Practical Betterments is a collection of one-off actions that improve your life continuously — however marginally.
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The best practical betterments
These are posts I think are the best – either because I enjoyed writing them the most, or because they had the most positive effect on my life.
- Create a shortcut for even lower phone brightness
- Rotate your mattress
- Cut rounded corners into your documents and medicine blister packs
- Unsubscribe from staples
- Create a shared digital calendar with significant people in your life
- Drill holes in your keys
- Lubricate your keyholes
Saving time
- Put a spoon in every container that requires a spoon
- Add mundane non-password info to your password manager
- Relocate things that drip over things that collect drips
- Turn off voicemail
Egress optimization
Commuting
Load lightening
- Cut the end off your toothbrush
Sub-gram optimizations
Focus
- Block ads and tracking on your smart TV
- Delete or hide life-wasting apps
- Place healthy apps within thumbs reach
- Sort out your phone notifications
- Switch off "Raise to Wake"
- Turn off in-app rating request popups
- Turn off the lights on your Wifi router
Working on computers
Health
- Adjust your office chair
- Organize your toiletries chronologically
- Setup a recurring reminder to stretch and correct your posture
- Set a maximum volume for your headphones
- Enable sticky keys on your computer
Avoiding death
Sleep
Organization
- Print off a QR code for guests to join your WiFi netork
- Attatch felt to the feet or underside of all your furniture
- Create a shared digital calendar with significant people in your life
Preventing clutter
Resilience
- Apply for or claim citizenship of another
- Backup vital data and media you'd miss if it disappeared
- Download all of Wikipedia on your phone
- Leave a copy of your keys with a trustworthy pal
Cybersecurity
Prolonging battery life