Having a pocketful of life hacks can make your life easier. We sometimes forget that these "tricks" are really meant to simplify aspects of our life that don't need to be as hard as they are. Just take a look at these entries, which might seem silly on the surface, but are more invaluable than you think.
Reddit user, u/juatanotherbtsstan, wanted to know how to quickly improve their daily lives when they asked:
What's a life hack that sounds crappy but actually works really well?
Start Off Strong
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Exercising first thing in the morning really does make you feel better all day.
It is garbage to start. Take a month or two to get used to. Then you miss a day and feel like sh-t.
I actually really hate that this is the truth. I started exercising in the morning with the Express purpose to disprove that 1) doing your hardest/least favorite task first thing gets it done and 2) that it improves your mood and energy for the day.
Been getting up at 455am every morning for so many years to exercise before work that I cannot live without it. Like I will wake at 3am to exercise if I have something that will have me leaving the house for 5am (I live in buttf-ck nowhere. Most medical appointments are hours away and I have two chronic illnesses)
Never Assume The Worst For Someone You Respect
When someone you like or respect does something confusingly infuriating, imagine the most-favorable-to-them possible explanation, and pretend that's true. Wait until you know more before getting reflexively angry.
I do a version of this as a teacher when a student messes up. I go in saying I'm worried about them rather than I'm disapproving of them. I learn much more about students' home lives and build better relationships.
Might. As. Well.
I call it the power of "might as well"
Gonna get up from my desk and go to the kitchen? Oh well, might as well take this plate with me.
Going to pee before bed? Oh well, might as well brush my teeth.
Going to brush my teeth? Oh well, might as well floss.
Going outside? Oh well, might as well bring the trash.
Its ridiculous, but it works.
A Small Change To A Question Can Be A Big Difference
Don't ask someone 'do you need anything?' when they are going through something. Ask them 'what can I do for you?' and stop talking. Sometimes listening is enough. Being a good listener isn't easy. You have to stop waiting for your turn to speak and just be there for them.
Source: father of daughters.
Make It Tougher For Yourself
Don't save your banking information on online stores. Makes impulse buying much more difficult if you have to track down your wallet.
Anything Is Always Better Than Nothing
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If something's worth doing, it's usually worth doing badly.
Half-assing the dishes is better than leaving them to fester in the sink. Sending old friends a happy birthday message when Facebook prompts you is better than losing touch entirely. Taking a quick shower without soap is better than not showering at all. Piling your laundry up in a basket instead of putting in the wardrobe is better than leaving it scattered over the floor.
Also applies to self-improvement stuff as well as maintenance. Don't worry so much about doing 100 pushups, 100 sit-ups, 100 squats and a 10km run that you do nothing, just walk around the block and do one of each of the others for now. Just write one page a day of that novel, and allow it to be terrible. Write simple, buggy programs. Draw badly. Watch youtubers cook or fix their car or put on makeup or build something, even, if you can't find the energy to yourself.
If you're having trouble finding a date start pre-emptively assuming that everyone is off-limits and just focus on finding genuine friends who match your orientation.
Somewhere along the line you'll lose your discomfort and start getting better at doing what you want or need to do.
Set A Time To See What You Can Get Done In That Time
Take two to ten minutes to tidy up your home before you go to bed. The next morning, you'll feel way better not having to look at all the junk/things you still have to do.
Not Writing It Down To Remember It Now...
Writing things down by hand helps you remember them better.
Yeah when my teachers let us make cheat sheets for tests I ended up knowing the material well enough that I only needed to reference the cheat sheet once in a while.
Turns Out, Wasps Also Don't Like Wasps
A knitted fake wasp nest.
Our wasps buggered off the same day, haven't been seen since.
Decide How You Want To React
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Choose your reaction before your emotions can.
I was always jealous of people who naturally had a great response to problems (like "I forgot something at home. Oh well, it happens to everyone. I'm sure they'll understand why I'm late."). I began really noticing how much easier that must make life, so I started trying to imagine the "right" reaction to situations.
If you make yourself pause to think of a good reaction, you can kind of choose it like "Yeah, that would be a good one" and then you don't give your stupid brain an opportunity to throw out a sh-tty reaction.
(Someone made me remember something I think is important to add, so I'm pasting it here so it won't get lost)
I learned to do it despite it seeming impossible. The trick for me was to recognize that I was enabling and feeding my own emotional responses, like "My car won't start, I should be upset! Why wouldn't I be?! This will cost me money!" I was choosing to be upset because I was "supposed" to be, or I was entitled to be upset. But I didn't really want to be.
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The old wives' tales.
They are the stories of legend.
I think we all need a big DEEP Google dive though.
Where did they originate?
WHO ARE THE OLD WIVES!
You don't hear about them as much anymore.
It's like science and logic are suddenly a thing.
But they sure are a good way to keep your kids and their behavior in line.
Redditor the_spring_goddess wanted to discuss the tall tales we've all been fed through life, so they asked:
"What is an old wives tale that people still believe?"
"Wait an hour to swim after eating."
What a crock!
So many summer hours wasted.
I want revenge for that one.
Say Nothing
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"An undercover cop has to tell you he's a cop if you ask him."
LonelyMail5115
"Pretty much most advice when it comes to cops are old wives tales. I’m not even a cop but most of the advice you hear is pretty off."
I_AM_AN_A**HOLE_AMA
Say Something
"That you have to wait 24 hours to report someone missing."
Severe_Airport1426
"I really think this one is important and should be the top regardless. As it’s a piece of advice that needs to be relearned and the only way to do that is through awareness."
crappycurtains
"This used to be true. I think they changed it after some guy named Brandon went missing back in the '80s or '70s. You used to have to wait 24 hours if the missing person was an adult because they had 'a right to be missing' and then everyone realized that was stupid and stopped doing it."
AlbinoShavedGorilla
Body Temps
"That drinking ice cold water after eating oily foods will solidify the oil and permanently remain in your body. I informed my coworker that if your body temperature ever reached that point, you’d have bigger problems than weight gain."
chriseo22
"Oh, I have a cousin who 100% believed this. One of those guys who believed every early 2000s internet rumor and old wives tale. One night I chugged a big glass of ice water after dinner and he started freaking out and saying my guts were gonna harden."
"I sarcastically told him to drive me to the hospital if that happened. Obviously, nothing happened and the next morning I said something like 'Thanks for being on standby in case my guts filled with hardened oil.' He just walked off muttering under his breath."
apocalypticradish
Arms Down
"When I was pregnant, I was told by young and old alike that I should NOT raise my arms above my head or exert myself in such a manner because it could cause cord strangulation to my unborn sons and daughters."
Fatmouse84
10 Years Actually
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"Chewing gum stays in your stomach for 7 years."
"I remember accidentally swallowing a piece of gum when I was a kid in like 1995 and just accepting my fate like welp, gonna have this in my stomach til high school I guess."
Gecko-911
I was so afraid to sallow my gum when I was young.
This tale is haunting.
High/Low
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"You can tell the sex of the baby by how you carry."
LeastFormal9366
"Pregnancy certainly wins awards for the most old wives tales. So much absolute BS was repeated to us by everyone we talked to."
IllIIIlIllIlIIlIllI
The Cursed
"If you’re a woman and you wear opal jewelry but opal is not your birthstone (October), you’ll never be able to have children, or will be widowed, or just generally have bad luck or something. You can counteract this by having a diamond in the same piece of jewelry as the opal, though."
"I have a nice opal ring that my parents gave me years ago, and I’ve had other women give me this 'advice' unprompted more than once when I’ve worn it. I have absolutely no idea where it started, but I’m pretty sure this little chunk of silicate rock has no concept of what month I was born in, let alone of how my reproductive organs work."
SmoreOfBabylon
Stay In
"Going outside with wet hair will make you get pneumonia. Or an earache. Or maybe arthritis. Depends on which old wife you listen to."
"Jokes on them - I haven't blow-dried my hair in decades and usually leave the house with wet hair in the morning. On winter mornings, the tips of my hair get frozen. No ear infections or pneumonia or arthritis yet."
worldbound0514
Dreams and Facts
"You never make anyone up in your dreams you've seen everyone in your dreams somewhere else before and never make anyone up entirely."
"How would you possibly prove that to be true? My partner adamantly believes this and tells me this 'fact' whenever I have a dream about someone I've never met before."
mattshonestreddit
"My late wife used to tell me that before she met me she would have dreams of standing at an alter on her wedding day but could never see the guy's face, no matter how hard she tried. After meeting me the face was filled in with mine. Don't know if it's true but one of those things I like thinking of every now and then when I miss her."
Darthdemented
Cracked
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"Some people still believe cracking knuckles causes arthritis."
Choice-Grapefruit-44
"There's a doctor (Donald Unger) that cracked his knuckles a couple of times a day for 60 years, but only on one hand, just to prove it. Both hands remained exactly the same."
MacyTmcterry
I love my knuckles.
Do you have any tall tales to add to the list? Let us know in the comments below.
