HACK #1
A cheap and easy way to spare your wrists.
Catalog wrist rests are generally boring and expensive. But
that’s no reason to end your long day at the keyboard with
aching wrists. Stop off at a yard sale this weekend and head
straight for that ubiquitous dime bin of abandoned Beanie
Babies. They make great wrist rests. And you can swap them
in and out to suit your mood.
You can also fill a child-size sock with uncooked rice, tie it
off and pop it in the microwave for 30 seconds. Then use
the warm rice sock as a wrist rest to help soothe the joint.
HACK #2
Start your morning without starting
every program separately.
Many people start their workday by opening all the
programs and websites they’re going to use throughout the
day. Why not write a batch/PowerShell/VBScript/other script
to handle the medium.
Write the script to start up the required programs and
create a shortcut on the desktop for a simple double-click
launch. Name it something inspiring, like “Get to work” and
change the icon to something fun like a Star Wars Storm
Trooper helmet or cup of coffee.
HACK #3
“How to” take advantage
of Problem Steps Recorder.
Problem Steps Recorder (PSR) is a great troubleshooting
tool for recording actions on your computer. But why not
turn it around and put PSR to use preventing problems?
Just record yourself executing the proper steps and you
have an instant “How to Guide” ready for easy distribution.
HACK #4
Copy, paste and reformat device
config entries to save time.
There you are trying to perform a migration from an old device
to a new one. But no matter how far and wide you search, you
simply can’t find an available conversion tool. You can panic.
You can swear. Or you can put Microsoft Office to work.
Just copy the configs off the old device and format them
to fit an Excel Spreadsheet. Then create a form letter in
Word, inserting the required cell data from the spreadsheet
in a format you can paste into the command line of the
new device. In an instant, you can save days of manually
typing code.
HACK #5
A slick Sticky Key command prompt.
Sticky Keys can spare you from those multi-key commands.
But sometimes they’re more like Sneaky Keys. Like when you
need a command prompt but can’t get to desktop, safe mode or
repair. Try this trick to get through.
Make a copy of sethc.exe in C:\windows\system32. Rename
setchc.exe to cmd.exe. Now you can press shift 5 times and
open a command prompt. And you should be on your way.