20 one-liners to make your life better

lifehacks.md

Morning

• Wake up with a "smart"/sleep phase alarm so you aren't jolted awake during deep sleep

• Stretch out fully when waking up (like a starfish)

• Drink some water when you first get out of bed

  • Don't drink caffeine within 1-2 hours of waking up

• Get some direct sunshine in the morning. Turn all the lights on.

• Meditate in the morning for 20 minutes

  • Or 2 minutes, 5 minutes, etc. as long as it's every morning

Productivity

• Coffee naps: drink a cup of coffee, curl up for 20 minutes but no longer

  • SERIOUSLY! NO. LONGER.

• Condense your email as much as possible

  • Nest folders and collapse them as much as possible. Trick yourself into thinking new email is most likely low-priority
  • Only check email at certain times throughout the day; don't give in to the temptation of doing email-on-demand

Well-being

• When thinking about personal failures, think in the 2nd person (i.e. "you" vs. "I"). It softens the blow

  • When that nagging voice says, "you're a failure," respond to yourself, "thank you for sharing," and move on

• Smile to yourself when you're not happy - it will make you happier. Seriously.

  • Make others happy. Showing others gratitude can make you feel better than almost anything else.

• Make a habit of wandering around your home (or your head), looking for things that could be improved

  • Always be thinking about how you can make your future self's life easier

• Every time you learn something new and interesting, write about it. Journal, blog, tweet, doesn't matter.

  • Write down or otherwise acknowledge positive things you accomplish, and things you're grateful for, daily