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  • People wonder why I’m an optimist. I’m not really. What I do is expect people to disappoint me. After all, none of us are perfect. When they don’t I’m surprised. When they do, I’m not mad, as just met my expectations.

    I find people who don’t like other people expect them to not disappoint them and when they do they get angry and upset. It’s really just a mindset change.

  • You can often get a Pre Purchase Inspection (PPI) for about $200 from a mechanic that will tell you everything in depth about the health of a car before you actually buy it.

    Way too many people out here purchasing cars and then bringing it to a mechanic only to realize they've been ripped off or bought an expensive repair bill.

    You should do it with any used car you have a strong intention to buy whether it is a private sale or from a lot.

    Usually lots will want to negotiate the price first because any used car will have some wear and tear.

    But the point is that you'll know for sure it there's any critical issues with the vehicle. If it's a lemon, you can say no and walk away. Don't think of it as losing $200, think of it as saving several thousand on a broken car.

  • If you have a goal to find something (eg. buy a car), write your goal down, including details like make and model. You'll start to see adverts, special deals and cars of the model you want parked with for sale signs. There's nothing mystical about this - you're surrounded by things like that, but the specific act of writing it seems to tell your unconscious mind to bring it to your attention when you pass them.

  • When working on long-term goals:

    1. Set a date for completion.
    2. Create a tentative schedule working backwards from that date. Include dates for completing main tasks.
    3. Give extra time in the schedule for minor setbacks between tasks.
    4. Give extra time in the schedule for a potential major setback overall.

    For example, let's say the goal is to paint a house:

    1. I can say I want it painted in 2 months, so I set it for the date of 9/17/24.
    2. I figure I can paint a room every other day, so since the house has 5 rooms total, I think I can start painting 10 days before on 9/07/24. However, I need to consider that finding and purchasing paint and equipment will take time too. I think about it and consider that paint shopping can take me 2 days since I want to try out several stores, so the newer date is 9/05/24.
    3. Now, I add some room for minor setbacks between each task. Rather than assuming I will paint every other day, I add two days in between. That means starting on 8/30/24. This allows me to take my time with rooms, skip a day if I feel tired, or adjust if I the rooms take longer to paint than I had anticipated for whatever reason. I also increase the time allotted for acquiring materials because so many things can happen: traffic, tired, unhappy with selection, need time to test samples and ask people, etc. Rather than only include 2 days for this, I include a whole week so I can see the paint samples on the walls and see which ones feel the best. We are not starting on 8/23/24.
    4. Lastly, maybe something major could happen, such as getting sick, the store runs out of paint stock, my car breaks down, or I change my mind on one of the paint colors after seeing it up on the wall. I might even realize that I completely overlooked tasks, such as rearranging furniture, painting over errors/accidents, and clean up. I would then add a cushion of 2 weeks to the schedule to allow for that should it happen. So the actual start date is 8/9/24. This is much sooner than if we had gone with the original start date of 9/07/24, almost an entire month!

    With this style of planning, I can take my sweet time, enjoy the process, and not get stressed out if something unexpected comes up. If I finish early, then I have extra time to work on details or enjoy the rest.

  • If you have a toilet that, when flushed, turns your shower into lava, adjust the toilet filler valve so it's barely open and you'll have much less of a problem.

  • Do a bunch of things at once, not in parallel, but in series.

    It makes sure I'm staying in the mood of being productive and keeps myself motivated, as I can keep focusing on the tasks. Of course, still take breaks if you need it.

  • If you want to open a padlock and don't have the key, you can almost certainly break it open with 2 big wrenches.

    I only had 1 opportunity to try that yet, when removing a 20 year old lock some stupid kid left on my stuff and then forgot where I put the key, but man did it feel empowering.

    You can practice this trick at any romantic bridge. Do you really think whoever etched their initials on the lock is still together and would notice? Please

  • Got some domed glass pot lids but the one you need broke? Simply invert the handle on the next size up and you get a universal lid that fits any pan! Condensation pools in the middle instead of dripping over the sides.

  • Getting a Shavette. The prospect of it being sharper than a straight razor makes you think that you will slice your face off, but in my experience at worst I had a nick or 2. The blades are dirt cheap and perform better than multi bladed razors.

    A nice bonus is you have no plastic waste.

591 comments