Ask HN: What are your best life hacks?

can u publish that script that takes a screen shot?

- Persuasion: Mention an idea in passing then wait a week or two. Mention it again in terms of "you know that idea you had ...". This is a surprisingly effective hack on stubborn managers. If they think they'll get the credit for an idea, then they are much more likely to go along with it.

- Drink a glass of water when you first wake up. It will curb the temptation for high carb breakfast foods and reduce coffee intake.

- If you have annual reviews, write a list of your accomplishments for the past year and send it to your boss about a month before reviews are done.

- 10% rule: Allocate 10% of your work time to pet projects that make you happy. The projects should be for the company, and if you have to put in extra hours to find the time, do it. Don't tell anyone about them until they are completed/successful. Bury the failures. This tactic puts a little control and satisfaction back into your life if you have a job that sucks.

- Barter: You'd be surprised where it works. I got a $100 off a jacket at Nordstrom doing this and $50 off a TV.

- Pasta: If you're on a ramen budget, bulk pasta is just as cheap and more nutritious.

My trick for remembering names: When I meet someone new, I try and think of someone else I know with the same name (a friend, famous person, etc.), and picture the two standing next to each-other.

With unique and foreign names I try and thing of an object or animal that sounds like that name. Sometimes I've had to get a bit more creative, like associating my Nepalese acquaintance Badu with Fred Flinstone (yabba dabba doo), but it always works.

Two here.

1) Make the placebo effect work for you. There is an overwhelming amount of evidence that says that the placebo effect works. Deep down, I know that the placebo effect works, and that simply thinking that I'm getting better makes me better. So, whenever I feel like I'm about to get sick, I tell myself that I can make myself feel better - and I get better. I got this working a few years ago and I haven't had a cold or allergies since.

2) Whenever you get a new program, hit every button. Every last one. Click on every menu option, check out every dropdown, explore the entire preferences and settings dialog. Eventually you'll start to develop an odd intuition for finding things, even in weird GUIS and ones that make no intuitive sense. It also means that you've seen that one button in the corner that does exactly what you want, which is very helpful.

I also hope it's not medication. I once tried some of those pills from a friend of mine. I gotta tell you I really felt like this is the way one is supposed to feel. I was euphoric, motivated and concentrated like I've never been before. Also when I was younger I was told pretty often by teachers that I might be hyperactive so I wonder if this feeling I had is like other people feel all the time. If so, all the hyperactives have a HUGE disadvantage over all the normal people.