This is the first of a series of reports I’ll be posting monthly about my own Life Hacks.
Why would I do this?
Because I not only want to deliver great Life-Hack related content, but I want my fans to know that I don’t just talk the talk, I also walk the walk and often apply Life Hacks in my own existence; some of them work, others don’t. Either way, I’ll let you know.
I really hope these reports help you understand that you don’t have to be a globe-traveling millionaire with 5 best-selling books, 100,000 blog subscribers and tigers on a leash to be a Life Hacker (I don’t meet any of the above criteria — at least not yet!), and I also sincerely hope my Life Hacks can inspire you to step outside the norm, gain an edge, and start living life on your terms.
Life Hacks for October
Tech
My Facebook Page Life Hack Guy
I’ve always been the kind of person that marches to the beat of a different drummer. Early in October, a bit of inspiration hit me: what if I could share all the things I’ve either done or thought about doing in order to get an edge in life with many people and inspire them? I then started going through a mental list of things I’ve personally done, am good at, or enjoy. Being an owner of several businesses, I thought maybe I can help people who are interested in starting a business and escaping their cubicles…
The next thought was …I’m into health and fitness so maybe I can help people get into shape and eat healthier… My mind then jumped to thoughts of my technical background. Since I have an engineering and computer background, I can help people get the most out of technology and share some cool hacks and projects… And even more thoughts circled around my head.
I came to the realization that I just couldn’t bring myself to pick just one topic, and instead thought about how I could “blend” them and create value on one website or blog instead of having a bunch of separate sites. After all, I’m not the first person to produce content relating to more than one topic, so in the tradition of Tim Ferriss and others, I decided to try to tackle a few that were close to heart.
Thus my Facebook page was born as a “test” to see how this idea would hold up before investing a bunch of time and money into creating my own website, blog, and my own content to fill it.
DIY Projects
Appliance repairs
October saw the lever that tells my ice maker when to stop making ice break. Later that month the door handle on my microwave oven broke off.
What the heck does this have to do with Life Hacking you ask?
It’s all about the money — the money I saved by doing the repairs myself!
The parts (bought online) were dirt cheap and the fixes were easy. Had I called an appliance repair person (twice) it would have cost me anywhere from $250-$400 for two stupid-easy fixes.
Fitness & health
Loosen Up
I’m inflexible.
Literally.
My hamstrings are about as pliable as your average 2×4. In fact, I cannot get anywhere near touching my toes without bending my knees (unless I want a trip to the ER).
I decided it was time to loosen up.
Every day for about 5 minutes, I sit down, both legs stretched out in front of me, grab a piece of rope, wrap rope around bottoms of feet and pull my upper half down towards my legs for 5 minutes. So far this has shown some promise.
I plan on continuing this and will keep you updated.
That’s what friends are for
Working out, that is.
Traditionally. I’ve always flown solo with weight lifting – and lately haven’t been working out much due to time constraints and laziness.
The lack of a workout partner is not by choice, but rather due to the fact that none of my friends that are in close proximity are into working out.
Until now.
One of my good friends decided to start lifting weights. We meet 1-3x per week at his place and lift.
The result?
My weight training noob friend gets some advice and motivation from me (I’ve been lifting for a while) and I’m working out more. It’s a win-win.
No more coffee in the morning
Instead I’m drinking caffeinated organic green tea.
Green tea is healthier than coffee and it’s also cheaper.
Another benefit: no more fattening half and half and less added sugar to sweeten the tea as opposed to the coffee.
What’s next?
Now that I’ve finally taken the leap and created my own blog, I’ll be posting my own content here and on social media platforms in addition to sharing other cool Life Hacks from others (mainly on social media). I also plan to keep pushing myself to try new things (Life Hacks) so I can share the results with you and hopefully inspire you.
I’d really love it if you’d drop by and join my free Life Hackers’ Mastermind where you can share your hacks, ask questions, and inspire other Life Hackers.