People Are Sharing 83 Genius Life Hacks And You Might Be Surprised You Never Thought Of Them
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 dont 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!
Image credits: thegracefuldork
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
My alarm clock is across the room, requiring me to get out of bed to turn it off. Prevents me from falling back asleep.
Image credits: soik90
#3
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 then when you’ve been working at your desk in the same room for 4 hours.
Image credits: NoLifeMax
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 the 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
Getting out of bed immediately when the alarm goes off.
Image credits: casualwalkabout
#5
not quite literally daily, but everytime it comes up, I say to myself "righty tighty lefty loosey". Even if english is not my primary language lol
Image credits: Freedom0001
#6
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.
Image credits: anderoogigwh*re
Previously, Bored Panda spoke about house cleaning and chore life hacks with parenting blogger Samantha Scroggin. She told us all about how to keep on top of things when you have a family and kids.
"Keeping the house clean is a moving target in my experience. But for me personally, an at least somewhat clean house is tremendously important to my mental health," she said.
"A tidy house helps me feel more in control of my life, and able to handle the curveballs that often come our way as busy parents,” Samantha told Bored Panda.
#7
Washing dishes while cooking. Now it’s at a point where I just do it because I want a clean kitchen.
Image credits: devatrox
#8
“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 saying “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.
Image credits: acardy
#9
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 3:30am 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 3:30am 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.
Image credits: 2020IsANightmare
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
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 on how hot your food is, so you don't need to go and taste it cold.
Image credits: lostcauz707
#11
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.#12
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
Image credits: Kirasmile
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
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.
Image credits: KomodoJo3
#14
You dont 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.
Image credits: vampiratemirajah
#15
Minding my own business.#16
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#17
The chef who taught me to cook said at the get go, 90% of cooking is cleaning
Image credits: LAGreggM
#18
Moisturizing my face right after the shower
Image credits: Bookies44
#19
Deep stretching right before bed or right when waking up. makes a world of difference
Image credits: CaptainObvious1906
#20
Shopping a list. Putting things on a list when they need to be replaced and the sticking to the list when I go shopping. It's probably saved me many thousands of dollars by now.
Image credits: tranquilseafinally
#21
My summer hack is coffee ice cubes. I make a tray of coffee cubes for my ice coffee. One cup of coffee makes one tray. Game changer, no more watery ice coffee.#22
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.
Like 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.
Image credits: _IratePirate_
#23
Buying a meal deal and keeping the chocolate bar in your coat pocket. When you finish work and get into the elevator you’ll always put your hands in your coat pockets ready for the s**tty commute home. And there it is, a nice little treat to remind you that everything is ok#24
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.
#25
Empathizing with someone when they're angry. This has saved me countless times in my customer service career.
Image credits: policyshift
#26
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.#27
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 you brain and makes it more likely for you to remember where you put something when you need it again.
Image credits: -eDgAR-
#28
I bought 24 pairs of the same socks and threw the rest of miss matching ones away.I have a couple “winter socks” and that’s it.
Image credits: familiarfate01
#29
I saw an episode of Wife Swap in 2005 where the mom had this system with her sponges that stuck with me. You just downgrade the dishes sponge to the wiping off the counter sponge instead of throwing it out right away. It makes me feel like I have my s**t together when I’m losing it tbh#30
I got three. Putting green onions in water and not in the fridge before using them, and then also putting the white parts in water after using the greens. They grow back quickly so you can use them again. The finger trick for measuring water for rice. It works every time and the rice comes out perfect. And neem oil for my plants, they love it.
Image credits: Evoehm13
#31
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
Image credits: vanillax2018
#32
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.#33
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 morning and at night.
Image credits: rachwiddabangs
#34
Heat take-out Chinese in a pan with a bag of frozen veggies. It's healthier per portion and costs less because you get more. Win-win.#35
Sleeping with a pillow between my knees. No more lower back pain#36
When in doubt, throw it out.#37
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.#38
Waking up early everyday. I used to not be a morning person but I found a morning radio show I liked and waking up early makes me have a productive day.#39
When stuck in bed with my phone in the morning, I aim to at least relocate to the couch. Always end up starting my day accidentally instead.#40
I once saw a video about extending the life of shaving razors by cutting out a piece of old jeans and using it as a strop. I get about 6 months out of a single Gillete Mach 3 and I am a legit Sasquatch.#41
Adding a tbs of Chia seeds to my cereal to help me feel more full.#42
Resting my feet on a small booster stool for optimal pooing position#43
If it takes less than a minute, just do it#44
Making my bed and straightening my room every morning. It started when I was trying to cope with major depression. Good tool.#45
A work from home life hack I adopted was using break time from work to do low mental energy chores. Stuff like dusting furniture and vacuuming the pool is a nice break from the mental energy of working and I’m getting stuff done.
Image credits: drakeallthethings
#46
having a notepad on my pantry door.When I take something out I jot it down voila instant shopping list.
Image credits: that_other_goat
#47
-Taking my dog for a 20 min. walk first thing in the morning to get my brain and body moving-Filling a water bottle and leaving it on the kitchen counter before bed so I'll remember to chug it first thing in the morning. My day is completely different when I start it off well-hydrated.
-Doing 15-20 minutes of light cleaning after work to save from doing a ton of housework on the weekends.
Image credits: Always_Trying01
#48
I do squats when I brush my teeth.
Image credits: Shartran
#49
Tongue scraper.#50
Don’t yuck someone’s yum. Try out their flavor of food once#51
ignoring people I don't want to interact with#52
Putting the cream in the bottom of the cup and pouring the coffee in. Thousands of spoons saved from the dishwasher. Hundreds of stir sticks kept out of landfills.Doing my part.
#53
This will probably go straight to the bottom but sometime last year or the year before there was a thread on Reddit that was something regarding "your best life hack" and on there, some kind Redditor taught me that holding down Windows-Shift-S opens up the snip-screen menu on Windows 10 for screenshotting and simple highlighting or marking up your desktop.I use that every single day now. I was probably very late to that party too but someone will read this and be happy they did. Paying it forward.
#54
It’s a cheap hack, but, ordering drinks with no ice - so I would get a full cup. I could drink it for 3-4 times a day, even the day after. Saves money, and a little moodbooster for me#55
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.
#56
Getting lunches ready the night before. Not necessarily packing them up, but getting all the individual parts ready. If I’m bringing leftovers, then packing a portion. Or cutting up veggies and cheese to make a little snack platter. Then in the morning I grab the things I prepped the night before, with the easy to grab things (an apple, a yogurt, maybe a muffin if I was ambitious and baked some, or a hard boiled egg if I thought enough ahead and made some) and there’s my lunch.Rather than figuring it out from scratch in the morning, or just buying something during my lunch break.
#57
When you leave a room, take one thing with you that belongs somewhere else.When I see a part of the bathroom is getting dirty/dusty, I immidiately clean it. Toilet or sink or floor whatever.
Doing 10% of something is better than doing none. I'm not the healthiest physically or mentally, so keeping organised is hard. But if I do one thing, I consider myself productive.
#58
Reading a book to fall asleep faster.#59
Stretch while waiting for something (microwave, etc)#60
My teenaged kids constantly gave me their laundry inside out with their underwear and socks still stuck to the pants, like they literally peeled them off in one piece. I’d nag and nag at them to turn their clothes right side out and they continue to leave them inside out so I decided to give them back their laundry clean but inside out. It worked.#61
Brushing with my Left hand, I'm right handed and I read back in the day that if you train your brain to use your non dominant hand you'll be good in task management I think.
Image credits: tr0jance
#62
Not leaving the house in an absolute tear to get to work. Take an extra fifteen minutes to make your bed, start/empty the dishwasher, tidy the kitchen, toss all your laundry into the basket.This not only helps me be calm when I get home but I find myself less frazzled at work too.
#63
Drinking a pint of water on an empty stomach in the morning before breakfast.Apparently it's good for me, I dunno, I just do it and have done for years.
#64
Waking up earlier on my days off. So the days I work, technically I get to sleep in a little.#65
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.#66
Having a bedtime routine helps me to fall asleep. Otherwise, I have trouble. My routine is watching one episode of a funny or happy show on TV. And then reading manga on my phone, with the screen set to its dimmest. Works like a charm#67
leaving a bottle of water on my nightstand, so I drink it first thing in the morning.also don't really know if it's a life hack or not, but using a sneaker as a cup holder when I'm not near a table.
#68
Learning this shoelace knot. Pretty much just as simple as the simplest one most people learn but looks better, is more secure, and easier to undo when you want to.#69
Doing 1 thing at a time and nothing else. Life becomes so much simpler.Write a list of the stuff you need to do and just follow that list.
#70
Probably not even a life hack per say, but most of the comments upvoted are not life hacks either. Mine is to clean after myself, whatever I do. Cooking? Clean instantly. Spilled a drop of milk? Clean instantly. Massive s**t? Clean instantly. Washing your hands and you notice dust on the faucet? Clean instantly. It just makes life easier and you feel so much better.#71
Just bought a microwave with a silent mode. Changed my life!#72
Not sitting down until everything is done. Come home from work, get changed, put the laundry on, do the dishes, make dinner/meal prep, clean the house a bit, walk the dog. Do everything thats needed of you before you sit down on the couch/to have dinner.
Image credits: clydeswitch
#73
This is for the bros. When showering, wash your ass with shampoo. Your ass crack hairs will be super soft and conditioned. Women compliment me on this all the time now.#74
Purposely rewording anything "negative" in terms of "not positive". Doesn't matter that I'm saying the word "not", I'm still suggesting "positive".Congratulating myself when finishing a meal, and when getting ready early in the morning. Just to reaffirm that "I can f**king do this".
#75
Intermittent fasting. Done it for years. Never looked back. Life changer#76
One that I read on here and have since adopted entirely is to squeegee off water when I've had a shower. Totally the best advice I've had on a life hack thread.#77
Setting calendar reminders for myself that go off when I need to do them.#78
Lists of stuff you need to do. It doesn't matter how minor it is, put it all on there.Then, you have two options. Do the easiest one first, and demonstrate to yourself that you've been pointlessly putting it off. Or do the most difficult one first, so that you get it out of the way and the list becomes easier and easier to finish.
Either way, pretty soon the focus of your activity changes from the actual tasks to "crossing things off the list". You barely even notice you're doing the tasks anymore, you just remember the pay-off you get when you cross another item off the list.