Compilation of so many life hacks I’ve seen over 15 years of being online (that I add to over time) and IMPORTANTLY ones I use actively. I don’t remember many right now so I’ll add over time.

• If Ears Plugged/Congested/Can’t Hear: When your ears are stuffed/clogged (flight, driving through hills, change in elevation, worse if mildly congested), hold your nose, and breathe out (at first, lightly) through your nose, increasing it until you either pop your ears, and can hear better. Don’t blow too hard all at once. If very infrequently some air comes out of your eye that is ok (happened to me once, is safe, I just blew too hard at once)
• If Ordering at Chipotle: I’ve eaten at Chipotle a lot (100s of times). I know what I want. When I walk up I say “Can I get a bowl with white rice, pinto, and chicken?”. I don’t need the waiter to say “White or brown rice? Black or pinto beans? What type of meat?”. Save them a few words. Then before they get to the other items, I say “mild, corn, sour cream, cheese and that is it.” so they know I don’t want lettuce or guac and they don’t need space for it. Yes, I know it isn’t that deep. Yes, sometimes new employees mess it up. But also, yes, I have got larger portions because I make their job a tiny bit easier. Yes, on multiple occasions the employee has literally said thank you. And yes, it actually is more efficient for both parties.
• Closing A Bag Of Chips With No Clip: https://www.reddit.com/r/lifehacks/comments/10evgrf/this_is_how_you_close_a_bag_of_chips/ You don’t need to close it as cleanly as he does if you don’t want to.
• Insurance Tips (from X): Insurers will introduce friction into pre-authorization processes, so it is on you and your doctor/doctor’s office to push back/give some resistance, to ensure you get your procedure approved and/or an accurate bill. Ask in writing for: 1) the name, board specialty, and license number of the doctor making the determination, stating the treatment was not medically necessary; 2) copies of all materials they relied on to make their determination; 3) proof the doctor making the determination has maintained their registration in your specific state and documentation of their meeting all continuing education requirements; 4) the aggregate rate at which similar treatments are denied vs. approved by the specific doctor being used for peer review. You are not entitled by law to “all” of these things in most states, but you’re entitled to some of them, and you can always ask for them.
• Help Your Baby Sleep: I HAVE NOT TESTED THESE (I do not have kids) but I will when I eventually do (though not for a while). I thought they were interesting and am including here. One idea is feed babies grass fed butter before bed, or warm milk w maple syrup. The other is other sleep habits such as: We give him sunlight daily to normalize his circadian rhythm. We have a set routine for him daily and we track everything. from feedings to naps and diaper changes! by doing this, you can see what schedule works for your baby and what doesn't. We pace feed him a bottle of milk an hour before bed. we noticed the more full they are before bed, the longer they will sleep. and he eats the most when we pace feed him. We give him a nice warm bath before bed so he knows that bath time means night time. We dim the lights while doing his nighttime routine, place him in a sleep sack (or swaddle but for him, we noticed he does better in a sleep sack), turn on the white noise and put him in the bassinet. Lastly, if he does wake up in the middle of the night, we don't change his diaper unless needed so he doesn't get a habit of needing changes in the middle of the night.
• Really Good Cake: The Almond Torte from Prantl’s Bakery in Pittsburg is…special. Link to order it remotely (via Goldbelly) here. It is special enough that I put it as a life hack. edit: I got it recently. Unfortunately it isn’t as good as it was years ago, but still pretty good.
• Health: There are a million life hacks for health. A simple, highly effective one I’ll recommend is making at home a drink like this. Try it out, adjust it to what works for your body, give it literally 3-5 days.
• Drafting An Email: Every time I draft a long email, I put the email in the top of the body, and then paste it into the “To:” line right before sending. I spam my keyboard often and have accidentally sent emails with “Ctrl + Enter”, although Gmail does have a button to “Undo” a send, if you are quick.