We have decided to introduce a new segment on Mondays of every week called Life Pro Tips. A Life Pro Tip (or LPT) is a tip that improves your life in a meaningful way. Give us a feedback on how you like this segment and if we find the response positive, we will try to do them every week on Mondays.
01. Booking group tickets for big events
When going to a big event with a large group of people, if possible, try to book two rows of seats rather than just one really long row. It’s awesome being able to sit together with all of your friends for X event, but you can really only interact with people in your immediate vicinity. The people on the ends can’t really talk to each other without shouting over 5 people. Splitting up your group into 2 rows would make for a better experience. Not always possible if you are late to get tickets though. Then you get what you can.
02. Get free internet on US Airways Flight
We don’t know if this applies to every US Airways flight, but this is for those flights that do not have any televisions and the airline lets you order and watch movies on your own devices. But in order to play the movies on your phone or tablet, the site will ask if you have the Gogo Video Player App. Now, if you don’t have the app, it will connect you to the App Store and let you download it. Hit download and this is the moment when it seems to give you access to the internet, not just the App store! It seems to give you about a ten minute window of connection. I had no problem browsing internet, getting text messages, etc. It may just be ten minutes, but considering they want an obsene amount of money for just thirty minutes, it’s not too shabby and the beautiful part is you can keep repeating the process. Just delete the app, and start again. Enjoy your free in flight internet!
03. Love to play music while working?
Play a video game soundtrack. They are designed to work as background music and not disrupt your focus.
04. Get people to like you by speaking their love language
Communicate love/respect/friendship to a person in the ‘language’ they understand – there are 5. For context, here is an example of when you invite someone over to your place.
Physical touch – Greet them with a handshake, hug, kiss.. whatever is appropriate to your culture and relationship.
Acts of Service – “Can I carry that for you? Can I take your coat?” Offer to help in some way.
Receiving Gifts – Offer them a beverage, food, token, or other thoughtful item.
Quality Time – Give them attention, listen; put away the distractions and focus on their story.
Words of Affirmation – Pay him or her a genuine compliment.
Not every action is going to resonate with every person, so I prefer to hit them all with a shotgun approach. My parents called this being a good host, but now I understand why. The way it makes people feel when you connect with their love language (credit to Gary Chapman) is truly inspiring. Try it out!
05. Worried about losing your keys?
Always keep a safety pin on your key ring so you can fasten your keys to the inside of your pocket when you’re worried about losing them (running, rollercoasters, etc.) The little loop hole on the end of a safety pin fits perfectly on a key ring. Also, it’s nice to have a safety pin handy whenever you may need one. If you are afraid without a doubt that it will stab you multiple times a week, just get a small carabiner.
06. Blow your nose while taking a shower.
Everything flows better there.You don’t have to bring tissues into the shower with you. Just cup your hands like you would with a normal tissue then blow.
07. Want a concise summary of the Wikipedia article?
On Wikipedia, enter “simple.” before “wikipedia.org” for complicated or lengthy topics to get a quick, concise summary of the main points. It is great for studying.
08. What you should do incase a toddler falls over? Meet their gaze and Smile
If a baby/toddler appears to hurt themselves (falls over, hits head, etc.) and they look to you, always meet their gaze and smile.
I see this mistake made constantly: someone is watching their kid (who is just learning how to walk) run straight into a table that is conveniently right at head height. The kid looks around for mom (or whoever), not quite crying yet but definitely on the brink of tears, and the mom freaks out and puts on a horrified face to match. Kid sees face and begins to cry hysterically.
This can be avoided for the most part by smiling and not over-reacting when your kid looks to you for help. They’re confused. They haven’t felt like this before (they’re 1 remember). They’re pretty sure this is bad but don’t know yet. They look around for help and to see how others are reacting to the situation. When you smile at them you are re-assuring them that everything is going to be okay. Pretty much without fail kids will calm down almost instantly in response to a genuine smile.
It also helps to lay some infant directed speech on them, but this isn’t totally necessary, they’re really just looking for facial confirmation that they’re not going to die.
Obviously you’re still going to want to check them over for any serious bumps or bruises but just make sure you’re smiling when you do it.
09. Use the phrase “My understanding was…” instead of “I assumed…”
If you use the phrase “I assumed…”, you’ll be viewed as having hastily jumped to a conclusion based on insufficient evidence.
If you use the phrase “My understanding was…”, people will merely think you misunderstood something, and will be far kinder to you (and in instances where what you misunderstood was something they said, they will often apologize, or fault themselves for not being more explicit).
This is especially useful in a professional/workplace environment. Telling your supervisor you “assumed” something typically results in a reprimand; saying “My understanding was…” will instead be attributed to a miscommunication, or a lack of clarity in their original instructions.
10. How to pour out of a carton
For a perfect pour, rotate that carton.
