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Ask HN: What are your best life hacks/best tools in life/time savers?

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Re: Ask HN: What are your best life hacks/best tools in life/time savers?

#12

Post by scottw »

Chirag wrote: post #9

1. Program Launcher: Rocketdock 2. Notepadd++ - For all editing purposes. 3. A diary to track and list everything work related, this works as a todo list, doodles, project discussions, lists. 4. Evernote for dumping notes from across the web and emails. 5. Combination of Firefox and Google Chrome

I'll second Evernote. It's the best place for dumping anything: links, notes, photos, etc.

Re: Ask HN: What are your best life hacks/best tools in life/time savers?

#13

Post by tome »

drKarl wrote: post #8
tome wrote: post #6

I can definitely recommend the Dvorak layout. If you think Colemak will be even better then go for it!

Thank you! Well I'm sure the Dvorak layout is much better than the QWERTY layout, but from what I've read, Colemak makes it easier to use default shortcuts such as Ctrl+X, Ctrl+V, Ctrl+Z... I need to be on holiday to learn the new layout though.

If you're willing to put in the time to learn a whole new keyboard layout then you should be willing to put in the time to change any default shortcuts that you don't like!

But personally I haven't found them a problem at all, even in Emacs.

Re: Ask HN: What are your best life hacks/best tools in life/time savers?

#14

Post by eswat »

1. Sharpie marker attached to my keyring, can’t keep count of how many times this came in handy (Marker, Ready-to-Edit)

2. Espresso + Emacs: former for fast HTML/CSS prototyping, latter for fast prototyping of everything else

3. Wacom tablet when I don’t use the keyboard a lot. Faster and more accurate for me compared to a mouse.

4. KeyRemap4Macbook: rebinding the keys I don’t use often to something more useful (caps lock to control, right command to escape, etc.)

Re: Ask HN: What are your best life hacks/best tools in life/time savers?

#15

Post by wheaties »

Buy a starter pistol, you know the kind that they use at tracks. This is still considered a valid weapon for airport screeners so this "tip" applies only to non-carry on luggage. Put the pistol into your luggage and declare it before depositing it with the airline. It won't be lost, tampered with or diverted, ever.

The reason is simple. They have to treat luggage with firearms different from normal luggage. It goes into its own area and is placed in special locked compartments. There's a high level of security involved to protect passengers which ultimately aids you.

Re: Ask HN: What are your best life hacks/best tools in life/time savers?

#16

Post by Alleyfield »

drKarl wrote: post #5
joubert wrote: post #4

1) 9 - 10 hours sleep 2) reduce multitasking 3) eat like a bird 4) exercise 5) don't commute more than 20mins each way

I agree that sleep is very important, but like I said before, I'd like to try polyphasic sleep. That would be an impressive hack, giving me more time and maximizing REM phases. Reduce multitasking - that is, focus in a single task at a time, agreed!! Eat less, exercise more - agreed! That is in fact one of my pending points. Don't commute more than 20mins each way - I would add... unless you can do something useful w…

I highly doubt the effectiveness of polyphasic sleep. I myself found myself physically fatigued when I tried something like that.

So, based on my own (little) experience, my muscles need the long rest that a good night's sleep gives.

And doing "something useful" while commuting... Well ain't there a sure sign for disaster?

Hmm. Now don't get me wrong, but your post seems to be coming from a guy who's heading enthusiastically straight into a total mental burndown...

Re: Ask HN: What are your best life hacks/best tools in life/time savers?

#19

Post by roundsquare »

tome wrote: post #6

I can definitely recommend the Dvorak layout. If you think Colemak will be even better then go for it!

Something I've always wondered...

If you learn a new keyboard layout, does that make it hard to use a regular layout? And what about if someone else uses your computer?

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