As we stumble through life, from mistake to disaster to hiccup, we’re all looking for a bit of assistance along the way – you only have to peruse the overstocked shelves of your local bookshop’s self-help section to know that.
But what if you haven’t got time to wade through a whole tome and just want a quick bit of advice right now?
Luckily help is at hand, thanks to this question, which posed to the AskReddit community by user this-aint-frankie:
‘What’s your ‘don’t knock it ’til you try it’ life hack?’
And plenty of people chipped in with simple tips that you shouldn’t ignore, like these…
1.
‘Smile broadly for a minute every morning when you are alone (like in the shower). People think it’s weird or stupid or superficial.But it works in lifting your general mood. It confuses your brain into thinking you are happy.’
–RunDNA
2.
‘Doing things alone as a single person.’
–beardedshad2
3.
‘Pilates is great for everyone but it’s life changing if you are over 50.’
–SummerTomato1
4.
‘Bidet bidet bidet bidet bidet.’
–Hot-Requirement-3103
5.
‘Putting a damp paper towel in the freezer for a few minutes and then using it as a quick cool-down on your face/neck. Sounds weird but it’s a lifesaver on hot days.’
–The_Manav_Kalsi
6.
‘Slow close toilet seats.’
–unwinagainstable
7.
‘Making burgers, hot dogs, subs and other sandwiches (breakfast sandwiches, too) at home, then wrapping them in food wrapping paper, as the deli or takeout joint would do, then setting them down for 10 minutes before eating them.
‘EDIT TO ADD THE WHY: Wrapping sandwiches is often the last important step to get everything to come together, to marinate in a way, to have ingredients come to a cohesive temperature, soften, etc. When we struggle at home to duplicate a sandwich from a favourite joint, it’s often missing this important step. Cheesesteaks, subs, burgers, dogs. Try it!’
–Filandro
8.
‘If your every reheating any type of meat, pasta, rice, or pizza in the microwave, take a wet paper towel and put over the food and then microwave it. This life hack keeps your food from drying out.’
–LogDangerous7410
9.
‘Baby wipes aren’t just for babies. Just don’t flush them.’
–DubiousAdvice25
10.
‘Mammalian diving reflex. Just splashing some water on your face, while holding your breath, triggers your nervous system to slow the heart rate and redirect blood to vital organs. It’s some good shit.’
–GonzoMath
11.
‘A dash of strong black coffee in any chocolate cakes, cookies, brownies, frostings, or pastries. A dash of almond extract in any vanilla cakes, cookies, brownies, frostings, or pastries. I don’t know why it works, I just know it works like a charm.’
–Raski_Demorva
12.
‘Potato chips in your tuna fish sandwich. Have some crunchy with the mushy.’
–CtForrestEye
