Anyone else do somewhat strange things to make life easier?

[Exterous]

I have a lot of tape measures. Since I would previously struggle to locate one when I needed one I now have one for each floor plus one for the garage and another matching pair for whatever project I'm working on (because projects take me months if not years). I even used to have a floating spare but I got a little over zealous with a knife and cut through the tape

 

[shortylickens]

I pick fights so I never get close to anyone.

 

[Red Squirrel]

I wrote a thermostat program so I can have more fine control of my house temperature to go around my shift work schedule. Basically an advanced programmable thermostat, except it's web based so I can get to it form my computer or phone.

Recently made some improvements to it actually, I can set temp in 0.1 increments now and set a custom "dead zone" where after it stops it will wait a certain amount of temp shift before it starts again while before it was set by a range. I found full degrees was too big of a temp swing, especially with A/C.

All that so I don't need to get up to adjust the thermostat.

 

[shortylickens]

Oh, I put milk crates in the back of the car so groceries dont slide around.

 

[pete6032]

I have about 8 tubes of chapstick located around the house and in my office so I never have to worry about losing them.

 

[dasherHampton]

I collected a lot of Tupperware over a long period of time. Dozens of pieces. When I needed some for leftovers it was always the same thing: a frustrating, brain searing search to match the proper container with a matching lid. And as I collected more and more it got worse and worse.

So one day I threw out everything but 4 or 5 containers and their lids. I keep them together in a cabinet.

Just absolute serenity.

 

[shortylickens]

I collected a lot of Tupperware over a long period of time. Dozens of pieces. When I needed some for leftovers it was always the same thing: a frustrating, brain searing search to match the proper container with a matching lid. And as I collected more and more it got worse and worse.

So one day I threw out everything but 4 or 5 containers and their lids. I keep them together in a cabinet.

Just absolute serenity.

One of my moms friends works for Tupperware corporate. she gets a huge discount.
Every year we receive loads of little containers and we use almost none of them. in the basement is a huge Rubbermaid bin filled with Tupperware we never used.

 

[dasherHampton]

One of my moms friends works for Tupperware corporate. she gets a huge discount.
Every year we receive loads of little containers and we use almost none of them. in the basement is a huge Rubbermaid bin filled with Tupperware we never used.

I wish I had a picture of what my Tupperware situation used to look like.

One huge bin of containers, one huge bin of lids, so many within millimeters of equal size, just close enough to make you think they're going to match.

And zero organization. It's definitely a man thing; no woman I know would let that happen.

 

[Red Squirrel]

My biggest pet peeve with tupperware containers is there is no standard. Every couple years they change them, so you're never going to be able to buy matching ones at a later date. So you end up with like 20 different sizes and 20 different lids.

There needs to be a standard, and make it brand agnostic. Heck go even further, get rid of disposable packaging for meals and use the same standard reusable tupperware containers but with just a seal to prevent tampering. If you accumulate too many you would be able to return them somewhere for a deposit. Kill two birds with one stone, reduce waste, and reduce frustration of so many different container/lids that don't match.

 

[Tweak155]

I wrote a thermostat program so I can have more fine control of my house temperature to go around my shift work schedule. Basically an advanced programmable thermostat, except it's web based so I can get to it form my computer or phone.

Recently made some improvements to it actually, I can set temp in 0.1 increments now and set a custom "dead zone" where after it stops it will wait a certain amount of temp shift before it starts again while before it was set by a range. I found full degrees was too big of a temp swing, especially with A/C.

All that so I don't need to get up to adjust the thermostat.

Yeah you need to do high precision when you have those silly celsius degrees to mess with. Try a real temperature measurement like fahrenheit!

I do the same thing with tape measures though, they're just so useful. Have one at each desk, one in the kitchen and a couple in the basement. Can't think of anything else I do that with off hand.

I do install TeamViewer on all my home computers so I don't have to go to each one when not necessary. The PC's that support WOL can be turned on through TeamViewer... very convenient (also maybe the 3 desktops and 4 laptops is overly convenient??)

 

[JEDIYoda]

I cut my toe nails.......

 

[Exterous]

I cut my toe nails.......

Well stop doing that with your teeth and it will be less weird

 

[Kaido]

I have a lot of tape measures. Since I would previously struggle to locate one when I needed one I now have one for each floor plus one for the garage and another matching pair for whatever project I'm working on (because projects take me months if not years). I even used to have a floating spare but I got a little over zealous with a knife and cut through the tape

I actually ended up buying a bunch of them last year because I was always randomly needing to measure stuff. Got one in my shop, my bag, at my desk, and junk drawer. $20 solved the problem of always having to go find the single one I had before lol.

 

[Kaido]

I created a personal productivity system to automate the recurring situations I have to deal with in life & to project-manage everything else via checklists. Simple yet effective.

 

[pete6032]

I created a personal productivity system to automate the recurring situations I have to deal with in life & to project-manage everything else via checklists. Simple yet effective.

Example?

 

[BarkingGhostar]

I use modern dating apps (Tinder, etc.) to find my query instead of doing the leg work I would need to have done otherwise. Why stalk when I can invite?

jk

 

[allisolm]

I have at least 10 pairs of reading glasses that I keep throughout the house because I hate those chains around your neck that attach to the glasses.

 

[BarkingGhostar]

I'm the same way about nail clippers. Got one in each car, on every floor of the house, etc.

 

[Kaido]

Example?

It's nothing really more than a set of checklists & reminders after you setup the system. The core idea is that the productivity system manages the complexity for you, so rather than getting lost in the weeds, you design the outcome & set it up to do your bidding in a very efficient way with the bare minimum amount of effort & thinking required. A basic operational tool I use to attack problems is called the 3P Approach:

1. Premise
2. Parts
3. Procedures

So let's use my standard example of managing your wardrobe. The premise is to have a variety of clean clothes available at all times, with minimal fuss for managing it. The parts include:

1. Wardrobe inventory
2. Storage management
3. Supplies management
4. Cleaning cycles

And then to break it up into specific procedures, all based off the main idea of having a managed laundry system: (remember, don't get lost in the weeds here based on the "wall of text"...our focus is the outcome of automated laundry management, it's the productivity system's job to manage all the crap below lol)

Part 1: Wardrobe inventory

Requirements are:

1. I want to have a week's worth of clothing rotation, so that I have enough variety & only have to do laundry once a week, plus a few extra day's worth of clothes if my schedule gets off-course. So say 10 day's worth of clothes.
2. I need to check my inventory every few months to see if anything needs to be repaired or replaced
3. This covers under garments, work clothes, workout clothes, shoes, glasses, wallet, belts, etc.

Setup: Do an initial inventory to see what I have in-stock at home right now
Recurring calendar entry: every 3 months, do an inventory true-up to make sure I have a 10 pairs of clothes, and see if anything needs to be repaired or replaced.

Part 2: Storage management

Requirements are:

1. Place to put folded clothes
2. Place to hang clothes
3. Place to put dirty clothes

Setup: Chest of drawers, hangers, laundry hampers.

Part 3: Supplies management

Requirements are:

1. Want to have enough of a supply inventory at home to not have to go shopping for supplies all the time

Setup: Buy a year's supply of detergent gel packs, liquid fabric softener, anti-static dryer sheets, and bleach. So like half a dozen boxes/bottles of each for my usage.
Recurring calendar entry: Check inventory every 3 months & either buy more at the store or on Amazon if needed.

Part 4: Cleaning cycles

Requirements are:

1. Always have clean clothes available
2. Divvy up the work so I don't have to spend all day doing laundry

Setup: Print out a reminder on washer/dryer lid/door to set my phone alarm to (1) swap washing machine items into dryer, and (2) fold laundry after drying
Recurring calendar entry: White clothes on Monday after work
Recurring calendar entry: Dark clothes on Tuesday after work
Recurring calendar entry: Towels & hand towels on Wednesday after work
Recurring calendar entry: Bedding (sheets & pillowcases) on Thursday after work

Results:

1. I have enough clothing to rotate them throughout the week
2. I have clean clothes all the time
3. I never have to have a big "laundry day"
4. My clothing inventory is easily maintained
5. I never run out of supplies or have to go shopping for them all the time
6. Laundry takes approximately 5 minutes a day
7. I never have to think about managing my laundry, as it's all automated through reminders & checklists

Other than typing this out as an explanation online, I basically never have to think about clothing again for the rest of my life. No piles. No big jobs. No running out of stuff. No running low on stuff that fits or having ratty clothing. All of the elements are addressed through simple recurring calendar reminders to execute specific checklist items. So my part basically included defining what I wanted the outcome to be & then using checklists to setup reminders to do stuff to support that vision. Now multiply that over every assignment & project you have, every recurring thing you have to deal with in your life, like car maintenance, household chores, meal prep, laundry, paying bills, etc. It's a fairly non-standard way of doing things, but having a strong personal productivity system in place is basically the most effective lifehack I've ever come across!

It's also the most effective means I've encountered for bypassing procrastination, because it gives you specific next-actions to do, via reminders, so that you don't have to figure out what to do or get things setup, you just kind of get an alarm of some sort & then do the action in your little pre-setup environment.

 

[Kaido]

I'm the same way about nail clippers. Got one in each car, on every floor of the house, etc.

Hah I finally did that this year too. Got a box of 'em & stuck em everywhere. Worst thing in the world to have something like a hangnail all day without clippers!

 

[Midwayman]

I have a lot of tape measures. Since I would previously struggle to locate one when I needed one I now have one for each floor plus one for the garage and another matching pair for whatever project I'm working on (because projects take me months if not years). I even used to have a floating spare but I got a little over zealous with a knife and cut through the tape

I have a ton of these too. Utility knives too. I gave up on certain household members ever putting them back when they use them and now they are seeded at various workbenches, the junk drawers, garage, etc.

 

[MtnMan]

I have a lot of tape measures. Since I would previously struggle to locate one when I needed one I now have one for each floor plus one for the garage and another matching pair for whatever project I'm working on (because projects take me months if not years). I even used to have a floating spare but I got a little over zealous with a knife and cut through the tape

I probably have 20 tape measures. Took me only 10 minutes to find one to measure something earlier today.

 

[MtnMan]

I have about 8 tubes of chapstick located around the house and in my office so I never have to worry about losing them.

But you have 8 because you worry about losing them...

 

[MtnMan]

It's nothing really more than a set of checklists & reminders after you setup the system. The core idea is that the productivity system manages the complexity for you, so rather than getting lost in the weeds, you design the outcome & set it up to do your bidding in a very efficient way with the bare minimum amount of effort & thinking required. A basic operational tool I use to attack problems is called the 3P Approach:

1. Premise
2. Parts
3. Procedures

So let's use my standard example of managing your wardrobe. The premise is to have a variety of clean clothes available at all times, with minimal fuss for managing it. The parts include:

1. Wardrobe inventory
2. Storage management
3. Supplies management
4. Cleaning cycles

And then to break it up into specific procedures, all based off the main idea of having a managed laundry system: (remember, don't get lost in the weeds here based on the "wall of text"...our focus is the outcome of automated laundry management, it's the productivity system's job to manage all the crap below lol)

Part 1: Wardrobe inventory

Requirements are:

1. I want to have a week's worth of clothing rotation, so that I have enough variety & only have to do laundry once a week, plus a few extra day's worth of clothes if my schedule gets off-course. So say 10 day's worth of clothes.
2. I need to check my inventory every few months to see if anything needs to be repaired or replaced
3. This covers under garments, work clothes, workout clothes, shoes, glasses, wallet, belts, etc.

Setup: Do an initial inventory to see what I have in-stock at home right now
Recurring calendar entry: every 3 months, do an inventory true-up to make sure I have a 10 pairs of clothes, and see if anything needs to be repaired or replaced.

Part 2: Storage management

Requirements are:

1. Place to put folded clothes
2. Place to hang clothes
3. Place to put dirty clothes

Setup: Chest of drawers, hangers, laundry hampers.

Part 3: Supplies management

Requirements are:

1. Want to have enough of a supply inventory at home to not have to go shopping for supplies all the time

Setup: Buy a year's supply of detergent gel packs, liquid fabric softener, anti-static dryer sheets, and bleach. So like half a dozen boxes/bottles of each for my usage.
Recurring calendar entry: Check inventory every 3 months & either buy more at the store or on Amazon if needed.

Part 4: Cleaning cycles

Requirements are:

1. Always have clean clothes available
2. Divvy up the work so I don't have to spend all day doing laundry

Setup: Print out a reminder on washer/dryer lid/door to set my phone alarm to (1) swap washing machine items into dryer, and (2) fold laundry after drying
Recurring calendar entry: White clothes on Monday after work
Recurring calendar entry: Dark clothes on Tuesday after work
Recurring calendar entry: Towels & hand towels on Wednesday after work
Recurring calendar entry: Bedding (sheets & pillowcases) on Thursday after work

Results:

1. I have enough clothing to rotate them throughout the week
2. I have clean clothes all the time
3. I never have to have a big "laundry day"
4. My clothing inventory is easily maintained
5. I never run out of supplies or have to go shopping for them all the time
6. Laundry takes approximately 5 minutes a day
7. I never have to think about managing my laundry, as it's all automated through reminders & checklists

Other than typing this out as an explanation online, I basically never have to think about clothing again for the rest of my life. No piles. No big jobs. No running out of stuff. No running low on stuff that fits or having ratty clothing. All of the elements are addressed through simple recurring calendar reminders to execute specific checklist items. So my part basically included defining what I wanted the outcome to be & then using checklists to setup reminders to do stuff to support that vision. Now multiply that over every assignment & project you have, every recurring thing you have to deal with in your life, like car maintenance, household chores, meal prep, laundry, paying bills, etc. It's a fairly non-standard way of doing things, but having a strong personal productivity system in place is basically the most effective lifehack I've ever come across!

It's also the most effective means I've encountered for bypassing procrastination, because it gives you specific next-actions to do, via reminders, so that you don't have to figure out what to do or get things setup, you just kind of get an alarm of some sort & then do the action in your little pre-setup environment.

 

[Greenman]

I got married so I wouldn't have to cook or do laundry.