Seven Simple Shortcuts I Really Use

Recently, I have seen several videos and articles on “life hacks,” quick tricks that make life a little easier. Here are seven that I actually use:

Get your lost smart phone back: If you use a pass code (as you should) to lock your smart phone, how will someone be able to return your phone to you? It is simple: put a “If lost, please call…” number on the lock screen. Of course, this number should not be the cell phone number! I use my work number. You can make this in any program and take a screen shot of it. I made mine in Word.

Get your flash drive back: I name my flash drives with my phone number. I also have an “If Found, Please Open” document on each one that lists both my email and phone number. This way, I help a good Samaritan find me without going through all the files on the drive.

Get your luggage back: In every checked (or carried-on) suitcase, I place a piece of paper at the top. If someone opens my bag, that person will see a note with my contact information and itinerary. Just to help my bag get to the correct destination, I put the airport code on a piece of tape on my luggage. My luggage is also marked with large orange H’s as well. It is very easy to spot and cannot be mistaken for someone else’s bag.

Stop annoying cell phone calls: My default ringtone on my smart phone is silent. I assign individual ringtones to my family and close friends who call frequently. I have a standard ringtone I assign to most other numbers. However, if I get a call from an unknown number or someone who has never called before, the phone doesn’t ring at all. I don’t even notice spam calls- and when I see I’ve missed an unknown call, I block that number.

Easy closet origination that shows you which clothes you really wear: When I put my laundry back in the closet, I put the hanger in backwards. This way, it is obvious which clothes I have worn recently. Each summer, I take out the items that are still hung on forward facing hangers. These are the clothes to give away because I have not worn them since my last closet clean out.

Thin your wallet and have more at your fingertips: Rather than stuffing my wallet full of loyalty, insurance, and other cards, I photograph or scan them and keep them in my smart phone. Yes, there are apps that do this, but this is far more simple. Most of these cards I use infrequently. Rather than having them make my wallet bulky, I create a photo album and store them there.

Good passwords you can remember: I have two types of passwords: those I need to have in my head and all the others. I let my password manager program (I use 1Password) create long and random passwords for any websites that I use only on my home computer. For the rest, I recommend creating a long and unique password using the first letters (or suitable replacements) for a phrase you know well. So, if I was going to use Hamlet’s famous speech, my password might be: 2BoN2b-TiT? I alternate capitals and replace words with numbers or symbols when I can. I often insert a special character somewhere in the password as well. I can remember this password and it is going to be much more difficult for someone to hack.

Do you have similar little life hack shortcuts? Post them in the comments!