Please list your life hacks.

[reddragdiva]

I would like you to list your life hack du jour. The one you're quite pleased with at this moment.

All sizes welcome — small ones ("I've taken you off my DreamWidth reading list, thus saving a small amount of time") to large ones ("I have discovered a potentially quite useful procedure called the scientific method"). I don't care if it's strictly temporary or a programme to change your life.

Mine: Intarweb in batches. Switch off GMail instead of living in it. Second day, going well, not missing anything that was worth catching. This is giving me time to ask "WHAT THE HELL AM I DOING WITH MY LIFE?" and have a mid-life crisis in a reasonably productive manner, between entertaining a toddler.

Please do spread this message, gathering a few would be of great interest.

yes, ciphergoth, this was inspired by you

Comments

[tisiphone]

I have determined that by only having enough dishes for two meals, I have to run the dishwasher every day. Win!

[pfy]

I did this when I lived alone. I had no dishwasher, but it did mean that the kitchen could never get too messy.

Now that I live with other people again, I have changed my strategy to "Wash the dishes straight after meals". This means that you always have a small, easy amount of stuff to wash, and you never get huge depressing piles of dirty plates sitting in the sink for days breeding mould and resentment (or if you do, it's your housemates' fault).

Also, I have learned never to fall into the trap of "I'll just leave this to soak for a while". If one of your pans is so covered in stuck-on crud that it needs to soak, fill it with soapy water before you sit down to eat so that it'll be washable by the time you come back.

[(Anonymous)]

Put a vinyl table cloth on the dining table (because I don't have a kitchen table) so that I can sit at the table to prepare veg etc for dinner and thus not exhaust myself by standing at the counter in the kitchen for hours at a time. For the interested, I take a pan half full of clean water to drop the peeled veg into; a few bowls for dropping chopped/diced veg or meat into; a largish bowl for the peelings (actually, I have a canister labelled "peelings" that gets emptied into the compost) and a couple of chopping boards along with the necessary knives. It probably takes me an extra ten minutes to get myself ready, but it's worth that to avoid me collapsing every evening from cooking dinner!

[megabitch.livejournal.com]

Bugger, the comment about preparing veg was from me, forgot to set login up.

[reddragdiva]

"Log in to Dreamwidth, put a vinyl cloth on the table ..."

[lproven.livejournal.com]

Hmmm. Few, as I fail badly at time-planning & organisation.

Caffeine. Quitting caffeine was a more or less unmitigated benefit. I sleep better, wake more easily, am more alert in the mornings.

Exercise. Used to be running, until crash-damaged joints started to give in; now cycling. If I can't focus or am feeling down, an hour's vigorous exercise sorts my head out - & with practice, actually feels *good*. I wish I'd discovered this when young, but until I was ~30, the asthma drugs weren't good enough.

Quitting alcohol - drastic, reshaped my social life, & the weight-loss proved temporary, but while permanently sober, I found I could still enjoy clubbing, socialising, parties etc., but I had better focus, concentration, memory, etc. I abandoned this one when I regained all the weight I lost & more. (Lost 2 stone, regained 3.)

[rosefox]

Before I go to bed, I put my wallet and keys in whatever bag I want to carry the next day, and put it by the door. Instant morning stress reduction.

[rufus]

I do that too, kind of, only I have my keys (work and home) hanging on the back of the latch (as well as my work ID) so I can't get out of the house without them. Daily meds, pocket money and gum on the nearby sideboard for the same reason.

Personal banking made simpler

[annalytica]

I have two current accounts. One is the "hub" account - for receiving salary and paying out bills, rent, standing orders etc. One is for day to day spending, and I transfer a fixed amount from the hub account to the spending account each month.

That way, when I check the balance in my spending account, I don't need to stop and think about which standing orders have or haven't come out yet to figure out how much I have left to spend that month.

When I check the statement for the hub account, it's relatively easy to see how my monthly incomings and outgoings compare and where my money is going, because there are only a small number of transactions, all of which are regular. That makes it clearer whether I ought to adjust the amount that goes into my spending account - or if I have some to spare that could go into a savings account.

Re: Personal banking made simpler

[reddragdiva]

:-O

That's ... stunning in its elegtance. Thank you. I have to do this.

[rufus]

I find that regularly pruning my Twitter feed to keep it as close to 100 people as possible is helpful. I have 108 right now, but there's probably at least 8 that don't post much. I essentially am vicious about weeding when it comes to signal:noise. I have some that are mostly noise, but it's noise that I enjoy. Noise that I don't enjoy or that actively makes me >:( gets the boot.

[redbird]

A small thing: I have an "Awaiting reply" tag that I put on a few messages in my inbox, so that they will stand out from all the stuff that's just sitting there because I haven't gotten to looking at it, or decided whether to delete it, or if not, where to file it. Or because it makes sense to leave it there for a week, and then delete it after the event it discusses.

Before that, I was losing conversations.

If you keep your email better organized in general, you won't need this.

[vatine]

If I notice a small thing that needs doing, I do it then and there. If I don't, I'll likely forget about it and eventually it's no longer "a small thing", but a big massive thing. Doesn't necessarily get things done in the most optimal manner, but it gets things done and that's better than things not getting done.

Thanks for the inspirational post

[nanaya]

Ooh, where to start? Hm. The Sort Shit Out project has been slow, cos we've both got ill on and off making it hard to progress, but we've got closer to a level where things can keep ticking over, so now getting the house 'presentable' (as opposed to actually tidy) takes less than half an hour.

We've made monthly cleaning rotas for the communal areas of bathroom, kitchen, lounge + hall, which divided neatly between the 3 people in the house. I have already completed my rota for this month, and am thinking of doing a bit extra.

The next life hack I really need to do is sorting out personal finances including regular charitable donations.

Re: Thanks for the inspirational post

[ciphergoth]

WRT charitable giving, this article may interest you.

[feanelwa]

-Well, now you mention it, I have stopped arguing with you on Facebook by blocking everything you post, which has saved me a lot of time and energy.
-Three methods of getting up and doing something:
--Start it and put it down, then I don't have to start it as well as do it when I come back to it the next time - easier when you don't live with loads of people
--Imagine yourself doing the thing you need to do, then do it
--Write down all the steps in the right order and then get up and just follow the list
-Give up wearing any underwear except men's underwear. Ta-da, instant comfort.
-Write down stuff-to-do on a whiteboard as soon as I think of it so that I don't forget it
-Always keep my keys, shoes and wallet in the same place. If anybody moves my keys, set fire to them.
-As soon as anybody says "but surely if you're ... then you must ...", stop listening and figure out what to have for dinner.

[nanaya]

I am glad the underwear suggestion was a good one. I myself have not really looked back.

[siderea]

Flents brand ear plugs. I've used various competitors', and these are notably superior.

I started going to sleep with them in when the roof was being rebuilt at the end of August, so the workmen wouldn't wake me early. After a week, I was completely addicted. I live in a quiet apartment building and thought I wasn't having any trouble with noise, but my sleep w/ earplugs has been vastly improved. My sleep latency has improved, I have fewer microwakes, I don't get up to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night, and above all, I feel better rested. I had no idea.

Best of all, this brand is magic: they let me sleep through someone using a nail gun four meters over my head, but my radio alarm at a reasonable volume still wakes me. Freaking magic.

[doug]

Ooh, I had a cool hack on ear plugs a few months ago. I could never find ones which were comfortable enough to sleep in - my ear canals are short, so they always stuck out, so when I put my head on the pillow sideways (which is how I sleep), they pressed in to my head painfully. But someone helpfully suggested simply slicing the ends off with a Stanley knife. Simple and effective. Result!

[wendolen]

My improvements this year have all been heath & energy related -- finally determined that low libido was due to SSRI, and that for me, 200mg of ginkgo leaf fixes that; that I am indeed mildly hypothyroid, and that taking thyroid replacement helps cut down on the constant sleepy-sandy-eye feeling I was dealing with; confirming the therapist's suspicion that I have been dealing with adrenal fatigue, and treating that. Once these things become routine, ADD management is next on the list.

So I guess these aren't life hacks, but they are important foundation-laying to get the life hacks to help. :)

[reddragdiva]

I think they most assuredly count as the sort of thing I was thinking of. Closer to the "I have started using the scientific method" end than the "I have bought a mechanical pencil" end.

[eagle]

reminder. There are, of course, many other implementations. The idea is to have a list of tasks, possibly recurring, that you can't do anything about now but that you have to remember to do at some point in the future. Each morning, I get an e-mail message listing all of the ones that I need to do that day.

Not only has this completely taken away all my worry and then guilt about forgetting things like birthdays and anniversaries, it's completely saved my ass on things like renewing driver's licenses or passports or car insurance when notifications get lost or misplaced. And it's made me the person at work who reliably does six month documentation reviews and three month patch cycles like clockwork every time, without anyone having to remind me or bug me about it.

It's a dead-simple idea, but it's done more than any other tool for offloading things I was trying and failing to keep in my head to the computer and letting the computer keep track. I've never been late with paying the rent because I forgot it was the first of the month since I started using it.

[unagothae]

I turn on the computer once in the morning and once at night.

I open a tab for each of the sites I check every day: webmail, webmail, webmail, blog, blog, blog, web comic, web comic, web comic, social networking site, social networking site, fan club message board. Then, I open a tab for each of the three conversation threads I am involved in. Never more than three.

I get updated on each tab. I do NOT hit refresh, even if the social networking site tells me there is new stuff since I logged on. I turn off the computer. The computer closes tabs and windows far faster than I can.

I have an alarm clock set for 11pm, so that I do not lose track of time and end up Googling endless nonsense until 5am.

If I have a specific task, like updating my blog or Googling "beans quick cook method," I turn on my computer, open a single window, complete that task and turn off the computer.

If I find that there are things I want to respond to, like this post and the other threads I am contributing to, I pull the plug on my laptop and let it run on battery power. When the battery is dead, I am done whether I thought I wanted to write more or not.

All of this dramatically reduces the noise in my head so that I can think clearly about things that specifically affect me and my life instead of wasting all of my time arguing with people, who do not care what I have to say, about things like the quality of food in school lunches and whether fat people deserve to be ridiculed and punished for being fat and whether people should believe what they do. Those arguments accomplish nothing but giving me a headache due to the volume of noise in my head.

It also gives me more time to do things like keep my things organized and do the actual writing I should have been doing for the last twelve years.

This has also been a heavy body maintenance year. At the beginning of the year, I took stock of everything that was causing me pain, discomfort, and annoyance. Then, I wrote a prioritized list and mapped out a plan for checking things off of the list. It started with braces and ended with new glasses.

Next year, I can work on low key maintenance and acquiring things that give me pleasure.

I also made a budget for paying down my debt so that I will debt-free one year from now. Everything in my life gets the same amount of money, including my secondary bank account. Having spending money is vital to any budget. Sure I could get by without it and pay off my debts slightly faster, but I would go freaking insane if I could not buy something nice for myself each month. Sometimes, you just need a pizza or the more expensive laundry soap or whatever tickles your happy button.

I shredded my credit cards so that I do not increase my debt by using them as a safety net. If I need something that badly, my debt payments are big enough that I can give them a little less that month in order to cover the overwhelming priority.

I pretty much hacked the shit out of my life this year and have been better in every way for it.

[silentq]

I keep a grocery shopping list in my phone and when I run out of something I add it to the list right away. My new phone lets me assign priorities and greys out the low priority stuff, which has been fairly helpful.
I try really hard to just have a text email window open for those "code is compiling, can't take a huge break but don't want to watch text scrolling" moments, switching between folders quickly lets me feel like I'm doing something. If I have an rss/blog/journal reader open, the "quick glance" isn't so quick.
Letting myself work on things for 5-10 minutes instead of trying to clear an hour or two. Watching half of a movie on DVD instead of trying to find 2 hours for the whole thing has also worked better for me.
For sewing: putting all the fabric and notions for a project in a single bag, which has led to not spending time trying to find that specific piece of trim or button while I'm working.
For cooking, I've found that doing all the prep work on ingredients before I start mixing or heating anything has reduced my stress.
I finally rearranged the kitchen cupboards to swap things around so I don't always have to get out the stepladder when I want things I use relatively frequently (specifically wine glasses). I also have managed to clear space in my freezer so I always have cocktail glasses chilling. :)

[unagothae]

"I also have managed to clear space in my freezer so I always have cocktail glasses chilling. :)"

I like your priorities :D

[mstevens]

Getting Things Done, by that nice David Allen.

Also, One Thing At A Time.

[thefon.net]

Seconded!

The system is simple, it works, and I don't waste too much time trying to improve the system (rather than GTD).

It's also important to actually _do_ things, rather than tinker with the system or the supporting tech (like apps, smartphones, etc).

A nice little website is http://www.joesgoals.com/ that lets you check off your goals day-to-day, it's motivational if you're trying to establish a new habit or quit an old one.

[kest]

Grocery list is on small whiteboard on fridge. When time to go to the store, I take a photo of it with my phone. It is *astounding* how well this works.

[unagothae]

Holy crap that is BRILLIANT!

[baljemmett]

Eat breakfast. For some reason this hit me like a bolt out of the blue last week -- when I do, I eat less crap in the office, can concentrate better, and don't feel anywhere near as dead for most of the day.

The stupid thing is, I used to; it's just since living on my own my sleep schedule has got wonky so I oversleep a lot and have to rush out in the mornings. Sorting that problem out should lead to considerably improved productivity and happiness, but it's easier said than done...

[reddragdiva]

I keep having to remember this one. Ideally, I should be eating a chunk of meat for breakfast - 100g of cheap lunch meat would be perfect. Hard part is remembering to buy it and remembering not to nibble on it.

[marahmarie]

Life-hack? Learning not to waste my time on people who only live for themselves. It's a lot to learn.

[ideological_cuddle]

Cognitive behavioral therapy. Had it professionally-applied for a specific problem, but have found it to be a really useful toolbox for all sorts of other stuff.

[gool_duck]

Things I have learnt from Flylady™ :
+doing a little is good, and better than leaving it until it can all be done.
+getting rid of unnecessary stuff is good. (It's called decluttering. It means: I have too much stuff.)
+I am allowed to do a little, then go sit down, then do a little more.

Flylady is at http://www.flylady.com/ and it is horrible in its pinkness, heteronormativity, etc. etc. But it has useful principles and cheerful encouragement. So I apply a little and forgive myself for not doing ALL the things.

+ I get more things done on days I get dressed and do not remain in my dressing-gown. Even if I am not venturing outdoors at all.

*

Full service for my laptop so, so worth it. An engineer showed up when I was on holiday in distant remote Wales and put in new memory, hard drive, and a new fan. Omg.

*

I find it is easier for me to get rid of books when they are going to a specific person. I joined bookmooch and have given away 11 books and only requested 5. The problem for me is actually getting to the post-office to send the books away. But I do it once in a while and it feels good, sending books to someone who wants to read them.

*
I am learning to take stock of my physical status when I have a sudden drop in mood: instead of trying to figure out why I am miserable/angry/paranoid, I check: have I eaten? Have I had water/tea/juice? And address that first.

[thefon.net]

I had the same idea with bookmooch, gave away 100+ books.
But now I have all these points, I'm experiencing bounceback, seeing a book I want and mooching it. :(
It was great when I was living in China, where english books of any quality are a bit harder to find, I could mooch them from anywhere.

[thefon.net]

A couple of travel lifehacks.

(1) I keep a permanent spare bathroom bag, including medicines.
So if I travel, I don't have to worry about packing one, it's already done.
Plus, I'll never forget my toothbrush, razor, antihistamines, or whatever.

(2) Since I almost always travel with a laptop, I try to make everything else powered or recharged by USB. Phone, batteries, NDS, GPS, camera, etc etc. A few USB -> cables are much lighter and less bulky than power bricks. For added points, a USB adapter from car cig lighter, so I can charge anything in the car if need be.

[seph_hazard]

I keep a permanent spare bathroom bag, including medicines. So if I travel, I don't have to worry about packing one, it's already done. Plus, I'll never forget my toothbrush, razor, antihistamines, or whatever.

Seeing as how I currently spend a night or two away from home pretty much every weekend I *really* need to start doing this. I have no idea why it never occurred to me before. (Says she who got home from a weekend away today having not brushed teeth for two nights on account of forgetting toothbrush. Again. Sigh. *goes to brush teeth*)

[seph_hazard]

I spent a gazillion hours the other day going through all my module handbooks for the next academic year and making a GIANT LIST, organised by week, of all my deadlines and what I need to have read by when. And it's on google docs, so I can edit it from home or from uni or from the netbook or from anywhere I want that I can get to my email.

I've worked out how much I can spend a week when my student loan comes in to make it last *almost* to the next instalment rather than blowing the lot in the first month like I usually do. It won't quite work, of course, because I have bigger non-standard things to pay for between now and then like boots and books and debt clearing. But knowing that at least makes me feel better. And feeling better's the point, right?

After a hard drive corruption scare the other day I finally backed up all the crap on my laptop onto two different flash drives. I do realise that sensible people do this routinely, rather than only after narrowly hauling their hard drive back from a teetering precipice, but I never claimed to be a sensible person.

I finally realised, after a HUMONGOUS anxiety attack the other day over something really fucking stupid, that I have an anxiety thing these days instead of a depression thing. And as such should stop trying to manage almost-non-existent depression and should instead start trying to manage surprisingly-life-disruptive anxiety. I do not know why it took me this long to work this out.

For the last two weeks of the holidays before term starts I am going to start trying to get up in the morning instead of the afternoon and putting on proper clothes and shoes and makeup rather than not-going-outside-clothes and slippers. I make this effort periodically and it always helps and I never manage to keep it up for more than a few days. Which is silly. I have been in this loop for the best part of five years now, for Christ's sake.

[sci_starborne]

Foot powder. Meant for athletes foot, but the anti-fungicides kill off all the other foot bacteria too. Means no rotting, and no foot odour. Skin of feet stays in better condition. Combined with keeping toe-nails trim, extends life of socks and shoes as it will decrease moisture and fabric-rotting bacteria.

Buy a standard type of sock and underwear. Find what's comfortable for you, and get rid of all others. Never again waste time in the mornings trying to find a matched pair of socks, and know all your undies are going to be comfortable and well-fitted.

A "daily checks" folder, or folders in your firefox bookmarks toolbar. Load it up with all the items you check every day. With the "open all in tabs" function, you have an single-click solution to loading up all your essential input.
It can get out of hand if you check a lot of things, so be frugal even if you do have to break it down into a few sub-folders.
For instance, my webcomic checks are divided into folders based on which days of the week they update. Some duplicates as a result.