10 Life Hacks I Have Learned From Reddit
Reddit, often looked at as the nerdiest social network there is, has given me so much life advice. From all of the people sharing their life tips on several subreddits, there is plenty of life hacks that will make your life easier. Here are 10 life hacks I have learned from Reddit.
1. Wearing sunscreen
Reddit’s r/skincareaddiction subreddit is a gold mine for skincare tips, recommendations, and routines. Prior to browsing this specific subreddit, I had no idea you should wear sunscreen on your face everyday. At the time, I was struggling with mild to moderate acne and was using pretty harsh treatments. When I started wearing sunscreen everyday, I noticed my skin was less red and irritated by the end of the day, and my acne less noticeable. Over time, my acne cleared and my complexion was more even.
2. Wear Asian sunscreen
The second life hack I learned from r/skincareaddiction came later after I started wearing sunscreen everyday. American sunscreen would irritate my eyes every once in a while and would cause a burning sensation when applying. The skincare experts on r/skincareaddiction suggested buying Asian sunscreen on Amazon. This was the single most useful piece of advice I have ever gotten off of Reddit. Not only is Asian sunscreen light and gel-textured, it is more effective than American sunscreens. If you are looking to follow this life hack, I suggest buying Biore or Purito sunscreens off of Amazon.
3. Make friends with your teachers and professors
It make take some effort, but this life hack I learned from Reddit has been a huge lifesaver in college. If your professor knows who the person is behind the name, they have an easier time helping you out when you need it, and may have some sympathy with your grades! It all has to do with them thinking of you as a friend. When you need an extension on a due date for example, whether you ask them in person or through email, if they have a connection with you, they are more likely to help you out. Plus, they are good connections in the job world!
4. Use the reference list
If you are forced to write one of those dreaded research papers for a college or high school class, avoid hunting for obscure sources. Reddit taught me that all you need to is go to the Wikipedia page for a topic related to your paper and open the references. This usually will provide an expansive list of source material that you can use for a formal research paper, and probably save a ton of time.
5. Microwaving food
If you have a meal that you are reheating from a restaurant, microwaves tend to immediately ruin them by leaving the food soggy and moist. Reddit taught to put a cup of water in the microwave beside the food you want to reheat. I don’t know exactly why this works, but it has something to do with the humidity of the water counteracting the humidity in the food. This allows your food to be reheated without being soggy. This is handy when you ordered too much food but you don’t want to waste it.
6. Just get up
For those mornings before class when time is ticking and your bed is lulling you back to sleep, just get up. If you blindly tell yourself to get up, once you are out of bed you realize that isn’t so bad and you can go on with your day. For me, I used to always wake up on time, but I just couldn’t bring myself to get up. This Reddit life hack sounds like a “duh” tip, but just try it. If you can just mindlessly get out of bed, you will probably save a ton of time in the morning.
7. Drink a good amount of water before bed
A step above the previous hack is another little tip I learned from Reddit. If you still can’t get up from your bed in the morning, drink a good amount of water before bed at night. By the time you wake up in the morning, you will likely need to pee just bad enough to where you have to get up. Not only is this good for your health to hydrate before bed, but it ensures that you will get up out of bed in the morning. Once you are up, the more ready you are to get on with your day.
8. Chilling your drink
Nothing is more frustrating than when you want to enjoy a soda, but you never put the cans in the fridge. To chill the soda super fast, Reddit taught me to wrap the can in a wet towel and leave the can in the freezer for about 25 minutes. Now you have a cold soda with just a little bit of a wait time. And hopefully you took this is as a reminder to put the rest of the cans in the fridge.
9. Textbook PDFs
This is the biggest money-saving life hack I have ever had the privilege of learning. It’s no secret that universities practically extort a large sum of money from students at the beginning of the semester by forcing us to buy textbooks. Reddit taught me that you can usually find a PDF online for FREE of the textbook you need. This also applies to scientific papers you can use for research papers. The internet is your resource, use it to save some of your desperately needed money.
10. Checklists
Finally, Reddit has taught me to use checklists. Too often, I come home from class overwhelmed with all of my tasks I have to complete, but usually, it’s just your brain forming an anxiety response because of the lack of order of your tasks. Making a checklist easily provides a visual of the things you need to complete, and tends to make it less daunting. This tip has saved me a lot of time and stress.
Thanks Reddit! Do these life hacks sound useful? Have you already utilized these tips? Let us know in the comments below!
