30 Fake-Sounding Life Hacks That Are Actually Lifesavers, Shared By People

Yell at your vacuum cleaner to get your dogs to stop barking at it. Apparently it helps your dogs realize that you are dominant over the vacuum so they stop trying to protect you from it. Sounds like BS, but I literally did it once and it was never a problem again.

I like the '2 minute' rule. If it takes less than 2 minutes, just do it right now.

It greatly helps for people like myself prone to procrastinating. Whether it's folding a few shirts, making a phone call, putting away groceries, putting something in the kitchen away, cleaning something, etc. You put off trivial small things and over time, they stack up and all become too overwhelming to do. If you follow the 2 minute rule you will find that you're more organized and there are less annoyances that get in the way of the real things to do.

Don’t confuse mental fatigue with physical fatigue. After a long day at my brain-intensive job I think “I’m tired, I should lie down.” But really, I’ve been sitting on my butt for eight hours and what I need to recover is physical motion.

If something is worth doing, it’s worth doing poorly. Five minutes of exercise is better than zero, five minutes of practicing. The guitar is better than zero.

This isn't something that can used in too many situations, but with a lot of people sharing their "act busy" story I thought maybe a few of you would appreciate this.

Back when I was in Basic Training for the Army, near the end of basic, our Drill Sergeants liked to give us an hour or two each day out in the yard and just told us to "be busy." I think they enjoyed a break, but if anyone was caught not busy doing something, they would still get smoked.

Three of us decided to sit in a triangle formation, facing the inside and we each dug a hole in front of us but would put the dirt in the hole to the right of us. So we would dig, but someone else would fill up what we just dug. We did that for almost an entire hour. A drill sergeant walked by, looked at us, stared in disbelief, said "if this isn't the most private thing I have ever seen any privates do.... fan f*****g tastik, carry on privates.".

If you are one of the types that gets anxious about leaving iron on or similar stuff, do this. Remove the plug from the socket, point at it, and say out loud, “iron is off”.

You WILL remember that you did in fact turn it off.

Unfortunately getting vigorous, regular exercise really does help with depression. Doesn’t solve it, but actually does make a difference. I used to get so mad when therapists would suggest it lol.

"Slow is smooth, smooth is fast." My therapist told me this and it has changed my life. In the beginning of a work session or project, I think through everything patiently, no rush. Start working, and before I know it I am in a groove and time flies by.

Many years ago, I had the fans go out on my Macbook which rendered it nearly unusable.

I was pretty strapped at the time and wasn't looking forward to a pricey Apple store repair job, so I went to YouTube to see if there were any fixes.

Found a video where some guy said to just punch it a few times above the number key row where the fans were packed in beneath.

This felt like a complete troll but I figured that even if it does further damage, I'm going to have shell out for the repair anyway, so might as well give it shot.

Gave it a few love taps and sure enough the fans whirred back to life and I was back in business.

Apparently what happens is that over time you get dust and crumbs and other tiny pieces of debris into the gears of the fans and they stop spinning. Apparently bashing them a few times moved the shrapnel out of the way and allowed them to work again.

Never had another issue with it the entire rest of the time I owned that computer.

If a cop asks you nicely to come into your home or search your vehicle. ALWAYS say "No.".

Get a big metal water bottle and take it everywhere, you’ll either drink more water through the day or like me you’ll slowly get ripped because you’re carrying this annoyingly heavy bottle everywhere and not drinking so win either way.

Taking accountability for your actions & apologizing than trying to justify them & becoming defensive.

Wear sunscreen.

If you are thinking about a splurge purchase, wait 3 days. If you're still thinking about it at that point, then splurge away. Otherwise, it was just a passing fancy.

Knowing when to just leave the argument. If it lasts more than 5 minutes, it's gonna be impossible to prove you are right, so just give up, turn around, and buy an ice cream. It's much nicer than trying to prove a point to someone who will not listen.

Practicing gratitude. When you’re getting ready in the morning consciously think about things you are grateful for, could be big or small (have a roof over my head, got through the night without waking up, have a job to go to even though I dislike it, whatever). It really helps you have a better mindset at the start of the day. No guarantee your mindset won’t change throughout the day, but at least you can start off on a good step.

If you're still in an office and are just walking around always carry a piece of paper and walk briskly. Look at it when a superior is approaching. They'll assume you're on your way to discuss something, the copier, etc.

I had a file folder that I wrote Penske on. None of my superiors understood the reference. A high risk, zero reward, inside joke that only I found funny.

Before I go on vacation I take a picture of the oven etc. in my kitchen. No more "did I turn the oven off???" panic after leaving the house since I'm doing this.

Baking soda is a miracle cleaner and unpleasant odor remover.

You can clean ovens, clear up slightly clogged bathroom and kitchen drains, remove grease, remove stinks from furniture and clothing like shoes, and many more.

Lots of the tiny habits/atomic habits stuff sounds so dumb, but works for many people.

Basically the idea is that you commit to just doing one pushup a day, or learn to write one foreign language word, or one hug with your partner, or write for minutes, basically one teeny step toward whatever goal you are aiming at. Over time the ritual beds in and you can scale it.

It's worked really well for me for writing. I write now. Less so for exercise but hey ho. I still do 5 minutes minimum per day, every day.