The internet is great for a lot of things. From looking at endless cat pics during your coffee breaks to finding some heartwarming stories to keep your spirits up during difficult times. However, one thing that we truly love the internet for is its role in educating us while entertaining us.
Reddit user u/Accomplished-Rough36 asked their fellow r/AskReddit users to share the life hacks that they loved so much, that they integrated them into their daily routines. And the answers were eye-opening, touching on a bit of everything.
We know that we’ll be ‘borrowing’ a few of these hacks, for sure. Scroll down, upvote the responses that caught your attention the most, and let us know in the comments which of these life hacks you think are the most useful, dear Pandas. Oh, and if you’ve got any of your own daily hacks to share with us, you can do so in the comments.
Bored Panda reached out to Steven Wooding, a member of the Institute of Physics in the UK and part of the Omni Calculator Project, having helped create the Weird Units Converter.
He told us about the pros of life hacks as a way of sharing information. “I’m a fan of distilling information down to its core essential components. An idea made simple will be quickly understood by more people and then shared,” he said that simplicity and brevity are very useful tools when it comes to reaching more people. “If the life hack really helps someone in their daily life, that also increases the sharing, reaching a broader audience.”
#1
Saying “thank you” instead of apologizing for things that don’t need apologies. I’m a chronic apologizer and it’s helped a lot. For example, if I have a bad day and vent to my husband, instead of saying “sorry for venting and bringing down the mood” I’ll say “thank you for listening and being supportive.” It puts a much more appreciative and positive light on your relationships!
However, Steven suggested that people should actually verify what works and what doesn’t instead of trusting advice on the internet blindly. “Absolutely always test if the life hack actually works. Ideally, it would be best to do this before getting excited about the new idea and sharing it with your friends,” he told Bored Panda.
He also noted that everyone should be a bit skeptical with any new idea that they come across.
#2
The second I walk into my house when I’m done for the day, I go straight to my room and change into my comfy/ugly clothes. Now all of my good clothes last 3x longer.
#3
You don’t have to follow the rules. Doing half the dishes is better than doing none. Having a clean hamper and a dirty hamper is completely acceptable. Nobody said the socks in your drawer had to be paired up, either. Focus on one thing in general and apply it to the whole house that day, like just do floors or surfaces. There’s nothing wrong with your kids being bored sometimes, that’s their problem. Let them figure it out, but don’t limit what they’re able to do. You don’t have to “pick” what to have for dinner every night, we rotate through staples every week. If we get bored, we just eat what we feel like. Nothing wrong with a bowl of cereal and a sandwich for dinner, as long as everyone’s fed and the rest of the day wasn’t junk.
Steven gave some tips on evaluating new info and life hacks as you become aware of them. “Can you see how it would work based on your existing knowledge? If it’s in a field you know nothing about, do some basic research in that area,” he said.
“Another good option is to look for independent sources of information (though it can be difficult as news sites tend to reflect each other). However, in the end, your best bet is to test the life hack and see if it works for you”
#4
not quite literally daily, but every time it comes up, I say to myself “righty tighty lefty loosey”. Even if English is not my primary language lol
#5
I stopped doing any kind of work in my dorm room at college and only did it at the libraries. Not only did I become way more productive, but I enjoyed being in my room a lot more. It’s way more comfortable (and easier) to fall asleep when you’ve taken a 15-minute walk home than when you’ve been working at your desk in the same room for 4 hours.
#6
Posting this too late for anyone to see, but I brush my teeth as part of my daughter’s bedtime routine. This keeps me from snacking late at night since my teeth already feel clean and I don’t want to mess them up before bed. I’ve lost about 5″ from my waist, and it keeps me accountable to brush my teeth before I’m too tired to care.
#7
Washing dishes while cooking. Now it’s at a point where I just do it because I want a clean kitchen.
#8
Getting all the sleep I need. I noticed a while back how literally everything is better when I am well-rested and I don’t care if people make fun of me for sleeping 9h every night. I have never pulled an all-nighter in college and when I do hikes that start really early I just go to bed for the night in the late afternoon the day before and still get my sleep. Nothing standing between me and my bed lol
#9
Preparing/getting stuff ready the night before. For example: Getting my shoes and putting them by the front of the door Packing my backpack with all the things I’ll need for that day Getting my underwear, shirt, pants, etc. out and folding them in a pile Packing lunch(es) for that day No more running around in the mornings looking for stuff on a time crunch! It’s become so much less stressful when I know where everything is and I can just get everything (on) and leave.
The parenting blogger said that she keeps small mental task lists every single day. “The tasks could be as simple as emptying the dishwasher or putting away a load of laundry. Maybe most importantly, I invest in a professional housekeeping service once a month,” she revealed.
“That helps keep the house in a manageable state to the point that I can keep the house from getting totally out of control in-between visits. That said, I think parenting comes with a certain degree of clutter to be expected.”
#10
I flip my pill bottles after taking them so I remember if I took them or not. really helps if you take the same pill in the morning and at night.
#11
My alarm clock is across the room, requiring me to get out of bed to turn it off. Prevents me from falling back asleep.
#12
Every time I leave a room I spend less than thirty seconds tidying or doing one task. Pickup a pillow off the floor. Return a glass to the kitchen. Going to the bathroom, carry up some laundry. Literally every time I leave a room. It’s such a habit now that I don’t even think about it but I do notice that my home is always tidy.
I also have a home for everything in my house. I literally never lose anything. You have to take a step back occasionally and think about the location of things logically. When an item is very economical to buy, I own multiples for sake of ease. Scissors in the kitchen, office and bathroom. Makes life easier and saves so much time. The flip side of that is always storing like things in one location. Batteries, no matter the type all in one location with battery chargers. I never throw them in a random drawer.
For Samantha, a happy and warm home should have kindness as the core family value. “My house is always a little bit chaotic because we all have big personalities and are a loud and busy bunch. But I stress to my kids the importance of us being kind to one another. Kindness and love are at the root of a happy home for me, even when things get crazy and we slip up and say things we don’t mean,” she said.
#13
If you have long hair, brush it before you get into the shower.
It really reduces the amount of hair in the drain, and it makes it easier to shampoo and condition more thoroughly.
#14
If it takes less than a minute, just do it
#15
Making my bed and straightening my room every morning. It started when I was trying to cope with major depression. Good tool.
#16
Drink. Water. It’s something so simple yet so often ignored. Yeah, it can get annoying at times. I never really want to get up at 3:30 am to piss. I don’t really want to have to stop on, say, a six-hour drive because I have to pee. But, staying well hydrated helps me feel better, look better, rest better (yeah, there’s the 3:30 am piss, but that’s after three hours of sleep. I didn’t toss and turn for three hours before then,) etc. And it will help you live longer. Your organs will thank you.
#17
Make a list. I have severe anxiety, and I used to stress all day about all the things I need to do. Making a list gives you an easy way to keep track of your accomplishments, but more importantly, it just gets all of that out of your head. I don’t need to keep going over what I need to do today because it’s all on the board in front of me. Then I can choose the thing I feel like I can handle at the moment and keep checking things off little by little.
#18
I bought 24 pairs of the same socks and threw the rest of miss matching ones away. I have a couple of “winter socks” and that’s it.
#19
Empathizing with someone when they’re angry. This has saved me countless times in my customer service career.
#20
“Don’t put it down, put it away” Edit: thanks for the awards and badges etc, everyone! I truly don’t know what they mean but appreciate it lol. A lot of ppl here say “please tell my wife” or “please tell my husband”; Funny enough, my WIFE is the one that made me live by this. She saw it on an ADHD subreddit she frequents (to get a better idea of what goes on in my head lol). She’s an amazing person. Thanks again, everyone.
#21
If you have to put something down for a bit, like say your phone or glass of water, say out loud, “I’m putting this ____ here.” I guess that by doing that you engage different parts of your brain and make it more likely for you to remember where you put something when you need it again.
#22
If I’m feeling depressed I just tell myself ” I’m depressed for now.” It helps me look forward to when I’m not feeling down.
#23
Drinking one cup of water for every two alcoholic beverages. I keep a bottle of water by my bedside before I go to bed. When I wake up to go pee I chug as much as I can and pass back out. End up with far less of a hangover
#24
Thinking of different scenarios for bad drivers. If there’s a truck going 90mph on the highway and weaving through lanes without a turn signal, I just imagine that he’s on the verge of crapping his pants and that’s why he’s in a rush. I find it funny and usually improves my mood.
#25
Don’t yuck someone’s yum. Try out their flavour of food once
#26
The chef who taught me to cook said at the get-go, 90% of cooking is cleaning
#27
Shopping a list. Putting things on a list when they need to be replaced and sticking to the list when I go shopping. It’s probably saved me many thousands of dollars by now.
#28
Minding my own business.
#29
Getting out of bed immediately when the alarm goes off.
#30
Deep stretching right before bed or right when waking up. makes a world of difference
#31
A glass of water in the microwave to cook food that isn’t already frozen. Works really well with things like pasta that you want to reheat and not get that really bad rubberized texture. The temp of the water is also usually a good tell of how hot your food is, so you don’t need to go and taste it cold.
#32
That moment trick from Deadpool. I have a bad temper, not going to lie. It felt uncontrollable for a while, but it was just because I was always so quick to react. As a kid, if my brother said something that rubbed me the wrong way, the next moment, I was trying to fight my brother without even thinking. Now, if something pisses me off, I catch myself and think about why that thing pissed me off. 9 times out of 10, I’m just being dumb and allowing something dumb to upset me. This helps a lot if you rage in video games. Most of the time if you’re raging in a game at someone on your team, you’re the problem.
#33
Resting my feet on a small booster stool for optimal pooing position
#34
Carrying a bag with me that folds into a tiny thing. I love it and people always smile at it when I say i don’t need a bag at the store
#35
When I’m trying to sleep in bed at night I go over what I did that day and think of everything I did in a positive light or as if it’s part of a goal I’m working towards. I’ve never been depressed (or at least diagnosed with it!) but this helps feeling like I’ve accomplished something and I can feel better about what I’ve done. Celebrate every little thing you did, and also it helps me fall asleep a little bit faster too.
