone before you know.
All these remedies are total bunk. It depends on the person, as everyone is different. What works for one, may not work for another.
I have this saying, "If you believe it, then it's true."
This applies to psychological senses. Like religion or myths.
I have nightmares very often. They're more likely to happen if I go to sleep in fear of having one. So I just try my best to convince myself that I am going to dream about something in particular.
Like the other night I watched Pirates of the Caribbean for the first time and I went to sleep telling myself to dream about being a pirate.
It was lots of fun. 10/10 would recommend to dream about being a pirate. Lol.
Now this is just plain stupid. Just because you believe something does NOT make it true, ESPECIALLY when it comes to religion.
Before pouring coffee I heat water (in the microwave) until it's boiling in my ceramic coffee mug, making the mug nice and hot.
Then, dump out the boiling water and pour in the coffee. That way, the mug keeps the coffee warm for a much longer time.
Heard an Army type chap explaining the psychology behind always making a bed in the morning. The Army puts a lot of pressure on recruits to conform to certain standards, it’s obvious why they do that, the perfectly cleaned boots, the razor sharp creases etc but the bed thing is more than discipline and attention to detail. You’ve been sent out on a 20 mile, wet, windy and gruelling route march, you’ve failed tests, you’ve been shouted at, eaten cold food, and generally had a rough day. You get to the time for bed and it’s perfect, you achieved something right at the start of the day that benefits you at the end of a day. You’ve bookended a rough day with something good, that lifts you, even a little bit of positivity will help you. So straighten your bed first thing, it takes a second or two and it’ll be worth it. Be more kind to yourself and others, it works ❤️
Except that studies have shown that leaving your bed to air out in the morning is much healthier. Making your bed creates just the type of warm, humid environment that dust mites love, complete with your shed skin cells for them to breakfast on.
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GOOD ADVICE AND HELPFUL TIPS ARE NOT HACKS!!!! STOP CALLING EVERYTHING A 'HACK.' A HACK IS USING SOMETHING FOR A PURPOSE OR IN A MANNER THAT IT WASN'T DESIGNED OR INTENDED FOR.
now deep breaths. it's also a life hack for calming down:D
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I used to get in to a tizzy about getting things done, then I wouldn't get anything done because I tizzy'ed the day away. A friend said "What do you need to do by the end of the day, end of the week, end of the month". It helped me to organize better and I stopped tizzying quite so much.
Heard an Army type chap explaining the psychology behind always making a bed in the morning. The Army puts a lot of pressure on recruits to conform to certain standards, it’s obvious why they do that, the perfectly cleaned boots, the razor sharp creases etc but the bed thing is more than discipline and attention to detail. You’ve been sent out on a 20 mile, wet, windy and gruelling route march, you’ve failed tests, you’ve been shouted at, eaten cold food, and generally had a rough day. You get to the time for bed and it’s perfect, you achieved something right at the start of the day that benefits you at the end of a day. You’ve bookended a rough day with something good, that lifts you, even a little bit of positivity will help you. So straighten your bed first thing, it takes a second or two and it’ll be worth it. Be more kind to yourself and others, it works ❤️
Except that studies have shown that leaving your bed to air out in the morning is much healthier. Making your bed creates just the type of warm, humid environment that dust mites love, complete with your shed skin cells for them to breakfast on.
Load More Replies... GOOD ADVICE AND HELPFUL TIPS ARE NOT HACKS!!!! STOP CALLING EVERYTHING A 'HACK.' A HACK IS USING SOMETHING FOR A PURPOSE OR IN A MANNER THAT IT WASN'T DESIGNED OR INTENDED FOR.
now deep breaths. it's also a life hack for calming down:D
Load More Replies... I used to get in to a tizzy about getting things done, then I wouldn't get anything done because I tizzy'ed the day away. A friend said "What do you need to do by the end of the day, end of the week, end of the month". It helped me to organize better and I stopped tizzying quite so much.
