I show you six simple life hacks that I have actually implemented - and that have disproportional positive effects.
There is enough lifehacks on the internet to fill your time with, but reading about them doesn't neccessarily mean you're taking advantage of them. I have found that it is best to take one and actually implement it. It might even happen that the other lifehacks follow naturally as a side effect of the first one. Here are the six most beneficial hacks I actively practice.
Stopping consuming news
This is probably the most significant and instant positive change I have experienced, only by committing to one resolution. I didn't only stop from checking out news-sites habitually , but from consciously consuming news altogether. This has had the following effects:
- Any anxiety I had about the state and evolution of society vanished. After all, you can't do anything about the things you read. As a result I became more relaxed and positive, which both are huge things for an individual.
- My outlook became more positive. I stopped knowing about all the negative things going on, and I started to see how much positive things are happening everywhere.
- I became more "present" and mindful. I had more time to notice the people around me and take interest in them. I began to enjoy the small good everyday things.
- I grew more silent. I don't have lots of news to dump upon the others, so now I can listen to what others have to say. Instead of just concentrating on what I know, I can get a broader view of any topic.
- I have more time for whatever want. I am more productive if I choose to produce. I can spend the spared time on learning something.
- My energy levels rose. It turns out consuming news doesn't give you energy - it takes.
- Advertisement doesn't reach me. Haha. I can make more informed and less emotional decisions.
This resolution didn't drop me off the map. I'm still up-to-date on anything important concerning myself, because everyone around me keeps consuming news. This hack doesn't mean I can't participate in any meaningful debate - quite the opposite. I think I have a more balanced view of most topics, without the emotional aspect that most news (read: manipulation) come with.
The only negative consequence I can think of is that it's harder to small-talk. It doesn't actually matter, because where I live we don't small-talk. We just talk or stay silent.
This life-hack made this next one possible:
Reading books
As Abraham Lincoln said; “A capacity, and taste, for reading, gives access to whatever has already been discovered by others. It is the key, or one of the keys, to the already solved problems. And not only so. It gives a relish, and facility, for successfully pursuing the [yet] unsolved ones.”
Reading books is completely different than reading articles - they change the way you think. The author has often spent years or decades writing down thoughts and conclusions, and by reading the book you get into his/her head. The author makes you look at the subject from several angles, and spending time on the same topic changes your brain in a way quick reading just can't. I can't remember any accurate quotes, but I can notice changes in the way I assess problems and make decisions. I think books have given me a good return on investment, and the return will accumulate over time to an order of magnitude more than the initial investment of money and time. I think reading books will give and has already given me some advantage over those who don't, even though I am not exceptionally intelligent. So reading can substitute IQ to some degree.
Reading books gives me energy. I have an eReader, which lets me read without distraction.
Tending towards positive thinking
This doesn't happen in an instant, so I don't know if it can be called a "hack". Nevertheless, I have reduced negative thinking and negative talking, and in exchange increased positiveness. This has several advantageous effects:
- People like me more. They listen to me more.
- I don't ruin the day of the people around me.
- I feel better. I have more energy and faith.
- I am better at solving problems and getting over the unsolved ones.
- I have also heard that being happy is good for my health, which makes me instantly feel even better.
A nice extra hack to support positive thinking is to smile. Just the physical act of smiling helps to think more positive.
Knowing the value of my time
There are some free tools on the internet, which help you to estimate the value of your time. In the end, the accurate amount has little meaning, but having any value and taking it into account helps to make better long term decisions. Not everything can be given a monetary value (relationships, health, leisure), but it is helpful to denominate it in dollars or euros, so you can compare different alternatives quickly and make less biased decisions.
Taking the value of my own time into account has made me more rational. For example, I used to think it is worthwile to build and fix everything myself, for which I aquired quite some number of tools. I fixed my cars and home. I helped my friends fix theirs. It took all the time available, because there was always something more I could do. Time didn't cost anything, right? Now I have some "value", against which I can estimate the benefit of doing something myself. It helps me to say no, because my brain is already convinced about the conclusion and the rationale. Sometimes I get the idea to sell things sitting around in my home, which might seem like a smart thing to do: exchange junk for money. However selling things takes time, and I can compare the spent time in terms of money to the price I want. Often it just isn't justified, and I just give it away or dispose it by other means. This brings me to the next "hack":
Understanding the sunk cost fallacy and remembering opportunity cost
If I have spent 5000€ fixing a 500€ car, it doesn't make the car worth 5500€. It might be worth 400€. Here comes the fallacy: I might not be willing to sell the car for 1000€ because of the sunk cost. The money I have spent on something should be considered lost. Gone. What I have left should be valued at it's real utility or benefit to me right now or in the future. Understanding this has let me go of lots of belongings that have cost me money but are of no benefit to me anymore.
Liquid money and some flexibility in time are important. It might be smarter to buy something cheap that will do the job for a few years, if buying the better one would have tied all my financial resources.
Simplifying everything
Everything tends to fill up my time. It's just wierd how easy it is to justify something that makes things more complicated but save me a penny. We are addicted to money and material, and in the end we have no time for anything but keeping order and maintaining everything. I have found that reducing everything to the necessary releases time and money for actually enjoying life. Less is more
Space has value too, which is easy to forget. You might fill up 10 000 € worth of floor and shelf space with stuff worth only 100 €. Then you suffer trying to pay off a big loan or a big rent. Stupid, isn't it?
Conclusion
A huge percentage of us people seem to be in some kind of a trap of work, money, materialism, stress, self-imposed-requirements and manipulation. It's just amazing to experience how just a few small hacks can free you from the rat-race. There are lots of other hacks I intend to put into practice, but the ones I mentioned I have already practiced. I think it is important to try to make permanent changes to ones life and lifestyle, not just temporary fixes. Changes should turn into habits, so you don't need to deliberately think about them anymore - while the benefits stick by.