A life hack is a strategy, technique, trick or shortcut that can help make life easier – by speeding up efficiency, enhancing productivity and sometimes minimizing a source of annoyance with a quick trick. That’s as close to a dictionary definition as you can get.
Love them or hate them, life hacks have become so engrained in our online lives that there are sites and videos dedicated to sharing these hacks (or debunking them).
In this compilation, we want to share with you 99 of our favorite tech life hacks. You might have heard of some of them, especially when it comes to keyboard shortcuts and handy online tools and websites, but it doesn’t hurt to know more of them.
#1
To quickly change the case (upper vs. lower) of text in Microsoft Word, highlight the phrase, then hit Shift + F3. Changes cycle through all lowercase, first letter capitalized, and all in uppercase.
200 Keyboard Shortcuts (Windows) to Boost Your Productivity
Keyboard shortcuts can boost your productivity if your daily job relies heavily on using Windows. They just don't... Read more
#2
To get quick summaries of articles online, get and use the Chrome extension TLDR. The plugin shows you the gist of the article so you can figure out if you want to read the whole thing. (Here are more Chrome extensions)
#3
To re-open an accidentally closed browser tab, use Ctrl / Cmd + Shift + T.
#4
To get a tough-to-crack password, use non-English characters on your keyboard.
#5
To proofread a long essay, paste your article in Google Translate and listen to it. This makes it easier to pick up mistakes, and the tool itself can help you pick up minor typos.
How To Improve Your Proofreading Skills
With every blogpost, newspaper article, book, magazine or other reading material, there will be editing and proofreading involved.... Read more
#6
Run your writing or document past AfterTheDeadline to clear typos, grammar mistakes and get help with writing styles.
#7
If you save your Powerpoint presentation in .PPS instead of .PPT, your file goes into slideshow mode when you open it.
#8
Want to charge your phone faster? Put it in Airplane Mode. (Editor’s note: We did a small experiment on this and found the difference to be only 3 minutes, but technically, it’s still “faster”.)
#9
Search for a domain name across multiple TLDs and how much they cost via iwantmyname.com.
Generic TLDs and How They Are Changing The Internet
If you are an attentive web user, lately you could see new kind of domains here and there,... Read more
#10
Hanging a picture but don’t have a level? Well, your iPhone can help. Open Measure app, tap Level and lay your phone flat against the surface to achieve a well-balanced hang.
38 iPhone Tips & Tricks You Should Know
Your iPhone is nothing less than a magical device that can do hundreds of functions and substitute many... Read more
#11
Want a quick way to unfreeze a frozen phone? Plug it into its charger.
#12
Hitting the Spacebar scrolls down a web page; hitting the Spacebar + Shift lets you scroll back up.
#13
Attach bread clips to each cable or power cord, then label the clips with a pen or marker to reflect which cable is which.
#14
Keep a list of numbers of your credit card companies or hotlines to cancel your cards quickly, in case you lose your wallet or phone. You can do this on paper on in an email.
#15
Store some emergency cash in between the small space of your phone and its phone case, just in case.
#16
Someone needs to use your iPhone to make a call? Use Siri from the lock screen to make the call. The person has no access to any other app on your phone this way.
#17
Got yet another call from a telemarketer? Press the volume down button to quickly mute the ringer.
#18
Your best search mate for college assignments is not google.com. Use scholar.google.com instead. Try adding “PDF” to find downloadable copies.
#19
Laptop batteries can last longer if you charge them up to only 80% instead of the full 100%.
How to Conserve Smartphone Battery
Smartphones these days have a diverse range of capabilities and multi-functionality running on powerful operating systems. However, this... Read more
#20
If you can’t remember the title of a song but you know the melody or lyrics to it, hum/sing it on Midomi to get the title.
#21
When booking flights or hotels online, clear cookies before you start looking, or shop in Incognito mode, for lower prices.
#22
The best background music to work to with minimal disruption is video game soundtracks.
#23
Want to play Tetris on Mac? On Terminal, type Emacs then press Enter. Press Esc + X, type tetris and Enter. Use the arrow keys to move and rotate your Tetris blocks.
#24
To find the solution to one of your many computer troubleshooting issues, add “Solved” to sift through the results.
#25
Use SelfControl to block social network sites for a period of time. Cool app, ironic name.
5-Step Guide To A Complete Tech Detox
With so much overlapping of the virtual online world with our real, physical world in the past few... Read more
#26
For an equal split of sound of your tunes when sharing your headphones with a friend, turn on the Mono audio option on your phone.
#27
Shave a few bucks off your groceries, by using Lozo to find discount coupons for the stuff you need.
#28
Saving an Excel file as an .XLSB will shrink the size by half or 75%.
#29
Someone’s incessant morning alarm is going off but the owner is refusing to get up and turn it off? Call the phone to turn it off for them.
#30
If you buy a product on Amazon, and there is a price drop within 7 days, you can get a refund on the price difference.
#31
To prevent sending emails to the wrong person, write your email first, and write your recipient last.
#32
If your printer is out of black ink, change the font color to #010101 for 99% grey.
#33
The best type of music to work to is a video game soundtrack because they are designed to not mess with your focus.
#34
Find yourself in a hotel without your charger? Check the TV for a USB plugin.
#35
The Bohemian Rhapsody is the perfect music piece to test headphones and speakers to because of the range of highs and lows.
#36
Have an old cassette case lying around? Don’t chuck it out, use it as a holder or stand for your mobile phone.
#37
Want a quick way to turn part of a YouTube video into a GIF? Add “GIF” after “www.” and before “youtube” in the URL of the video .
6 Basic Youtube Tips Everyone Should Know
Whether you want to check out some new music videos or find the latest tutorials on a subject,... Read more
#38
To paste copied text without the formatting, use Cmd / Ctrl + Shift + V.
#39
In Chrome, click Cmd / Ctrl + Shift + Del to quickly access the “Clear Browsing Data” Window.
#40
To find sample tests for a looming exam, search “site:edu [subject] exam”.
#41
Can’t watch YouTube videos that have been age restricted but don’t want to sign in to do so? In the URL, delete the “watch?v=” and replace it with “v/”.
#42
To bypass a website block by your school or office, use Google Translate as a proxy by pasting the url of the site into it.
How to Access Blocked Websites (9 Ways)
There may be times when you come across a website or service that's been blocked by your employer,... Read more
#43
Make a small knot at either side of the earphone to identify left or right side of the earphones.
#44
In the iPhone Calculator app, swipe left or right to delete the last number.
#45
If you live near a stadium or a hall that hosts public venues, set Google Alerts for the location to avoid being “surprised” by sudden traffic congestion.
#46
Take pictures of important notices, receipts, invitations, business cards, shopping lists for easy access. Never lose your paper trail again.
#47
If you need to remember the time for something, make a miss call to any number to get a (very precise) timestamp.
#48
Want to surprise someone at the airport but don’t know their arrival time or flight number? Google where they’re flying from and to, and the airline they are on e.g. Singapore Airlines Singapore to London. You’ll get all the info you need.
#49
Set important lists e.g. schedule, events, shopping list, errands, as the wallpaper for your phone.
#50
If you hit Shift + Volume up / down on Mac, a sound is emitted indicating the intensity of the volume.
#51
The easiest way to crank up your smartphone’s speaker volume is using an empty cup.
#52
Take a picture of business cards people hand you, just in case you lose it.
#53
Bounce batteries to see if their are good or bad. The higher they bounce, the lower the charge they have in them. Here’s a cool video illustrating that.
#54
This one’s for developers who wonder what technologies and services are running under the hood in websites. Dissect a site with BuiltWith.com.
#55
Send notes that will self-destruct after it is read or after a specific number of days, via privnote.com.
