Listen to audiobooks whenever you don't need to devote your listening/comprehension attention to anything else: when preparing meals, when driving/biking (it's safer than listening to music!), maybe even at the gym (though it takes some getting used to). I find myself "reclaiming" more than 7 hours per week that way. Some books are better than others to listen to; I've been experimenting with different genres, lengths, and found 7-hour science fiction to be pretty good, though I've managed to get through Atlas Shrugged and Fountainhead pleasurably. Also see #2
Listen to podcasts when you're tired of listening to audiobooks. See this post for some recommendations
Solve puzzles frequently . It will keep you healthy and ensure that you keep your mind sharp. I use the N-Back game which (arguably) improves memory in the long run
Accurately measure time by humming a song you know that is about 60 bpm. It's always been difficult for me to measure time; I haven't been able to get the "One Mississippi" method to work (I speak at different speeds in different circumstances). Instead, I found a song that I know very well that I sing to myself when I need to measure time with a fair amount of accuracy. (NB: for me, that song is Disney's Gummibears theme song...) (NB 2: Radiolab did a piece on measuring 100 bpm – apparently the desired tempo for giving CPR – by humming "Stayin' Alive")
Deal with the DMV by arriving just before they close. They have to serve you but they have all the incentive to serve customers as fast as possible. (NB: this may not always work – in some DMV centers, the queue gets very long throughout the day)
Buy an emergency radio. I have an Eton Microlink . I found it particularly useful during my 9 days hiking Mt Kilimanjaro to give enough juice to my phone so I could take notes throughout the trip
Charge your gear intelligently. If you're short on time and you want to maximize the juice in your computer, put the computer to sleep. But if you can't, turn off whatever you're not using – Bluetooth, Wifi, turn the display brightness down.
Put your phone in airplane mode when you're in areas with no reception. The phone tries to establish a connection with the network and it'll end up using up a lot more battery power.
Get a small outlet adapter. Most electronics you'll own don't need a separate transformer – a simple plug adapter will do. If you cycle between two countries (as I do), buy a very small one that works for these two systems specifically. It's much more lightweight
Carry a USB drive with you. I love my Dropbox account, but I find myself needing a decent (8GB) amount of space on the go. I bought one of these tiny USB drives and keep it in my wallet
Make a list of stuff you normally take on vacations (or in general, when traveling). I used to always forget one of two things (like my sunglasses, or a few plastic bags) so now I just look at the checklist
Write down all the things that bother you. I found that my anxiety diminishes significantly once I write down everything that's bothering me. I order the list from most to least frustrating. Just seeing all the things written down made me feel more in control of my life. I think about these things much less, because I know, subconsciously, that I have them all written down
Multitask intelligently. Don't try to perform tasks that require the same mental faculties (for example, the ability to comprehend or process visual information)
Get bluetooth stereo headphones. I don't understand why in 2013 people still use wired headphones. I've had my headphones for years now and I love now having to deal with a wire, and being able to control music by touching the head piece. It's particularly good when I'm working out
Listen to podcasts or audiobooks when on the plane, taking off or landing. The crew won't bother you even though you're technically breaking the FAA regulations (which are booo-o-ooogus anyway). For bonus points, combine with #14 (by first putting your phone in airplane mode, and then turning bluetooth back on)
Put your OS X Dock on the left of the screen. It's a better use of widescreen (and I like the side design more than the "shelf" bottom design)
Tilt your side view mirrors to eliminate the blind spot. Push them out, not so that you can see the side of the car, but so that you can see the cars on either side approach as early as possible. That way, you can entirely eliminate your blind spot – as soon as the car disappears from your rear view mirror, it appears in your side view mirror. As it disappears from your side view mirror, you can see it with your peripheral vision
Use encrypted disk images on OS X. Keep sensitive information on encrypted disk images. Use Disk Utility to create a new sparse disk image with encryption. Keep these small (otherwise Time Machine will have a lot to back up, whenever anything on the disk changes)
Don't wait for an arbitrary date to have a resolution. Make resolutions often.
Vary your routine periodically – for example, take a slightly different route home or do things in a slightly different order. Keeps the mind sharp
Pick music for running by matching its bpm to how fast you want to run. There is no magic formula – you'll have to find the speed that works for you
Think of your Plan B instead of always adding buffer time. Sometimes it may make more sense to simply have a Plan B rather than wasting time with a buffer
Think of your Plan Z. And then evaluate all decisions in life relative to it. Your Plan Z is the absolute-worst (but safest) option. For example, to go back to the previous job you quit. Or go back to living with your parents. Once you have a Plan Z, don't create a Plan B, or Plan C, or Plan D, that is similar to your Plan Z (or that is worse than your Plan Z!)
Don't use spaces in systems that expect names of things (e.g. URLs, filenames, etc.). You'll save yourself a lot of time down the road – space has been overloaded to mean many things and so it's best not to use it as a regular alphanumeric character
Use the YYYY-MM-DD date format. It will make it easier for you to organize things
The best day to buy: wrapping paper is after New Year's; patio furniture after Labor Day weekend; a car on weekday mornings in September; groceries on Sunday evenings; airplane tickets on a Wednesday, 21 days (or a couple of days earlier) before your flight; appliances during a holiday weekend; baby clothes during your pregnancy; broadway tickets hours before the curtain rises, at TKTS; champagne in December; clothing on Thursday evenings, six to eight weeks after an item arrives in stores; computers and electronics just after a new model is launched; gas on an early morning or late evening on a weekday; gift cards a day or two before you give it; shrubs, trees and other plants in the Fall; televisions six to 12 months after a particular model is launched; wedding dresses between Thanksgiving and Christmas; wine in the early fall
Use VPN if you're abroad and want to watch your favorite movie or TV show via a streaming service
Use Hot Corners in OS X. These corners are very valuable points. I use the top left to put the display to sleep
Keep your inbox small – only the items you still have to do. Don't use the "unread" flag for that – email search is good enough now so you can simply archive all the emails you already processed. Move all items which are waiting on others out of your inbox and into a separate folder (label) called Waiting
Swallow pills by tilting your head down, touching your chin to your chest
When you take something, don't put it back where you found it. Put it back somewhere where it's easier to get. That way, you make the common use efficient – you'll end up having stuff that you use a lot close to you
The gas tank indicator in the dashboard has an arrow either to the left or to the right of the gas pump symbol. This arrow tells you which side of the car the tank is
How to fold a fitted sheet
Baby powder gets the sand off your skin
Use WD-40 to remove crayon from walls
Rub a walnut over scratches in unpainted furniture to restore it
How to tie a bow tie
Most useful knots (and four more)
Take off the pesky self-destructive wristband without destroying it by pulling it hard close to the skin
Cool bottle of water quickly by wrapping wet paper towel around it and putting in the freezer. After 15, the water will be very cool
Ice cold water on the go: fill bottle 1/4 with water, freeze. When ready, add water
Tired of extension cords unplugging? Tie them together
To reserve a seat at the bar, place the coaster on top of the drink
To make crunchy taco shells, spray upside down of muffin pans with cooking oil and bake tortillas for 10 mins at 375
To slice soft solids, use unscented dental floss
To make a toasted sandwich, place 2 slices in one toaster slot
Peeling corn: Microwave for 4 minutes, cut 1 inch from the wider end, squeeze carefully
Prevent water boiling over: put wooden spoon across the pot
Doritos make a good kindling if you need it
To open knots, don't pull from under the knot; instead, twist the loose end a lot and push through the knot
Find tiny items by putting a stocking over the end of a vacuum
Popping microwave popcorn well: open slightly and let all the unpopped kernels fall out
Highway exit is on the left if the exit sign is on the left of the main sign
To deal with built-up residue on shower head, tie a bag of vinegar around it, leave overnight
Clean up car headlights with toothpaste
Keep cords from breaking: use spring from an old pen
Microwaving pizza well: put a small amout of water in a glass when you microwave it. Crust won't get chewy
Opening blister packs: Use a can opener
Lighting candles well: use a stick of spaghetti
Microwaving stuff well: space out a circle in the middle, it will cook more evenly
RSOD (reduced sum of digits) is conserved under addition, multiplication, subtraction
To buy strawberries, smell them. If they smell like strawberries buy them, they will taste divine. If they look gorgeous but have no smell, they will have no taste
If you've got an itch in your throat, scratch your ear. When the nerves in the ear get stimulated, they create a reflex in the throat that causes a muscle spasm, which cures the itch
Clear a stuffed nose or relieve sinus pressure by pushing your tongue against the roof of your mouth then pressing a finger between your eyebrows – this causes the vomer bone to rock, which loosens your congestion and clears you up. After 20 seconds, you'll feel your sinuses start to drain
You can stop a toothache by rubbing ice on the back of your hand, on the webbed area between your thumb and index finger
You can change your sleep cycle by fasting for about 16 hours (most people usually need only 12 hours)
You can open a bottle of wine with your shoe
Let the dishwasher do the washing
Make house wine taste better with 1/4 soda, 3/4 wine
Fix corked wine by pouring it into a bowl with a sheet of plastic wrap
Nap more
Guess how many m&ms are in a jar: jar volume / volume of an m&m (0.715) * packing fraction (66.5%)
Crack a Master Combination Padlock
Use Foam Packing Peanuts to Hold a Nail, Secure a Screw
Instantly freeze beer
Get a credit report, one a year is free
Similarly, get a consumer report on yourself
Get a driving record on yourself
Opt out of direct marketing and marketing calls. Make sure you opt out of any marketing when you get a new car, sign up for a new back account or loan
Do not give companies, especially retain stores, your address and phone number or email address
Hack the parking lot machine by driving in; then, in another car, driving up to the machine, grabbing a ticket, and driving away.
Decide on which durable good (such as a car) to purchase by thinking about what you would like to own half-way through the expected lifetime of the good. Amortize its cost over time, and over the change in your purchasing power
Use bookends as floating bookshelves
Transfer a photo onto a slab of wood
Save the stump of romaine lettuce, put in 1/2 inch of water, and regrow it (changing the water every day or so)
Place a few drops of essential oil (e.g. lemongrass) onto the cardboard tube of your toilet paper roll
Slowly add more and more water until the eggs are completely covered for beautiful gradient eggs
The clips from retail hangers can double as chip clips
To unclog drains, pour 1/2c baking soda in first, then 1c vinegar, after the foam goes away, rinse the sink
Put dry tea bags in smelly shoes/bags
When heating leftovers, space out a circle in the middle for a more even heating
Chinese food containers are designed to fold out into plates
To remove wrinkles in your shirt, throw it in the dryer with a few ice cubes for 5 minutes
To cut many cherry tomatoes all at once, lay them out on a small plate, hold another small plate tight over all of them, then slice through the middle with a long knife
Most hotel TVs have a USB slot in the back for charging your device
Cancel elevator call by pressing the button twice (in some elevators)
Wu Squaring trick: n^2 = (n-25)*100 + (n-50)^2 – easy squaring of large numbers by squaring smaller numbers and an easy addition
Make homemade taco shells. Preheat your oven to 190C and warm the tortillas until they’re pliable. Spray the tortillas with cooking spray and then drape over your oven racks.
Put a small indent in your burgers before barbecuing to help them cook evenly
Egg shell recovery: Make your fingers wet, makes it much easier to put shell pieces out
Use thumb tac for a perfect boiled egg
Grill fish on a bed of lemons
Separate bananas and wrap top in cling wrap to keep them fresh for longer
Spoon your ginger – Even the lumpy bumps of a ginger root are easy to peel with a spoon
For recipes that just require a bit of lemon juice, puncture the rind with a toothpick and gently squeeze out what you need
Bathe fresh berries in vinegar water to prevent insta-mold
Store cut avocado with cut onion
Wrap banana crowns in plastic wrap
Poke an egg with a thumb-tac before boiling for a perfect hard-boiled egg
Put tortillas over an oven rack for great taco shells
Use boiling water for clear ice cubes