Welcome, Player One, to the game universally known as real life. As you may have already discovered, real life can be challenging. While there are plenty of enjoyable moments—like falling in love and eating a cheesy slice of pizza—you've also undoubtedly experienced unexpected challenges, moments of self-doubt and periods of frustration. Real life is hard, and it's imperative that you use a cheat code to cut yourself a break every now and then.
Below, people share their best and most useful life hacks to help you through this game of life. Don't forget to check the comment section below the article for more interesting stories!
#1 Walk With Purpose
Walk with a purpose. For some reason, people think you're busy and you don't get hassled.
#2 Vending Machine Cheat
Take a one-dollar bill and flip it over. Now tape a five-dollar bill and tape it to the end of the upside-down single with as little tape as possible to make it secure. Now feed the five-dollar bill into a change machine. The coin machine reads the five, gives you quarters, then reads the upside-down single, rejects that, and boom, you got yourself a felony.
#3 Carry Pizza Always
No one stops a guy or girl carrying a pizza. It can get you backstage to concerts.
#4 Don't Overexplain
You don’t have to always "give away the recipe." By that I mean, don’t over-explain yourself. If you can’t do something, 9/10 times it’s okay to simply say, “Unfortunately, I’m not able to do that," or, “Can’t swing it this time." You don’t have to go on and on about why, or make up reasons and list them off. Over explaining just ends up looking more suspect than simply being clear and concise.
#5 Exercise Non-Existant Muscles
I am an assistant teacher in a preschool. Asking if kids can use their sitting muscles and listening muscles during circle time makes the kids want to show me how "strong" they are.
#6 Ask Questions
Ask questions about everything. Ask people about themselves. Be open about stuff you don't understand, and ask questions about that. When you forget someone's name, own up to it and just ask them. I am amazed at how many people won't acknowledge even a tiny amount of ignorance, or won't show honest curiosity about something, can't admit they've forgotten something they feel is important, and won't ever ask for help. Guys... your life becomes so much easier if you just drop the fucking ego and ask.
[Deleted]
#7 Be Punctual and Friendly to Get Jobs
If you are punctual, smartly dressed and quite friendly, you can actually get pretty far in most jobs without being that good at anything or trying very hard.
Piqsels
#8 I'm a Little Teapot
Not a cheat code, but an Easter egg: If you ask someone if they know ALL the words to “I’m a little teapot” around 80% of the people you ask will start singing it. Half of those will do the gestures.
#9 "You're Right"
When someone says something true, say “You’re right," not “I know." It’ll make them feel better and you’ve still shown everyone how awfully clever you are.
#10 How to Seem Charming
To seem charming, all you have to do a lot of the time is to be an engaged listener. You don't need an amazing sense of humor, to be able to lay on the compliments or regale people with stories. Just listen to other people in a way that shows you are interested and not only waiting for your turn to talk. Make eye contact, don't interrupt them, don't turn the conversation to be about you, ask good questions.
#11 Coupon Code Hacks
If any website offers a percentage coupon code like "10percentoff" try higher values like "20percentoff." They often have them.
#12 The Correct Response to Any Compliment
The correct response to any compliment is, "Thank you." You can then follow it up with a comment if you'd like to continue the conversation. If someone likes your dress? "Thank you, it has pockets!" If someone compliments your art? "Thank you, I've been practicing." If someone asks if you're a professional singer because you have a good singing voice? "Thank you, I just sing for fun."
Not only does it make you seem confident and self-assured, it tells them that they are right! That's a friendly thing to do. This even works if you don't believe the compliment. Saying, "Oh, no, I'm ugly," when someone compliments your appearance not only tells them that they're wrong, it makes you think of yourself as ugly. A better answer would be, "Thank you, I really appreciate that and I don't always believe it, so hearing that from you helps."
#13 Be Pleasant and You'll Be Allowed to Slack Off
If you're genuinely pleasant to be around and you show up when it counts, people will let you get away with a lot of slacking off.
#14 Be Nice
Just be nice, particularly to people in the service industry. Your job, your personal interactions, even your calls into customer service will go 100% easier if you’re just nice to people and recognize that they’re probably just trying to do their job, not screw you over.
#15 How to Make Chickens Fall Asleep
If you tuck a chicken’s head under its wing and wave the chicken in a circle, it will automatically fall asleep. It’s not a very good cheat code, but it’s still a cheat code to get you sleeping chickens.
#16 Get Some Walking Papers
When I was in my old 500 plus person building, I kept a stack of papers on my desk. When I was bored or got tired of sitting down, I'd get up, grab my stack of papers and walk around. I called them my "walking papers" and did this for months. I got a lot of head nods and not one question the entire time. People always assumed I was on an important mission, but nope. Not in the least.
#17 You're a Chameleon
You become the people you surround yourself with.
#18 Pay a Compliment to the Manager
If you have no complaints about your food service/staff at a restaurant, ask to see the manager and pay a compliment and a "thank you" about the server/host/staff. Usually, people want to see a manager to complain, and a compliment is nearly always welcome. I've gotten countless free drinks/appetizers/chips/percentage off my bill, all for just making a polite comment to management.
#19 How You Dress Will Affect How People Treat You
I cannot overstate how much dressing well and being well-groomed will impact your life. It'll drop the difficulty by two or three levels. No joke. People will treat you VASTLY differently. The opposite is also true.
#20 Don't Buy New Textbooks
You can borrow almost all of your textbooks from the library as a college student because of modern book rental agreements most colleges have. WorldCAT allows you to be linked to almost any library in America, and all you have to do is find your book in the system and fill out a request form at a library and it should be there in a week. I’ve saved probably $2000 doing this in my first two years of college.
#21 How to Compliment Children
Compliment your children with "you are a hard worker" and not "you're smart." Studies show that kids who think they're hard workers outperform kids who think they're smart.
#22 Admit You're Wrong
If you admit you're wrong and make changes to whatever it is that you're wrong about, people will respect and appreciate you more. Unfortunately, this requires the swallow_ego.pill patch installed. Without this, you will be incapable of being a civil person.
#23 You Can Control Kids
As an adult, you can tell almost any kid who is running to stop running and they will.
#24 Use This Strategy in Awkward Situations
I had a professor in college who, while lecturing, suddenly let out a huge fart. Without pausing, he turned his head as if talking to someone behind him, said "Gesundheit," and continued lecturing as if nothing had happened. It immediately defused any potential awkwardness and embarrassment, and I vowed to use the same strategy if the same thing ever happened to me in front of a large crowd of people.
#25 Underpromise and Overperform
Underpromise and overperform. Say you'll achieve less than you think you will and then do more and everyone will be impressed (works well at a job).
#26 Save Yourself Money
Get a credit card like AMEX Blue that has 3-6% cashback at groceries. Buy all your items at the grocery store. I'll use Kroger as an example. You can buy normal groceries and gift cards (Amazon, Delta, H&M, McDonald's, whatever) and get the cashback on that deal. Then, if you time it with their 4x Fuel Rewards, you can save $1/gallon off gas up to 35 gallons. Altogether, the math works out to being 12-15% off pretty much everything.
#27 How to Keep Warm in the Winter
I have a heated throw blanket in my living room. In the winter, I wrap my coat up in it, crank up the heat and in a few minutes and my coat is toasty warm so I can brave the coldest day.
#28 Pause and Listen
Pause. Wait when asked a question or engaging in idle conversation and someone is speaking. Do not immediately begin your reply when they stop speaking. They usually aren't done. And if you give them time, they usually provide the answer to the question as well. So yeah, LISTEN as well.
#29 Keep the Romance Alive
When married don't stop treating your significant other like you did when you were trying to win them over, it is a great way to show them you're still as infatuated with them as you were when you first met.
#30 Ask People About Themselves
People like talking about themselves. When you meet someone, just ask them questions about their life or the things they've done. If you have enough questions you won't ever run out of things to talk about during the conversation and they walk away feeling so heard. Plus, then you know more about them and next time you see them you will have even more to talk about or follow up on: "Hey last time I saw you you were mentioning this thing at your job, how did that go?"
#31 Fake It Until You Make It
Faking confidence usually leads to actually being more confident. I love the phrase fake it 'till you make it. It's incredible how much success is a byproduct of just acting confident about whatever you are doing.
#32 Set Up Do Not Disturb
Set the do not disturb feature on your phone to turn on from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. You will sleep so much better without constant notifications from emails, games or your mother in law who wants to send a group message at midnight because she is in a different timezone. If you have people you want to be able to reach you (family/girlfriend/boyfriend), you can make a special list that will let only their calls/messages come through.
#33 Do Your Research
Doing your own research, especially on the important stuff. You would be amazed at the bad information people use to make life choices.
#34 Believe In Yourself
Believe in yourself. I know it sounds cheesy but it’s true: when you believe in yourself anything is possible because you are no longer bound to the expectations of others. Your life truly becomes your own. Close, close, close runner up would be awareness over your thoughts and emotions. More awareness, more control, less reactions, more happiness.
#35 Actual Game Hacks
The "remain silent" dialogue option is useful, even if you have to scroll down to find it. It can keep you from failing or getting locked out of certain quest lines.
#36 Life-Changing Grocery Hack
You can mute the self check-out kiosks.
#37 Double Your Mana
Once you unlock "not giving a hoot about other people’s thoughts" you basically double your mana indefinitely.
#38 Smile, Always
Smiling is magic. You can hear a smile through the phone (and of course people can see it on your face). People often return a smile with a smile, which spreads positivity. Smiling can actually make you happier, which is a nice feedback loop to be in. Fake it 'till you make it, smiles and confidence will open doors for you in life.
#39 Use Placebos
When my daughter was little and still believed band-aids cured things, one time she had a belly ache so I put one on her belly and it made her feel better. Power of placebos!
#40 Stick With Your Bedtime
No matter what your bedtime and wake up time are, stick with them. After a decade of being that person on Facebook at 3 am and off to work four hours later, I started to view sleep as an enjoyable activity, not a chore. Game changer. Mornings are never a drag. If I have trouble sleeping, I can make up for it the next morning with our fucking up my whole day.
When it’s your bedtime, turn off the lights and wait. And don’t touch your ducking phone or your computer. Don’t get out of bed wait. When your alarm goes off, get up. Repeat for two weeks. Enjoy a better life.
Public Domain Pictures
#41 Use "Soon" Not "Later"
Use the word "soon" instead of "later" with your loved ones or if you are trying to form a new connection with someone. It shows you are interested in talking but currently busy with something. For example, talk to you soon.
#42 Being Attractive Can Help
#43 Fake Interviews
Several times in life I've cold-called a company to confirm my interview time. I didn't have one prior to my call, but in their confusion and inability to even find my resume I've managed to secure an interview about four out of five times. Twice I've gotten the job.
#44 No Drama
Not asking or talking about drama going on at the work place
#45 Pre-Make Your Lunches
If you work Monday to Friday, spend a small amount of time on Sunday afternoon/evening sorting out your lunch for the week. I batch cook a pot of something and portion it out into five containers. It saves a ton of money, it's usually healthier and it saves time having to make something quickly each morning because you can just grab a container out of the fridge and go.
