Here are this week’s life pro tips.
01. Never give personal info or money to anyone who calls you
Like email has no proof of identity, displayed phone numbers say whatever their machine wants it to say. They may call offering you a deal from some business you are already signed up for and only if you accept the new deal over the phone you can get the discount, etc. But they called you, so refuse until, if you’re interested call the expected business at their public number.
02. Don’t “six months” yourself to death
Don’t keep telling yourself six more months. If you have an opportunity, take it. If you can create an opportunity, create it. Never, ever trust anything your friend or boss says they’ll do for you in a few months unless it’s in legal writing with an exact timeline.
This is also known as a Friedman unit. One Friedman Unit is equal to six months, specifically the “next six months”, a period repeatedly declared by New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman to be the most critical of the then-ongoing Iraq War, even though such pronouncements extended back over two and a half years.
03. When packing a cooler…
If you need to maximize space, freeze water bottles to use as ice packs. A 1-gallon bottle of frozen water has a lower surface/volume ratio, taking up less space and stays solid longer. This will be handy if you’re on a week-long camping trip. Make sure to let just a little bit of water out if it’s a brand new bottle, although most will expand without exploding.
04. If you feel sweaty and groggy when you wake up…
Check your vitamin D levels. In the past, every morning I woke up feeling like a truck ran over me. I felt sweaty, clammy and groggy. After I started 5000 IUs of Vitamin D, I started to feel like a new person. You may want to consult your doctor for this though. Take what your doctor recommends and not any more. You definitely will also want to rule out sleep apnea and other sleep disorders.
Also, make sure you are properly hydrated after you wake up. Drink a full glass of water in the morning and you might feel better in 5 minutes.
05. Some more e-mailing tips
We have given some emailing tips in the past. Here are 4 more:
· Don’t add recipients to your e-mails until you’re done typing.
· Gmail has a lab feature which delays sending for 30 seconds. You can click a button after sending and it will stop the sending and return it to drafts.
· You can also type the mail in a word processor and then copy and paste when ready.
· Add your attachment before you even start typing.
