Teenagers Share Their Best Life Hacks

“Be kind to yourself.” “Make a plan first.” “If the weather permits, wear velvet.” And more.

This week, we invited students to share their best life hacks — the advice, shortcuts and strategies they use to make life a little easier. The prompt was inspired by “The Greatest Life Hacks in the World (for Now),” an essay by the Times Opinion columnist David Brooks. In the essay he compiles life hacks from the tech journalist Kevin Kelly who has posted his greatest life learnings on his blog for the past several years.

Hacks for Making Life a Little Easier

“Put everything that you need out the night before.”

A tip that someone gave me was to put everything that you need out the night before including clothes, shoes, how you’re going to style your hair, and everything else that you need. The reason this stuck with me is that it helps you a lot more the next day when you’re too tired or can’t think of what you want to do, you already have everything out. It also helps you be more prepared and have more time in the morning if you need it.

— Julyssa, Hanover Horton High School

“Put your alarm across the room.”

One of my own favorite life hacks that I want to share is to put your alarm across the room so that you have to get up to turn it off. I always have trouble because of falling back asleep in the mornings. But once I actually get out of bed, it is considerably easier to stay awake.

— Cailey, Cary High School

Advice for Taking Care of Yourself

“I will always be okay.”

Something I always tell myself is that no matter what, I will always be okay. This comes in handy when I get very overwhelmed or anxious. It gives me a sense of comfort that as stressed out and scared as I get I will be just fine.

— Catalina, New Rochelle

“Blame yourself once, and get over it.”

One of my favorite life hacks is to not keep blaming yourself for something you’ve done: blame yourself once, and get over it. Even if you’ve done something that you regret, it already happened and no amount of self-blame will fix it.

— Alexander, Cary High School

“Be kind to yourself. It’s as simple as that.”

You’re the one who has to live with yourself for the rest of your life, so why not treat yourself with the same kindness, empathy, and compassion that you would treat your best friend with? I know that sometimes it’s hard to be proud of ourselves, for we might not feel as though we deserve praise. But by being kind to ourselves and being proud of even the smallest of feats, such as getting out of bed or brushing our teeth, we can learn to make self-acceptance an everyday habit, and not just something that occurs every blue moon when we do something spectacular.

— Jessie, Los Angeles, CA

Tips For Getting Along With Others

“Just say ‘thank you,’ and walk away.”

Accept insults. If you say thanks to someone who is trying to make you feel worse, then they would just stop. The person is trying to make you mad, so if you don’t let them know how you are feeling then they would just stop trying to antagonize you and would just go on with their day. So next time someone is trying to get a reaction from you then just say “thank you “and walk away and leave them flabbergasted.

— Logan, Hanover Horton high school

“Be nice to everyone.”

My biggest piece of advice would “be nice to everyone.” There are times we are unsure of others and dislike some people, but even if you fake kindness you earn respect with other people. It’s nice going through life knowing you have others that appreciate you and you knowing there are people out there that have your back. Even if you aren’t the closest with someone, respecting them and being nice allows you to understand them better and broaden your circle.

— Lindsey, Glenbard West HS

Strategies for Getting Things Done

“When you are faced with a problem, you should make a plan first.”

One great piece of advice comes from Abe Lincoln, who said, “If I had eight hours to chop down a tree, I would spend six hours sharpening my axe.” What this means is when you are faced with a problem, you should make a plan first before actually trying to solve it. It can save you a lot of time in the long run because when you actually have to face a problem — which can be anything from chopping down a tree to doing homework — you will already know what to do. Beyond that, it will give you an advantage over others because most people will blindly try to fix something without first making a plan, which ends up wasting a lot of time.

— Greta, Glenbard West High School

“Start with the hardest task you have.”

My best life hack is simply to start with the hardest task you have so that by the time you finish it, the fun and easy part is left. That is the solution to procrastination, or at least it was for me. By starting on the task you dread the most, you are able to relieve the sense of overwhelmingness that you get when a big project is due that you haven’t even started.

— Natalie, Cary High School

 

Source:  https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/13/learning/teenagers-share-their-best-life-hacks.html

Source: The Learning Network
Paraphrased by: Mr. Mark
English Teacher
SHB Primary Modernhill