I Crowdsourced the 20 Best Life Hacks from 21.9 Million People on Reddit

What happens when you tap into the collective wisdom of 21.9 million Redditors?

You get hacks that are actually useful, from dodging awkward calls to upgrading your mindset.

I sifted through thousands of upvoted tips, oddball tricks, and golden nuggets buried in comment threads to bring you the 20 best life hacks the internet has to offer. No fluff, no guru-speak. Just stuff that works.

Let’s dive in.

20 Best Life Hacks from Redditors

1. The Smooth Call Exit

If you’re stuck on an annoying call, put your phone on airplane mode instead of just hanging up. The other person will see “call failed” instead of “call ended.”

2. Catch Data Sellers

When you sign up for anything online, put the website’s name as your middle name. That way when you receive spam/advert emails, you will know who sold your info.

3. Helmet Safety Hack

Always tell a child who is wearing a helmet how cool you think their helmet is. It will encourage them to always wear it in the future.

4. The Compassion Mindset

When you don’t have all the facts, try to give people the most generous reason you can for their behavior. Annoyingly slow driver? Maybe it’s a mom with a birthday cake in the back. This mindset will gradually make you less reactive and more compassionate.

5. Legacy Motivation

Do not try to be the man your father would want you to be. Be the man you would like your son to be. It more clearly defines your own convictions, desires, goals, and motivates you to be your best.

6. The Perfect Question

When a friend is upset, ask them one simple question before saying anything else: “Do you want to talk about it or do you want to be distracted from it?”

7. Post-Breakup Recovery

After a bad breakup, do 10 things that your ex would never do with you. You’ll feel better and realize how much of yourself was being held back.

8. Name Test Strategy

Before you give your child a unique name, try it out first. Use it on food orders, reservations, appointments where applicable. It’ll give you a glimpse of what they’ll deal with when they’re older and could prevent future issues.

9. Hotel Cancellation Trick

If you need to cancel a hotel reservation but are unable to because of a 24-hour policy, call the company and move your reservation to a later date. Call back within a few days and cancel for no charge.

10. Conversation Anxiety Reduction

If you tell someone you need to talk to them, for the love of God give some indication of what you need to talk about, or at least that it’s not bad news.

11. Email Emotion Control

Never send a work email when you’re emotionally compromised. Type it up, save it as a draft, and walk away. Ideally, sleep on it. You’ll make a smarter choice when you’re not heated.

12. Authentic Parenting Win

Don’t just let kids win at games. You can slow it down, you can teach them strategy, but keep it real. Someday, they will beat you fair and square, and it will be a moment they always remember with pride.

13. No-Stick Foil Cooking

When cooking things on aluminum foil, first scrunch the foil up, then lay it loosely flat again on your baking tray. The juices will stay put and the food will not stick to the foil half as much, if at all.

14. Idea Capture System

If you think of a good idea, write it down. Your brain will try to trick you into thinking you will remember it later, but it’s a liar. Therefore: Write it down.

15. 4-Minute Dental Routine

It takes 4 minutes a day and almost no cost to maintain dental hygiene. It takes a lifetime and a lot of money to correct it. 2-minute brush and mouthwash in the AM, 2-minute brush and floss in the PM.

16. Fitness Timing Paradox

Don’t wait until you have “time” to start a fitness program. The best time to start is actually when you’re busy. Learning how to fit it in when times are tough means you’ll stick with it.

17. Business Message Efficiency

When using text messages or IMs for business, say everything you need to say in the first message. Don’t just say “hi” or “hey” or “are you there.”

18. The Day Quarters System

Instead of feeling that you’ve blown the day and thinking, “I’ll get back on track tomorrow,” think of each day as a set of four quarters: Morning, Midday, Afternoon, Evening. If you blow one quarter, get back on track for the next quarter.

19. Marriage as Roommates Theory

Many problems in marriage are really just problems with being a bad roommate. Learn how to be a good roommate, and it will solve many issues that plague marriages.

20. The Judgment Eliminator

Ask yourself “what does it matter to me” the next time you find yourself judging someone for their clothing or hobbies. The more you train yourself to not care about the personal preferences of other people, the more relaxed and nicer you become as a person.

Question for you: What’s your favorite life hack?

See you next week,

Let’s doola this ⚡️