People Share Their Best Life Hacks

Life hack is defined as "a strategy or technique adopted in order to manage one's time and daily activities in a more efficient way."

The term has been attributed to Danny O'Brien, a technology journalist, at the 2004 O'Reilly Emerging Technology Conference in San Diego, California.

Reddit user Apart-Location-804 asked:

"What’s a life hack so good you almost don’t want to share it?"

First Place You Look

"If you look for something and it's not in the first place you look, THAT IS THE PLACE WHERE IT GOES."

"So when you do find it, put it in the first place you looked for it."

~ Icy_Marsupial5003

What Does A Solution Look Like

"Whenever arguing with someone and it's going round and round trying to come up with a compromise, ask 'what does a solution look like to you?' Half the time, they've got no clue."

"The other half is something you're willing to compromise. It has cut down every single argument in my relationship."

~ bellabbr

Compliments Diffuse Ill Intent

"I work as a receptionist, and my supervisor always asks me why our guests like me, even if they are rude to all the other staff."

"My trick is, when someone is checking in that looks like a typical difficult person, I always give them a compliment like 'where did you get your nails done? They are so pretty!' It usually works."

~ Pure_Point2682

Buy What You Like In Bulk

"Find a pair of socks you really like, buy like 40 pairs. Throw out your other socks."

"Now you can just grab any two socks and have a pair. Get a hole in one? Throw it out. You still have tons of others that are the same."

~ PretzelsThirst

The Perfect Gift

"Gift-buying tip: Ever struggle with what to get people for Christmas, birthdays, or other occasions?"

"I keep a running list in the Notes app on my phone throughout the year. Anytime my friends or family mention something they want, we share an inside joke, or I get inspired, I jot it down under their name."

"When it’s time to buy them a gift, I just check the list."

~ someone_somewear

Designated Spot

"We have a designated spot for things like glasses, sunglasses, keys, and phones. If anyone in the house comes across any of these items, they get put back in 'their spot.'"

"For instance, if I see my SO's sunglasses laying about, I'll take them to the window ledge as that's where all our glasses/sunglasses go. We both know where to look for stuff that way."

"Pro Tip: Being organized is a refined form of laziness."

~ 4986270

An Invitation, Not A Summons

"You don’t have to respond to every text or call."

~ chefboyarde30

"It was life changing for me when I realized a ringing phone is an invitation to a conversation, not an obligation."

"I'm old enough to have lived in a time with no call display or answering machine, and running to the fixed ringing phone was the norm."

"These days if I'm too busy to answer, I can always see who just called, and /or they can leave a message. If it's really urgent, I'm also pretty sure they will call right back."

~ laughguy220

Be Kind When You Can

"Be as nice as you can as often as you can—it's a long-term investment that pays."

~ sidjameslaugh

"I got my first real job because I remembered a receptionist's name from when I was greeted. I was a 'good' candidate, but probably not the best.

"I stayed for a minute or two after the interview when she walked me out, and apparently remembering her name really helped. She told me a few years after I had been there that I was the only candidate that bothered to remember her name and she told the hiring manager that."

"Never underestimate what 90 seconds of your time can really mean to somebody. That receptionist probably gets yelled at by 10 people a day that has nothing to do with her and all it takes is one person being nice to make an impression."

~ PINHEADLARRY5

Less Stress Cooking

"For cooking, the idea of 'Mise en place'—it‘s a French phrase that means 'Put in place' before you start any cooking you set up and put all your ingredients to side: spices, sauces, all your veggies are cut and ready to put in the bowl or pan before you cook."

"Makes cooking 100% less stressful when you have everything ready and on hand."

~ castleban

Be Where You Are

"Learn to genuinely listen—people will tell you everything you need to know."

~ PivotPathway

"Or the other half: be present."

"I struggled in a relationship because even though I was there, I wasn't present. I was always thinking about work, what we were doing for dinner, what I needed to handle that evening."

"When I stopped, put distractions down, and paid attention [no scrolling!], the quality of our relationship increased a LOT."

~ persondude27

Politeness Pays

"My husband and I were going to see Roger Waters a few years ago. We had nosebleed seats, so we were riding the escalators up to the top of the venue."

"At the top of the first escalator, there was a crowd of people surrounding an employee who appeared to be handing things out."

"We joined the crowd to check it out, when we got closer we saw he was handing out free ticket upgrades. When it was our turn, I said 'could I have two please?'."

"He moved half the stack of tickets out of the way and started flipping through the ones at the bottom of the stack. He said 'you’re the first person who said please to me, so I’m gonna give you the best seats I can find'."

"4th row in the 100 level. It was incredible. Always be polite people!"

~ KrombopulousMary

Organizational Laziness

"Organizational systems work best when they work with your laziness."

"If you’re 'lazy' and tend to just dump your keys on the counter when you get home, don’t solve it by deciding they should go somewhere else and forcing yourself to change your habits, that’s too much effort."

"Instead, get a little bowl or tray for your keys and put it on the counter where you usually dump them anyway. That’s now where your keys go."

"Make the lazy thing you do the standard."

~ AegisToast

Picking A Restaurant

"This works great when you can't decide where to go to eat, especially with a significant other.

"Instead of saying 'Where do you want to go to eat?' which always leads to 'I don't care', say 'Guess where I'm taking you tonight'."

"The top guesses will be the top places they'd like to go."

~ EyeLikePie

Set The Tone

"I used be in maintenance for a huge school district. Whenever I was sent to a school where the office staff had a reputation for being cranky complainy crabby pants, I had a whole song and dance I'd run through when I got there."

"I'd walk into the office with a big smile, acting like the nicest person in the world, just a big dumb puppy who has no idea this is a 'crabby admin' school. Then, when the timing is right, I'd let slip the casual comment of 'I really like coming to this school, everyone is so nice!'."

"It's like a magic spell. The grumpuses always tried to live up to my unrealistic view of them, and were always at least reasonable, if not downright pleasant. It always felt like cheating, but really all I was doing was setting an example they wanted to follow."

"Of course, it helped that I was the guy they sent when nobody else could fix the problem, because I could always fix the problem."

~ Lampwick

Ending An Argument

"When arguing about something, ask what their interests are rather than their position—'why' they want/don’t want something. Usually it’s easier to come to an agreement if you approach a conflict from this angle."

"Also, conceding a minor point during the argument 'you’re right about x' and 'I don’t disagree with y' tends to lessen the guard of your opposition and thus making it easier to get what you want out of them."

"Active listening is key as well."

~ FlameandCrimson

What’s your favorite life hack?