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It’s never going to be possible to eliminate all inconveniences from our lives. And that’s actually a good thing. We shouldn’t be able to turn off our brains completely, and facing challenges can build character. But there are some minor struggles that just aren’t necessary. And if you’re looking to make your life run more smoothly, you’ve come to the right place.
Redditors have been revealing the brilliant life hacks that they can’t believe everyone isn’t already using, so we’ve gathered their most helpful tips below. From ways to ensure you always know where your keys are to tricks that will improve your productivity, we believe there’s something for everyone on this list. So enjoy scrolling through, and be sure to upvote the advice that’s about to change your life!
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
If you're depressed and struggling with getting a grip on life in general. Start small like clean out a drawer or clear a small area and then the next day do something else and eventually you'll notice that you're able to manage the bigger tasks because the small ones are already done.
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#2
Invest in multiple phone chargers. I have one by my bed, in the living room, my home office, and my car. **None of them are ever to be moved**. The lone exception is the fifth charger that I keep in my travel bag, along with a power bank.
Haven't seen my battery go below 20% in years.
#3
Keep a running note of gift ideas for your loved ones, year round. When holidays, birthdays, etc. roll around, it's a lifesaver.
Keep another note of TV shows, movies, books, music, games, whatever else you want to get to when you have time, and where to find them (if applicable). The next time you have spare time and can't think of what to watch/read/do, go to your list.
Put days that matter to your loved ones in your calendar. Not just birthdays and stuff like that-- anniversaries of loved one's passings. Sober birthdays. Milestones. Make a point of reaching out on those days.
Callum Young 1 week ago
Look up "surveillance pricing" for why you don't want to give yourself to Amazon, et al.
#4
Prepare for your morning the night before. Whether it is for your usual morning routine, or a one-off event, lay out everything you will need before retiring to bed so you barely need to think in the morning.
Not only is it more relaxing your mind will have the time to think of other small details you may have forgotten.
Robert T 1 week ago
If I have something important to take with me, I normally put my house keys or car key on top of it. I can't leave without the keys, so I always pick up whatever it is. If I have to be up early, I'll even put breakfast and medication ready, as my brain doesn't work until it's had its first cup of coffee!
#5
I always put my keys in the exact same pocket or spot at home. I haven’t lost keys in years. My past self used to be a clown. My current self is a responsible adult.
Aquarium Fuzz 1 week ago
Life hack my dad taught me in the 1960s: Never lock a door (car or house) without holding the keys *in*your*hand*. Not in your purse or pocket; not in somebody else's hands, purse or pocket. Only if the keys are IN YOUR HAND. I have never locked myself out of anywhere.
#6
Pay attention to price per gram at the supermarket.
#7
Skip the “placebo” week of birth control and start a new pack. It’s perfectly safe and I haven’t had a period in three years.
Zig Zag Wanderer 1 week ago
Fun fact. The 'gap' in contraceptive meditation was added because doctors didn't think women would be happy without a period. Those doctors were almost certainly male, of course.
#8
Use Firefox with ad block. like how do you all stand YouTube with all the ads.
#9
For my everyday wear, I bought a couple of multi-packs each of identical gray & black socks so I don't have to spend time matching them up. When one gets a hole, I can toss it & still have a mate.
#10
If I'm invited to a Christmas party where I have gifts for some friends, I wrap 2 boxes of chocolates and attach a blank name tag so that if I receive a gift from someone unexpectedly, I can quickly scribble their name and it looks like I had a gift for them the whole time. If I don't have to deploy the tactical choc, then I have a nice treat for January.
#11
When you buy a thing that has warranty take a picture of the receipt with your phone. Then store the picture in a dedicated warranty folder. Lastly rename the receipt YYYY-MM-DD ITEMNAME where the date is the expiration date of the warranty. Now you have all your warranties easily accessible and you can sort them by date.
#12
Telling my toddler that tv show characters go on vacation so we can take a break from watching them.
Patsy Robins 1 week ago
Always have the subtitles on for children's shows - really helps with learning to read!
#13
Windows + V for clipboard history. I showed a coworker this last week and he looked at me like I invented fire.
#14
I have a routine. Routines are simple, yet powerful. They take stress, anxiety, and guess work out of your life. Routines are my biggest hack.
Here are other hacks that I use for my weekly cleaning routine (and these all make me wonder why doesn’t everyone use them):
- set timers. They keep you efficient, and prevent you from over exerting yourself. Once the timer is done, take a break.
- laundry day is bathroom cleaning day. If you’re already washing everything in there, it’s easy to clean the bathroom while towels, loofahs, and bath mats are in the laundry.
- your don’t need several sets of sheets. Just strip the bed on laundry day, wash the bed clothes, remake the bed. You don’t have to fold fitted sheets if they’re already in use. Keeping a backup set is a good plan, but there’s no point to more than that imo.
- Wash your shower loofahs with your towels.
- last load of laundry on laundry day is white bar mops (we use these as kitchen towels). Use chlorine bleach in the load with an auto soak and an extra rinse. When you put the load in the dryer, leave the washer open to air dry. Once a week bleaching will ensure you don’t get musty odors or mildew.
- I keep a dish scrub brush in the shower. The kind that you can fill with soap. I fill it with a combo of dish detergent and white vinegar. I also keep a small, plastic cup in the shower, too. I can dispense cleaner from the brush, scrub my shower, then rinse with the cup. I do it while I deep condition my hair.
— finally, anything worth doing is worth half assing. It’s better to get part of a task done than not getting it done at all. You’ll be in a better mood after, and it’s cleaner than it was before you did that chore in the most mediocre way possible.
I’m disabled, so doing chores has to be broken down into smaller bites so things will get done without me hurting myself (inadvertently), getting too exhausted, or burning out and not doing anything.
Vin Paver 1 week ago
I used to run big commercial programmes of work - corporate mergers, separations, etc. - and the rhythm and drumbeat of the governance was one of the most important things to establish. Daily, weekly, monthly and quarterly meetings created a routine that everyone could understand and stick to. Interestingly, the people who rebelled against the rhythm and drumbeat and refused to participate in the programme governance were the people most likely to fail to deliver.
#15
When you're threading a bolt, turn it anti-clockwise until you feel it drop into the start of the thread. Then you can tighten it, clockwise. Helps avoid cross-threading.
Robert Millar 1 week ago
And note that most nuts have a slightly recessed "start" side. Also washers have a flat side and a "finished" side; the flat side goes against the work, giving a better cosmetic look.
#16
Do not make a big deal of anything that accidently spills or breaks in your house. Example: Spilling water at the dinner table. The calm reaction eliminates the usual stress episode. It's a great approach with kids.
#17
When planning a trip, create a list in Google Maps and add everything you might want to do (after researching on Reddit, TripAdvisor, Atlas Obscura, etc.)
It’ll allow you to see a bird’s eye visual of what’s near each other so you can group things and have an easier time planning your days.
#18
Microwave full ears of corn, husk on. 3:30-4 mins. It steams itself in the husk. Then cut the base/stem off (with about the first little bit of corn closest to the base), pick it up by the top/silk, and the whole cob falls right out. All the silk stays with the husk.
Corn is more snappy than boiled. Not mushy at all. And you don't have to mess with de-husking, or waiting forever for a huge pot of water to boil.
The first time you cut it right and the ear drops out of the husk is pretty satisfying :-).
#19
Hang washing on hangers.
Eliminates most of the ironing and no pegs marks.
Then just steam any clothes that need it on the hanger.
So efficient.
#20
There is nothing wrong with pre-cut, pre-made, or pre-packaged food. It can make a huge difference in your eating habits.
I was in a pretty bad place for the past year and would survive on one grilled cheese sandwich a day. Pre-boiled rice together with pre-cut vegetables and fruits helped me to get back to healthy nutrition. I need it less these days, but I'm incredibly thankful that they were there for me.
#21
To zip it when you have nothing kind to say😍.
Callum Young 1 week ago
Don't be mean, but DO speak out against injustice. The world needs your voice.
#22
Ctrl + Backspace deletes word by word. So friggin efficient.
#23
When I’m stressed, I ask myself: ‘Will this matter in 5 years?’ 90% of the time the answer is no.
#24
If something can be done in less than five minutes, do it right away or if it takes longer, set a timer for 5-10 minutes and just start. I apply this mostly to cleaning because I don't like doing dishes or sweeping the kitchen floor lol.
#25
I saw a movie where a woman was mad because the man forgot to buy a present but he had it stashed in a closet. It was weird but what I took from it was that you could buy presents in advance and have them ready for the next occasion. If you find something better you can save the banked present but you always have something in case you forget or don't have time.
#26
Not a hack, but showering at night, before bed. You have an entire day's worth of grim all over you, and in your hair... why would you want to bring that into your bed...
Little Bit 1 week ago
I prefer to shower first thing in the morning because, as a lady of a certain age, I suffer with night sweats most nights. A shower in the morning helps to wake me up and feel ready for the day.
#27
Pay your bills when they arrive, not when they're due.
When you get that notification that your (fill in the blank) bill will be due in a couple few weeks, pay it right then and there. Don't put it off. Once you get into the habit, it becomes easy, and while it doesn't save you any money up front, shifting your bill paying a few weeks ahead can pay off.
If you're ahead on your bills and some emergency pops up - like a car repair - you don't have to choose whether to pay for that repair or your electric bill. You'll have a couple weeks worth of cushion to stave off paying a late fee.
Creditors love late fees. Don't give them the satisfaction.
Patsy Robins 1 week ago
My energy bill arrived today, $614. It joined the rates bill sitting on the fridge for $648. Neither are due for nearly a month - that $1300 is earning me interest for that month, I’m not giving it away earlier than I need to!
#28
I keep multiple bank acounts (one for me, one for pet vet bills, one for large house repairs, one for general-emergency-unexpected-expenses, etc) and have my stuff set to automatically pull money into the accounts for specific things on the fifth of the month. (I'm paid on the first of the month.) Most of the time, I deliberately forget I have any other bank accounts, and the only time I find out how much money is in them is when I need them.
It would not work if I didn't make a reasonable amount of money. But I've been doing it since I was twenty, and it means that when the water heater suddenly dies or one of my cats gets sick or I need a new roof, I'm not left scrambling and trying to figure out how to pay for it because I've ALREADY been working on paying for it for months, sometimes years, before it happened.
#30
Using a safety razor. They’ll give you a better shave with less irritation than cartridge/disposable razors all for a fraction of the cost. Safety razors average around 10 cents per blade as opposed to the $1 - $2 or more for cartridge razors.
You don’t need multiple blades on a razor to shave. You need one. The rest are just scraping your skin, making it more likely to cause ingrown hairs and razor burn.
If you’re someone who doesn’t like to shave often, safety razors will go through a couple of weeks worth of thick stubble growth no problem. Those of you who have tried that with a cartridge razor know that you get nothing but snagging.
You can get a decent safety razor handle for $20. I’ve had mine for over 15 years. I give it a rinse with soap and water anytime I change the blade. It still looks brand new.
#31
Pee sitting down as a dude when you're at home. It's superior because you won't miss, can still browse on your phone while peeing, and you can even squeeze one out as you pee.
keyboardtek 1 week ago
But when you think you are finished and stand up, you often find there was a bit of urine still somewhere in your tubes that dribbles down your leg when you stand up.
#32
Create a linen pack - I fold up the matching flat sheet, fitted sheet, doona cover / duvet cover / quilt cover and one pillow case into a bundle and put it all inside the other matching pillow case. It’s easier to store and to grab everything you need for changing the bed.
#33
Eat at least 30g of fiber every day. High fiber foods I keep in my daily rotation: raspberries, kiwi, apples, sweet potatoes, carrots, cauliflower, broccoli, green beans, whole wheat bread, whole grains (oats, farro, brown/wild rice, barley, amaranth, teff, etc), legumes (chickpeas, black beans, pinto beans, mung beans, soybeans, lentils, etc), chia seeds, flax seeds. I average ~60g of fiber a day!
edit: Ditch the expensive fiber supplements and get your fiber in a neat package with phytonutrients and micronutrients.
#35
Regularly wipe the paws of their dogs and cats to get rid of any dirty residue, especially before the dogs and cats get on the bed.
#36
I run the washer w extra spin setting...it reduces dryer time.
Robert T 1 week ago
Hardly a hack. My most used wash programme washes in an hour, but does a slower spin. I then put it on a fast spin that takes 10 mins. This is far quicker than any of the other programmes that include a fast spin. They dry of a clothesmaid until almost dry, followed by about half an hour in the dryer.
#37
Do a bit at a time. You walking to the kitchen? Take the things that need to go to the kitchen with you? You need to pick up? Every time you are in the room, pick as much as you can and do more next time.
#39
JustWatch allows you to track movies/tv shows you’ve watch and want to watch. It also tells you where things are streaming. It’s so helpful!
#40
Intentional time away from screens. I recently started to struggle with online time, as someone that doesn’t have any of the typical vices, I think it shorted the dopamine pathway for me.
Started to feel crappy when I shouldn’t, neck was sore from looking down at phone/ipad all the time.
Fixed by being intentional with what I pick up my phone/device for. Send an email? Send and put it down. Etc etc.
Not so much for productivity, more for presence. Read a book, brew tea, sit on the porch, think.
Life is passing us by, staring into these black mirrors.
keyboardtek 1 week ago
A walk in the woods, getting into nature is the major mind cleanser for most humans.
#41
Always keep the napkins you're given and store them in your bag, car, whatever. Same goes for plasters (Band-Aids), paracetamol, pens, hand sanitizer, and maybe small snack bars.
People may give you stuff about storing all these random things, but you'll always have this random stuff on hand when someone needs it.
#43
In every hotel room in America is a closet with a specific set of hangers that have the metal clips on them.
Those clips work marvelously to clip the window shades together so the sun doesn’t leak in and wake you up.
#44
Put your food processor on a dish towel. It makes it really easy to slide it in and out of its spot in the corner of the counter.
#45
Make time for working out and prioritizing healthy eating
The benefits are so great, and the consequences for avoiding it are so severe. It's crazy to me that only a small minority of people do this.
keyboardtek 1 week ago
And I did one of those insurance life span calculator questionnaires. Avoiding smoking, avoiding alcohol consumption, getting daily aerobic exercise, and eating more vegetables and less sugar pushes one's life expectancy from 70's into the 90's.
#46
Make smoothies for their kids every day. So easy, kids love them, and so easy to pack heaps of good stuff in there. Ideal for fussy eaters too.
#47
I have a keyboard shortcut on all my devices where @@ automatically enters my email address.
Edit: on an iPhone you set it up by going to settings, general , keyboard , text replacement.
Zig Zag Wanderer 1 week ago
Awesome, but on most phones it'll be on suggested words in the keyboard too.
#48
Soaking smelly T-shirts in vinegar and water overnight before putting them through a wash cycle to get rid of mild BO ( it won’t be as effective if your T-shirt reeks of severe BO) and using vinegar instead of fabric softener for the same reason.
Patsy Robins 1 week ago
I always use white vinegar in the rinse cycle of towels, stops them smelling musty.
#49
I wfh and keeping my phone in a different room while I work helps immensely with my productivity.
#50
Always put the silverware and napkins at the end of a buffet/potluck. Keep those hands free to fill up a plate! Same with drinks: always in a separate area or at the end of the line if it has to be there.
#51
Press **Ctrl+Shift+T** to instantly reopen the last closed browser tab. It saves 99% of accidental closures.
#52
I turn pillow cases inside out, reach through the pillow case to grab the end of the pillow & roll case down over the pillow (rather than trying to stuff it inside the pillow.).
#53
Brushing the roof of my mouth when I brush my teeth. Shout out to the redditor who posted a LPT about this a few years ago!
David Paterson 1 week ago
Tooth cleaning. Use an interdental brush, and a good sturdy toothpick as well as a normal brush. You'd be amazed at how much food gets missed by a normal brushing.
#54
Always set calendar reminders for every bill and subscription a few days before it’s due/renews. It takes 10 minutes to set up and has easily saved me thousands by now.
#55
Use a large bowl or pot to create a second “sink” when washing dishes in a single sink.
#56
“Send text later” function on iPhone has helped me a lot. I’m an early riser and often think “oh so and so’s birthday, text them later” or “text coworker about xyz”, but I don’t want to text them at 430am. I send the “text later” function for 9am or whatever the reasonable hour may be. Has saved my forgetful but thoughtfulness head a lot.
#57
Open bananas from the stubby end, not the stem end. Pinch it, job done.
Zig Zag Wanderer 1 week ago (edited)
Like monkeys do. Monkey see, monkey do..... Or something...
#59
Tax yourself: transfer 10% of everything you buy into your savings. For example, if you buy a latte for $7, move 70 cents into your savings account. This system works well because if you can afford to buy something, you can probably afford the extra 10%. And if you can’t afford it, then don’t buy the thing and you have saved money on something you probably didn’t need anyway.
#60
Well it’s not a hack but if you get arrested you have the right to a lawyer even if you can’t afford one. Like you get a free lawyer that will help you when the police ask you questions. You should use that lawyer lol.
Zig Zag Wanderer 1 week ago (edited)
Advice from an ex-police chief I heard: NEVER say anything until you get a lawyer. It WILL be used against you.
#61
Whenever I received an email from any coworker without a subject line, I reply with a canned message that their message was undelivered due to the missing subject. It only took me three months to train my boss.
#62
Use the thick dried lotion at the tip of the pump to rub into your dry cuticles.
#63
I have 3 bank accounts - checking, savings, and another savings labeled “monthly bills”.
Each month I put the exact amount of money for my bills in that account and I have everything on autopay. Set it and “forget” it. I keep track of when it’s drawn in an excel spreadsheet I made. I never have to worry about overdrafts and I know exactly how much spending money I have left because it’s whatever my checking balance is.
I have received several compliments from bank tellers over the years.
Robert T 1 week ago
This only works if your monthly bills are the same each month or you carefully monitor them to make sure there is enough in your bills account. My MIL had this as a way of budgetting, but when she lost mobility and was unable to get to the bank, and telephone banking was too complicated for it, it finished up that much more was going into the bills account than needed, and it ended up with a pile of cash in it that could have been doing something more useful (the bills account did not pay interest). Now that I have power of attorney for her, I've ditched the bills account completely and put the spare money into an account that pays interest.
#64
I use a shower pouf with bar of soap.
rub the bar of soap on the shower pouf not on you and get tone of lather. The bar of soap costs a fraction of the same brand of body wash and lasts longer.
This saves money and is so good for the environment.
Another Panda 1 week ago
Dermatologists do not recommend using a pouf, as the material can irritate skin and even create small abrasions that can allow bacteria to create an infection.
#65
Doing tomorrow’s hardest task the night before - it makes the next day feel rigged in your favor.
Rali Meyer 1 week ago
won't work, cos then I do the task from over-tomorrow - tomorrow. And so it goes...
#66
Put the creamer in the cup before pouring the coffee. No stirring or trash then.
#67
Use your calendar/reminder list to manage your friendships. It is so easy to let friendships fall by the wayside as adult life gets busier. This is especially the case when people move away. I have a recurring reminder to send texts to people just to say, “hey, what’s up?“ This is especially helpful when you’re in a period of life when you are in the thick of things for a while, like after you become a new parent. That hard phase of life lasts for long time, and friends can start feeling forgotten.
What do you think ?
nicoleermintrude 1 week ago
I ɢᴇᴛ ᴘᴀɪᴅ ᴏᴠᴇʀ $120 ᴘᴇʀ ʜᴏᴜʀ ᴡᴏʀᴋɪɴɢ ғʀᴏᴍ ʜᴏᴍᴇ. I ɴᴇᴠᴇʀ ᴛʜᴏᴜɢʜᴛ ɪ'ᴅ ʙᴇ ᴀʙʟᴇ ᴛᴏ ᴅᴏ ɪᴛ ʙᴜᴛ ᴍʏ ʙᴜᴅᴅʏ ᴍᴀᴋᴇs ᴏᴠᴇʀ $13,453 ᴀ ᴍᴏɴᴛʜ ᴅᴏɪɴɢ ᴛʜɪs ᴀɴᴅ sʜᴇ ᴄᴏɴᴠɪɴᴄᴇᴅ ᴍᴇ ᴛᴏ ᴛʀʏ. sᴛᴀʀᴛ ᴇᴀʀɴɪɴɢ ᴍᴏʀᴇ ᴄᴀsʜ ɪɴ ᴘᴀʀᴛ ᴛɪᴍᴇ. ᴄʜᴀɴɢᴇᴅ ᴍʏ ʟɪғᴇ.....➤➤ 𝗟𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗝𝗼𝗯𝟭.𝗰𝗼𝗺
nicoleermintrude 1 week ago
I ɢᴇᴛ ᴘᴀɪᴅ ᴏᴠᴇʀ $120 ᴘᴇʀ ʜᴏᴜʀ ᴡᴏʀᴋɪɴɢ ғʀᴏᴍ ʜᴏᴍᴇ. I ɴᴇᴠᴇʀ ᴛʜᴏᴜɢʜᴛ ɪ'ᴅ ʙᴇ ᴀʙʟᴇ ᴛᴏ ᴅᴏ ɪᴛ ʙᴜᴛ ᴍʏ ʙᴜᴅᴅʏ ᴍᴀᴋᴇs ᴏᴠᴇʀ $13,453 ᴀ ᴍᴏɴᴛʜ ᴅᴏɪɴɢ ᴛʜɪs ᴀɴᴅ sʜᴇ ᴄᴏɴᴠɪɴᴄᴇᴅ ᴍᴇ ᴛᴏ ᴛʀʏ. sᴛᴀʀᴛ ᴇᴀʀɴɪɴɢ ᴍᴏʀᴇ ᴄᴀsʜ ɪɴ ᴘᴀʀᴛ ᴛɪᴍᴇ. ᴄʜᴀɴɢᴇᴅ ᴍʏ ʟɪғᴇ.....➤➤ 𝗟𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗝𝗼𝗯𝟭.𝗰𝗼𝗺
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