Last month's Life Hacks reading review went over like ketchup at a French fry convention, so let's give it another go with a part two - I'll hand out an award to a few more tips and share my additional thoughts. As usual, the line from my book notes is in italics.
The Unnecessary Conditional Award - When hanging with someone new, emphasizing calling the other people by their names to help the new person.
This is undoubtedly a clever strategy, but at some point you'll stop and wonder - why is my default setting to address people without using their names?
The Questionable Authority Award - Three-star reviews tend to have the most honesty.
I agree with the spirit of this hack, and those who recall my comments at the end of last summer may wish to remind me that I only read the three-star reviews when I am considering a new book. The difference for me is that honesty plays no role in my reasoning - I consider the five-star "I LOVED IT OMG!!!" equally honest to any other review. What else are you going to say if you loved it?
The challenge for me is that those types of reviews are entirely unhelpful because I know that on a planet of seven billion people there will be at least one person who thinks of the book as I do of Eureka Street. What I need to know is what the book does uncommonly well, its unique strengths as a work of literature, and I think the three-star review is the best bet for gleaning this information.
The Ancient Japanese Art of Life Hacking Award - Put things back where you looked for them, not where you found them.
This is a brilliant insight, though based on my reviews of Marie Kondo's work from 2016 it does not seem to have been among her recommendations. I suppose this makes some sense as Kondo's methods include a step for determining the right place to store a particular item. This hack works more like the shortcut method of tidying up - instead of making the effort to return an item to its proper place, accept that where you first look for it is where it should be, then leave the item there for next time.
The "Google Regret" Award - Deodorant stops insect bites from itching.
My first reaction was indignant - how did I go three-plus decades without hearing about this one? The thought of all that wasted scratching...
But the other aspect of this hack is rooted in the truth about deodorant, which is easy to think about if you describe this product in the plainest terms - when you smell like the outdoor end of a farm animal, deodorant will domesticate you. How many chemicals do you think Old Spice needs to make that work? I briefly attempted to look this up, but I gave up - let's just say the initial results didn't have the right aroma.
The One I Wish I Figured Out Myself Award - Old toilet paper rolls help organize cords.
Folks, this one hack alone is worth the price of admission, and as we become ever more dependent on our digital overlords there will be an increasing return to being highly organized in the world of cords, cables, and wires. The aspect of this hack that's left me kicking myself is how similar it is to the way I use leftover cardboard boxes for a variety of purposes - shoeboxes store seasonal clothing, a twelve pack of Winter Warmer is an amplifier for my speaker, and an unusually large box sometimes deputizes as part of my standing desk.
The Uphill Runner Award - Having a computer program read a written work back to you is a good way to catch errors.
Paul Graham once used the following analogy to illustrate why he thought the best strategy for a small competitor was to always take the harder of two options:
"Suppose you are a little, nimble guy being chased by a big, fat, bully. You open a door and find yourself in a staircase. Do you go up or down? I say up. The bully can probably run downstairs as fast as you can. Going upstairs his bulk will be more of a disadvantage. Running upstairs is hard for you but even harder for him."
There is also a quote that comes to mind which I (recently) heard on a (not so recent) podcast, paraphrased - You want to know the solution to a recession? Start an hour earlier, end an hour later.
You want to know what I've never done in the history of TOA? The exact advice described in this hack. Why not? It's simply easier to read and reread each essay, to "proofread" in the traditional sense, even though taking ten minutes to read the work aloud to myself would surely result in a more productive revision process. I think a lot of people reach this kind of crossroads in their various pursuits - there is a problem to solve, and the solution is almost obvious, but hard, so the problem remains unsolved.
The One You Can Try On Zoom Award - You can try to catch people watching you by visibly yawning.
If they yawn back, it means they are still paying attention to the call... or that they are tired of the call, I suppose. Who knows? I never do.
TOA Rating: Three hacks out of four.
Back on Sunday, enjoy the rest of the week!
