What’s your “I can’t believe other people don’t do this” hack?

I saw a similar thread on Reddit about 12 years ago and one of the suggestions near the bottom that didn't have any comments on it is something I've incorporated into my daily life and it has made a huge difference: Adjust your car mirrors so you have no blind spots.

Most people have their side mirrors adjusted where they can see a portion of their own car in the mirror. This leaves you with large blind spots. To adjust them where you have no blind spots, sit in the driver's seat and lean your head over to the left as far as you can (basically putting your head on the window), then adjust the driver's side mirror to where you can just barely see your car in it. Then lean your head over to the passenger side about the same amount and adjust that mirror.

When adjusted properly if you can see a car in your rearview mirror, you shouldn't be able to see that car in your side mirrors, but as soon as a car is no longer visible in the rearview mirror it should be visible in one of your side mirrors. Then when it is no longer visible in your side mirror it should be in your peripheral vision.

It takes some getting used to, but once dialed in and you're used to it then it makes changing lanes a breeze. It also helps at night if someone behind you has bright lights because you'll only see them in one mirror instead of all 3.

Fact checking.

So many people just believe anything they see or hear if it agrees with their worldview.

Wash dishes while you cook. It was a game-changer for me.

Buying another box, bag, etc. of soap, toilet paper, tooth paste and whatever long lasting product before it runs out. It doesn't expire (fast), therefore I always have a second, full bag as a buffer, and as soon as I have to open the second one, I put it on the shopping list so there is always a buffer bag and I don't get annoyed if I still forget to buy one or it's out of stock.

It's been years since I had to use some weird substitute for toilet paper.

Vote early. Almost every single area in the US has early voting at least 2 weeks before elections. People complain about long lines and lack of ballots on election day. You know what you get if you stumble into a polling place before that? A couple of bored poll workers in an otherwise empty building. You get your ballot, fill it out, and leave within 5 minutes. I seriously don't understand why this isn't used more.

Using password managers. All of my friends and family refuse to use them but always complain about getting locked out of accounts due to forgetting login details. I leave them too it now.

Using an ad blocker

1. using an ad blocker. personally, i use ad blockers for years and when i work on a friends laptop im shocked how much ads there are actually. i cant count on a hand how mucn i told my father he should use ad blocker browser and extenstion. and he wont do it. recently, i changed the DNS server on a router level to nextdns, where it blocks ads and trackers. he told me its amazing how smoother the experience is now

2. password managers. as an IT specialist i have about 300 login details for many services, personal, work and clients. every login has its own password and eventually email too. and i know sooooo many people who forgot their passwords (they have about 3 very similar ones but ok) and try them all until they find out they had to creat a new for that specific service. and they are so unaware about the dangers (for example fishing, SE, ...) with this method.

When you come home after a night of heavy boozing, just chug an entire liter of water before you go to bed. It prevents the worst part of the hangover, headaches, which are just from dehydration.

Not smoke.

When someone asks a thing like this on Lemmy, look up the same thread on Reddit (guaranteed to find it was recently also posted there) and copy-pasta some of the top posts. Guaranteed worthless internet up arrows.

I wouldn't consider it a "hack", but I'm always baffled by the number of people who don't use any kind of content blocker on the web, then complain about full-page ads, pop-ups, and autoplay videos. It's like going to a cheap motel with a lady of the night without bringing condoms.

Email management. Like at all. Set up filters and use the archive. There is a key to do that. And holy fuck 2432 unread emails? You should be ashamed of yourself

Working in IT.

Tell the truth.

We will get lied to straight to our face and when proven they are lying they double down and get annoyed.

We don't care that you spilt coffee on your keyboard, we just need to know it happened so we can get you a new one.

A user on Lemmy a while back (can't recall their name) had said that when they get fast food fries, they don't salt the fries, they salt the ketchup.

I will confirm that this is a fantastic idea because it makes every fry taste equally salted, and gives the salt a way to actually adhere to the fries instead of just ending up in the bottom of the container or on your table.

My own recommendation where I can't believe more people don't do it is buying no name/store brand stuff when getting groceries and supplies. I'm pretty sure a lot of people don't do this because marketing has pushed them into thinking these are "inferior" or are not as good, but 7 times out of 10 the no name/store brand stuff is equal in quality or better while also being something like 20-40 percent cheaper. Just because something is different than the name brand stuff does not make it worse, just different. Like you DONT need a more expensive type of aluminum foil for example, the cheapest aluminum foil is identical in quality.

• Continuing study after school. Whether its science, political theory, or anything, a lot of people stop reading or studying anything after college / school.
• Doing something creative as an outlet (music, art, knitting, anything). A lot of people are just consumption machines nowadays, mostly consuming things other people have made, rather than creating something.
• Physical exercise.
• Having explicit long-term goals and working towards them.

Middle clicking links to open in a new tab

Using chip clips when you can tuck one side of the bag in and roll the other down.

Buying & steeping loose leaf tea instead of bagged garbage. Higher quality, lower price, actually tastes decent with multiple steeps. If I don’t finish the leaves, I fill the teapot with water to have cold brew the next morning. If you get into it, an electric kettle that lets you set the temperature is essential since you can avoid burning leaves much easier & unlocking more delicate leaves that require lower temperatures. Last tip which should be obvious: no milk or sugar & if you think it tastes bad, why do you keep buying black tea instead of something good?

Open a banana from the seed end and not the bunch end. It's much easier.

Wash their hands after using the bathroom.

Using shift + scroll wheel to horizontally scroll in a UI. Whenever I see my project manager going all the way to the bottom of the application and dragging the scrollbars to move horizontally it just kills me a bit inside haha.

Mask. N95 or better. My wife and I never stopped, and she never gets sick despite being immunocompromised. I work in a place where illness is common due to the environment and I’ve been sick once in the last year, meanwhile all of my coworkers come in sick like twice a month. Apparently they’d rather be sick and miserable all the time than wear a mildly uncomfortable thing on their face.

Someone just suggested to me that I should be putting my chocolate bars in the freezer first. I've never heard of this, but apparently it's a thing that I've been missing out on for a while.

So I guess I'm the one who can't believe that I don't do it.

Next time you're eating the chips at a Mexican Restaurant, get a side of lemons/limes.

Apply citrus to chips and sprinkle desired salt amount.

The salt will stay on the zesty chips throughout the salsa dipping process.

Cancel subscriptions when you sign up, fuck auto renewals and save some money if there's a gap before the next time you need or use the service, and gives you a chance to consider if it's worth the money or ethical concerns when manually renewing subs.

Eat your burget upside down.

For those that enjoy eating peanut butter and banana sandwiches, use a hot dog bun for the bread. I know, it genius.

Home cooking. It is super easy and about 100x healthier. Don't know how? Get the America's Test Kitchen Best Skillet Recipes book. Lots of super easy things in there. Once you get in the habit you really only have to do it 3-4 times a week, and there are lots of frozen meals.

The only one i can think of is people not saving their old toothbrushes. A small brush comes in real handy for a lot of situations

In the US, if you're a first time homebuyer you can buy a home with zero cash in hand. You can roll closing costs into the mortgage and have no down-payment. You'll pay more out of pocket for a few years but in many areas it's still cheaper than rent - and rent just keeps going up while a mortgage stays the same. Many states also have free programs where you can take a class and they'll give you a grant towards buying a home.

Credit unions tend to have the best rates. Get into a credit union even if it's just a secondary account that you toss $5 into each paycheck.

Also, there are programs through Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac for first time homebuyers that prioritizes them over investors. This is the easiest way to get into homeownership but the houses are usually fixer uppers.

If you're going to make simple syrup, use a stick blender.

Firstly, it's easier and faster than heating the sugar and water in a pot, which is the most popular method.

Secondly, you don't lose any significant amount of water to evaporation. That's not a big deal if you make 1:1 simple syrup, but if you're going 2:1 (which I prefer), you're already very close to the maximum solubility of sugar in water at room temperature. Losing a few grams of water can make it supersaturated, which leads to sugar crystals falling out of solution over time. Not a big deal, but a little annoying.

If you give it a try, bear in mind that you're going to get a cloudy syrup at first. That's totally normal, and it's not undissolved sugar, it's just air bubbles. They'll float out over time.

So I play guitar. I had a problem where I would sometimes drop my pick. Then, one day, I had an idea. I took some copper wire and attached it to a pick through a small hole I burned into it with a needle. I wrapped the wire around my finger. Now I physically cannot drop my pick.

i don't use my fingertips on public. door knobs, rails, etc. i use knuckles or fist or elbow or whatever. my finger tips are not for public use. started during covid, never got covid. barely ever get sick.

When eating fries, salt the ketchup. All the salt usually just falls off the fries. Game changer

Keeping an insulated water bottle around to drink from. How do people go to sleep knowing they either have to get up to take a drink or settle for some lukewarm side table water from a glass or plastic bottle??? Not to mention the waste I see with people using disposable water bottles (which have the time and place of course, but at home ain’t it.)

Use https://fallingfruit.org/ to get free, fresh food. Maybe once a week ill hit up the fruit trees and get a huge amount of free citrus, mangoes, almonds, loquats and fresh herbs (lemongrass, rosemary and lavendar mostly). There is also a ridiculous amount of olive trees on public land in my city, if I had the time and inclination to brine them properly I could probably make 20kg a week during the fruiting season. But I could never use or even give away that much olive.

I havent paid for limes, lemons, oranges or mandarins in years and I consume at least a couple kilos a week.

• Having hand sanitizer in your everyday bag. I’ve been doing it way before the pandemic and it’s a quick and easy way to disinfect while you’re out and about and not near a restroom to wash your hands.

• Want to get free food a couple of times a month? Just go on eventbrite and meetup and look up free events in your area. If you are in a relatively large city, chances are there are a ton of free events every week where you can just show up and get free food in exchange for a little socializing.

Having a IRA or 401k.

I'm 40 and the amount of people who kinda know what a IRA is is terrifying. Like, you're gonna die in poverty.

For me it's reminders. I use slack for work, and whenever anything comes up that I need to take care of (personal or work related) I'll tell slack "/remind me about <thing> tomorrow/next week".

I've been doing this for years. I have it on my phone and computer so it's easy to view and add new reminders whenever I need. I didn't think slack is crucial to use but I find it to be the most convenient, even more so then dedicated reminder apps

Knock your knuckles against your car door to zap static electricity on something less sensitive.

Store your toothbrush rolled in a piece of sanitary paper. It's so much cleaner than having it laying around, where dust gets on it.

Using curbside pickup at Chick-fil-A. The line is a mile long, people. I'm in and out in 45 seconds.

This one is sort of very specific and niche, but as a caregiver of someone with an ostomy, you can take a roll of this disposable plastic produce bags from the grocery store. Terrible for use as a produce bag because they're plastic and disposable and whatnot, but for bag empties when you need to use something disposable no matter what? They're invaluable.

Also doggy poop bags. Great for that. Just grab one of the small almost empty rolls, and tell the cashier "I'mma take these" and no one gives a shit

Swipe left and right on your phone's spacebar to move the cursor.

I feel like most intelligent people are now on the bidet bandwagon, but it still blows my mind how many people I know that still resist using one (even when readily available). Quit being fuckin disgusting!

Some of these same people wonder why their sex life is mediocre at best. Maybe it's your hygiene. Just sayin.

Neti Pots. I clean our my sinuses every night before bed, and I rarely get sick. Of course it's not a miracle cure, but it's great at preventing a viral infection before it starts.

Use those paper toilet seat covers so you don't sit right on someone else's butt cheek grease

I get HelloFresh boxes and cancel after one week

When eating chicken wing flats, if you pry the bones apart you can slip them out and you're left with a single piece of meat you can eat whole. You don't have leftover bits in the middle of the two bones.

Also, keep nitrile gloves in your glove box or purse and use them when eating messy things like wings and ribs and cake.