It's so easy to learn anything these days with the internet at our fingertips. There are so many solutions and tips from people who've probably been in your shoes. But you have to think of looking for it first.
And how would you know to look for it if you're not aware it exists? So we at Bored Panda compiled a list of life hacks you might've never heard of before, but may find very useful. Scroll down, upvote your favorites, and don't be shy to share any tips you think others don't know yet!
This post may include affiliate links.
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
research has found that dogs love us more than they love themselves <3 research has also found that cats understand us, but just dont care... :/
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.
Never make fun of someone’s laugh, someone’s smile, or how they dance. Let them express happiness without trying to harsh their joy.
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.
Whenevr you like a product online,look for the bad reviews first.
Works for me. The good review is not interesting, it's what you expect. Look what the negatives are about and see if disadvantage that's important to you.
I look at the middle reviews, because the top and bottom ones could be fakes planted by the manufacturer (top reviews) and their competitors (bottom reviews). The ones in the middle generally point out the pros and cons pretty well, so I can make a more informed decision.
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I love bad reviews. Especially when they are all just bs reasons to not like the product. "It doesn't have WIFI!',- It's a fecking jungle trek, Susan from Whiltshire! 'No clear instructions' - It's a sodding cake tin, Matt from Doncaster!
"I could not figure out how to use it, one star... ⭐️*️⃣*️⃣*️⃣*️⃣ ".. It was a plastic bag to put around a tree to water it slowly, with a hole somewhere to put the hose in.. 🤷♂️🤦♂️
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Bad reviews aren't always bad. Shoes too narrow, good for me, headphones fit too tight, fine for me. The average score of the reviews also matters. Sometimes that five-star product is a masterpiece of paid reviews.
I look the middle range reviews. Like 3/5. They tend to be the most realistic
Same. Good reviews are mostly paid, bad reviews are either also paid (by competitors), idiots who couldn't understand directions on a packet of peanuts, or non-quality issues. 2/3/4 star range I'll actually read. "Doesn't come in chartreuse! One star!" 🤦♀️ Okay, but does the mixer actually work?
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I read the latest reviews. Many a times all the 5 4.stars are 2-3 year old reviews. I have noticed when the company stops paying attention to the quality, they start giving heavy discounts to get rid of the inventory. That's when the bad reviews happen
Also look at the MOST RECENT reviews. Sometimes a product started out great, but a recent change at the company might have affected quality negatively. This has saved me quite a few times.
Recipes reviews too! It has saved me time and effort before making recipes hat could have been rubbish if I hadn't checked.
Yes, this. Also, a lot of times there are things like "too much ingredientX, I only used half and it was delicious". Or that the cooking-time is longer, etc
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If you really like a product, don't praise it to the skies or the price will go up.
Here's a bad review to look at about this post: It is misspelled, and miss-punctuated, even though English may not be your first language, you can always use ChatGPT.
Not great advice unless your aim is spending control rather than making good purchases. Even disregarding sabotage postings, that will overweight statistical outliers. Better to look at where most ratings cluster and see what people say in that category.
Yes, this, too. But also, if it's something you really want to work, read the negatives as well as the ones with the cluster, just to see what worst case you can expect. Then, decide if you can live with the worst case.
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Yes. Good reviews may have been written by employees of the company which sells the product.
I give a minute to the positive ones and then read the negative ones to see if they’re valid. And because they can be funny. Recently I read a 1 ⭐️ review complaining about all the “f-bombs” in a book. Maybe I would have sympathized if the title didn't start with OMFG! A reviewer of a Korean War history rated it 1⭐️ because the war was so sad. More than one person dinged a gay romance because it was “about homosexuals.” I don't know about them but the recommendations along with it, like the Sikh man & white guy kissing could've been a clue- and I don't know why a novel with almost no erotic action was a problem. There are the many negative YouTube app reviews because e.g. they “can't stand how liberal that show is” and poor podcast reviews because “he just drones on & on.” Negative reviewers sometimes have a point but not always.
Right: read the negatives reviews carefully. Look for those that are clear and detailed, not just gripes. The shorter the review the less likely it is to be useful.
I do this for everything I purchase. I look for what is negative about it and then determine if its negative because of poor design and manufacturing. Then I look to see if it's just based on prices and opinions. Paying a higher price for a brand from a reputable company isn't always the better option. My family calls me the family product research specialist
I always check the 2 or 3 star ratings. Often the 1 stars are just disgruntled customers who are commenting on something besides the product.
I do this frequently on Amazon. This has helped me to not buy something that too many other people complained about.
Lots of companies employ people to do "link bombing". They go online and make sure any bad reviews, disparaging articles or anything negative about their product are pushed off the first page of any search engine. They do this by adding tags to the links to everything on their website so there are LOTS of links for the search engine to find that only go to their website. Most people don't go past the first page of search results. If you bury the bad stuff on page 4, you sell more junk.
Some things that I do - when you look at bad reviews, make a note of whether they are all complaining about the same thing. If they are, steer clear. If they are all talking about different things, then they may be random or coincidental. I'm less concerned by these reviews unless there are a ton of them. Then, I look at the number of reviews for the well-reviewed items. If they have 5 stars but only 3 reviews, then I'm a bit suspect. However, if they have 4+ stars and well over 100 reviews, I know I'm looking at a product that most people are satisfied with.
A former student of mine had a job where all she did was post fake positive reviews of the employer's product. She was not happy and didn't stay.
I do this with books. So many books out there being gushed over, but when you read the 1 and 2 star reviews, you learn so much more, mostly like the plot has too many holes, the writing is awful, and the characters are one dimensional. If I'm still interested, I'll get it from the library to see if it's worth it.
Also look at the timeline. Often you see many similar complaints, but the last one was a year and a half ago. Sometimes manufacturers actually improve their products.
I add the percentages of the top two stars. I've never gone wrong purchasing something with the combined percentage above 90 and rarely staying above 80. I don't even try below 80 anymore.
Some people just like to complain, and will leave a bad review for the most ridiculous reasons. So READ the reviews and be critical of the negatives, and the positives.
I like to look at some good and some bad reviews and see if they’re both saying the same things. Like a restaurant was “buzzing, great atmosphere!” And also “too busy and loud”. Probably true, they just felt differently about it and I can make my choice.
I think the bad reviews are the most useful, but you have to read between the lines, because a lot of the time, they were written by people with unrealistic expectations or who didn't read the instructions or something.
My hot take: I look at the average reviews (most honest IMHO), and glance at a few negative ones to see if they share anything in common. Is it an issue with the product or is the person just butthurt? You can normally tell.
I look at both good and bad reviews. This isn't a hack. The "hack" is to read the actual review and see if the person is specific in why they wrote what they did. If it's a general "I like this product" or "I hate this product", then I consider it a "bot" review.
for me, i oftenly look rate 3 out of 5 review first. the 1 or 2 sometime just to bloating
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.
In today's hectic society, it seems that sleep is the first casualty of busy people. Your body needs rest - plenty of it!
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.
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.
When in an argument, act as if you are being recorded. This will prevent you from saying stupid things you don't mean.
You could skip the middle man and just not say anything stupid that you don’t mean.
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.
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.
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…
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.
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.
I must be defective, I really dislike being referred to by my name, at least by someone I know well. Makes me feel like they are trying a low budget psychiatric trick.
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.
Eh, I'm thinking about buying solar panels. I couldn't afford to double what I need to buy, but they will still save me money (and help the environment a bit) in the long run. Doesn't always apply. But generally a good rule for everyday purposes.
When heating leftovers, space out a circle in the middle, it will heat up much more evenly.
Always go see a movie and then get dinner so you can talk about the movie afterwards. It makes you way more comfortable on dates
But if it’s a first date I’d rather have dinner first, because if I don’t like him I don’t really want to spend the next two hours in a dark space with him 😅
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."
You received your order from an e-commerce site.
You are excited to remove the packaging.
You just remembered an incident that happened to your neighbour, when a shopping site delivered a soap bar instead of mobile phone in the box.
You are now afraid, what if same happens to you?
What can you do at this point of time-
Sit back relax and put your camera or mobile phone camera on work.
Record a video while unboxing your product, just like those youtube gadget reviewers do.
Now, if something wrong happens, you will have a valid proof from your side.
This is the best thing a person can do to protect himselves from online shopping fraud.
True, I guess. In my experience, choice of online stores keeps that risk very close to zero too.
If you park in a big parking lot, take a pic of the letter/number marker so you can find it easily
For places I visit most often, I choose to park in the same row every time. Makes it easy to remember where my car is. Different story for large parking lots that I rarely visit. Then I always make sure to note any lane markings.
Want to charge your phone faster ,Keep your phone in airplane mode.
If you've forgotten an acquaintance's name, just ask them what their name is, and after they tell you, say 'No, your last name.' It works like a charm, and they never suspect a thing.
It'd be highly suspicious if I asked people for their surname in social settings
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.
Supposedly, talking to a kidnapper about your life and asking questions about his has a similar effect, increasing your chances for survival.
Waiting !!!
Waiting at least 24 hours before making a big decision that will likely determine the course of your life.
ot a job offer? Don't make a decision yet. Wait for 24 hours and think over it. Don't be impulsive! This is a big deal choice.
Got fired? Wait for 24 hours and think what happened and what is your next best step. Don't rush to call the next recruiter that pops up on your job search.
Are you upset at your family because of a big disagreement? Don't tell them immediately that they are clueless. Wait for at least 24 hours and think about it: Is it really worth it to deteriorate life’s most important relationship?
Are you almost going to yell at your incompetent coworker? Don't do it yet! Wait for 24 hours before damaging your relationship with your colleague. Think it over and devise a plan on how to discuss things over.
My point is that a lot of times in our lives we are driven by our impulses and that we make decisions driven by a moment’s emotion. Countless regrets follow because of impulsivity, life changes not for the better , relationships are broken, misery and frustration can conquer your psychological well-being.
So please wait for a while before you fight with your family, wait for a while before you yell at your colleague, wait for a while before immediately committing to that job offer.
While thinking things by waiting doesn't necessarily mean that your life choices and outcomes will be the best, at least you tried and considered all of the possibilities. You deeply and genuinely thought about whatever major issues life has thrown at you, and you are sure there will be no regrets over the coming decision. So spare yourself some hardship, regret, tears, and insecurity by waiting. You can do it: you can wait!!
Hope this helps.
Appear more confident. The bottom line is to be interested, not just interesting
Did he make that cup himself in pottery class? If so, good job! Otherwise - careful you don't spill your coffee all down your front!
You can sharpen your knives with a ceramic bowl. Rub the blade up and down on the bowl's ceramic ring.
If you've ever taken a boring class, record it with your phone and play it back on sleepless nights.
Start every phone call with 'My battery is almost dead.' That way, you can hang up on them at any time.
Or improve communication and/or honesty skills 😉 I know how hard it can be to end a call. But I have all the right in the world to spend my time as I prefer. And for me it feels much better to be honest than to lie in someone's face. Especially close or loved ones. In my experience they will understand my reasons for not wanting to speak and that this doesn't mean a general rejection.
Put a dry tea bag in smelly shoes to absorb the odor and leave them smelling fresh.
Today I am going to tell you something really useful that will save you a lot of confusion at times.
Everyone use earphones or headphones, right? Well, this device comes in two varieties - with microphone and without microphone and a lot of you might have faced problems in the past in finding whether it has mic or not. Not anymore as it is really easy to find that out.
Have you ever closely observed the audio jack of different earphones? If you have, then you might know that some earphones have two strips and some have three. Something like this.
There is a reason for this, obviously.
Now you understand? The third strip is for the microphone itself.
So, in future, if you want to check whether an earphone has mic or not, just look at the number of strips on its audio jack. If it is two, it doesn’t support mic and if it is three, then it does.
Happy reading!!
Note: this post originally had 47 images. It’s been shortened to the top 30 images based on user votes.
I think it's time to officially retire the word "hack", as nobody on the internet knows what it means. Smile? Go to bed? Buy a product and use it for its intended purpose? These aren't "hacks".
In a world where smiling, sleeping, and common sense usage are disappearing, they are "hacks". Younger generations learn less about decent human behaviors while being more focused on idealized concepts that don't work in practice but sure look cool. Honestly, we've been brainwashing our society into stupidity for several decades. The Internet has just accelerated it.
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You can always tell how nice of an area usually is by stray cats behaviour. If the cats are placid and not easily startled then it's a good indicator it's a nice neighborhood, if the cats are skittish and are easily afraid then pass through quickly.
Adding: dog poop on the street or not. Responsible dog owners are commonly nice.
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My simple life hack is for easier laundry. Any time you take your socks off at the end of the day make sure to pull them right side out. They'll stay like that even after washing and drying. I know it sounds silly. But its saved me so much time.
Maybe I'm missing something obvious here, but doesn't it take the same amount of time to turn socks after washing as it does before?
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If you want someone to help you during a phone call, smile while you talk, regardless of how you feel. It changes your voice and makes you sound friendlier, and if you're being friendly to the poor person working with the public, they are MUCH more likely to actually help you out.
What a terrible BP article. Contains no hacks. Huge waste of time. Genuinely starting to think that the internet might actually be better when it becomes almost exclusively AI generated garbage.
Stop putting the photo between the number and the text. And maybe consider reducing picture size overall?
I think it's time to officially retire the word "hack", as nobody on the internet knows what it means. Smile? Go to bed? Buy a product and use it for its intended purpose? These aren't "hacks".
In a world where smiling, sleeping, and common sense usage are disappearing, they are "hacks". Younger generations learn less about decent human behaviors while being more focused on idealized concepts that don't work in practice but sure look cool. Honestly, we've been brainwashing our society into stupidity for several decades. The Internet has just accelerated it.
Load More Replies... You can always tell how nice of an area usually is by stray cats behaviour. If the cats are placid and not easily startled then it's a good indicator it's a nice neighborhood, if the cats are skittish and are easily afraid then pass through quickly.
Adding: dog poop on the street or not. Responsible dog owners are commonly nice.
Load More Replies... My simple life hack is for easier laundry. Any time you take your socks off at the end of the day make sure to pull them right side out. They'll stay like that even after washing and drying. I know it sounds silly. But its saved me so much time.
Maybe I'm missing something obvious here, but doesn't it take the same amount of time to turn socks after washing as it does before?
Load More Replies... If you want someone to help you during a phone call, smile while you talk, regardless of how you feel. It changes your voice and makes you sound friendlier, and if you're being friendly to the poor person working with the public, they are MUCH more likely to actually help you out.
What a terrible BP article. Contains no hacks. Huge waste of time. Genuinely starting to think that the internet might actually be better when it becomes almost exclusively AI generated garbage.
Stop putting the photo between the number and the text. And maybe consider reducing picture size overall?
