Modern WisdomLife Hacks 103
CHAPTERS
- 0:06 – 1:46
Setting the stage: why this became “Life Hacks 103” (and not relationships)
Chris explains the accidental origin of the episode: they planned to talk relationships but ended up with an hour of freewheeling conversation, so they pivoted to a life-hacks format. He also previews upcoming guests and topics on the show.
- •Planned relationships episode derails into general conversation
- •Decision to record a dedicated “Life Hacks 103” instead
- •Upcoming guests teased: Cory Allen, Quinn Henoch, Johann Hari
- •Tone set: informal, funny, and practical
- 1:46 – 5:13
Warming up with Newcastle bar banter + random headlines
The trio riff on a strangely quiet bar, odd staffing choices, and snack offerings. The banter drifts into a bizarre news story about pregabalin and a humorous charity cross-dressing event recap.
- •Observations about the eerily empty ‘Continental’ bar
- •Jokes about free bar snacks and allergies/restrictions
- •Pregabalin headline and how media spins narratives
- •Charity event story and “scared straight” joke thread
- 5:13 – 7:07
Deepfakes and the death of video evidence
A Family Guy Bill Cosby gag leads to a discussion about CGI manipulation and convincing fake videos. They reference Obama deepfake-style examples and impressions (including Sam Harris parody) to underline how believable synthetic media is becoming.
- •Old comedy clips becoming newly ‘inappropriate’ over time
- •CGI/deepfake videos as a coming epistemic problem
- •Example: convincing fake Obama speech overlays
- •Sam Harris parody as a softer version of the same phenomenon
- 7:07 – 13:27
Life hack: stop hate-following people on social media
Chris proposes a simple mental-health and attention hack: unfollow people you dislike rather than consuming content that leaves you annoyed. They debate whether ‘triggering’ content can be reframed as self-development—or whether it’s just avoidable negativity.
- •Unfollow instead of hate-following (especially on Facebook)
- •Instagram unfollow anxiety + “unfollow checker” apps
- •Car-crash entertainment vs net-negative emotional impact
- •Triggering content: self-insight opportunity vs pointless irritation
- 13:27 – 16:49
Capture systems for the mind: bookmark queues and decision reduction (Toby/Pocket)
Jonny reframes productivity as ‘capture’—getting open loops out of your head and into a reliable system. He recommends Toby (Chrome extension) to organize reading/listening queues and reduce decision friction when it’s time to consume saved content.
- •Brains are for processing/deciding, not storing everything
- •Toby as an organized bookmark/queue manager
- •Create separate queues (reading, listening, frequent) + subfolders
- •Decision fatigue reduction: “pick the first item in the queue”
- •Mobile limitations and alternatives like Pocket/Evernote
- 16:49 – 25:54
Consistency hack: train more often with shorter sessions (and do it early)
Jonny experiments with shifting from 4 longer training days to 6 shorter sessions to lower the barrier to showing up. Chris expands the idea into a broader principle: do key commitments early so the anxiety of ‘still needing to do it’ disappears for the day.
- •Switching to 6 shorter sessions to improve adherence
- •Lower barrier: fewer ‘two-hour gym’ mental blocks
- •Training as a mental reset comparable to sleep
- •Morning-first principle: remove “catch-up” stress later
- •Parkinson’s Law: time pressure improves session efficiency
- 25:54 – 33:25
Gear that actually changes daily life: Apple AirPods (and weird bonus uses)
Chris argues AirPods are a rare purchase with immediate, compounding quality-of-life gains. They break down why: effortless pairing, call quality, auto-pause, and seamless device switching—plus odd hacks like using the case as a phone stand.
- •Case-as-charger convenience + fast charging behavior
- •Instant pairing, double-tap controls, strong range
- •Hands-free calling while cooking/doing chores
- •Auto-pause/auto-resume and smart device switching (car ↔ earbuds)
- •AirPods case as a precarious phone stand on trains/planes
- 33:25 – 39:46
Tracking ‘open loops’: Waiting-For lists, email follow-ups, and reminders that cancel themselves
Yusef introduces a ‘Waiting For’ list to track people/companies he’s awaiting replies from. They also discuss Mailbutler/FollowUp tools that create reminders tied to sent emails and automatically clear once a reply arrives—reducing mental load.
- •Wunderlist ‘Waiting For’ to track pending responses
- •Mailbutler email reminders linked to sent messages
- •Auto-cancel reminders when a reply is received
- •Core theme: externalize memory to reduce stress
- •Caveat: capture must be paired with regular review time
- 39:46 – 43:19
Focus and deep work: Pomodoro technique + timer apps with analytics
Jonny explains why Pomodoro works: short, time-boxed sprints build the skill of focus and leverage deadlines. He recommends a simple Pomodoro app (Pro version) that runs unobtrusively, tracks tasks, and provides graphs/pie charts for time allocation.
- •Pomodoro structure: 25 work / 5 break, longer break after 4 cycles
- •Training the ability to focus (Cal Newport ‘Deep Work’ angle)
- •Apps reduce friction vs manual timers and forgotten starts
- •Time tracking dashboards: pie charts and Pomodoro counts
- •Parkinson’s Law: constraints increase output density
- 43:19 – 55:19
Driving upgrades: automatic cars + ‘always fill the tank’ (and paying at the pump)
Chris makes the case that automatic transmissions are a lifetime upgrade that reduces hassle and cognitive load. He adds a secondary hack: fill the fuel tank fully to reduce time lost to extra petrol-station trips, plus pay-at-pump tactics to avoid kiosks.
- •Automatic gearboxes as a convenience/attention upgrade
- •Manual driving seen as needless ‘pride/ego’ friction
- •Fill the tank to minimize detours and repeated overhead
- •Pay at the pump to avoid the kiosk interaction
- •Wedge-the-cap trick to avoid holding the fuel nozzle
- 55:19 – 1:00:31
Tesla tangent: EV running costs, range anxiety, and the self-driving future
The car discussion expands into Tesla performance, ‘ludicrous mode’ humor, and EV economics. They speculate about charging infrastructure, autonomy, and how self-driving could transform commuting into productive or restful time.
- •Tesla acceleration demos (including towing comparisons)
- •Charging costs vs petrol + public charger ‘free’ cases
- •Range constraints and infrastructure as current bottleneck
- •Self-driving as ‘public transport benefits without downsides’
- •Future lifestyle implications: longer commutes become tolerable
- 1:00:31 – 1:03:05
Quick-fire study hack: Anki and spaced repetition for high-volume learning
Yusef recommends Anki as the most effective way he’s found to memorize large amounts of information using active recall and spaced repetition. They discuss creating your own decks vs using community decks, and the value of analytics for review discipline.
- •Active recall beats passive re-reading for long-term retention
- •Spaced repetition schedules reviews automatically
- •Community decks exist (useful but may contain errors)
- •Analytics and progress tracking support consistency
- •Best fit: exams, medicine, languages, and dense curricula
- 1:03:05 – 1:11:41
Nutrition compliance hack: daily green smoothies (and the frozen spinach warning)
Jonny shares a simple way to ensure daily fruit/veg intake without overthinking meals: make breakfast a green smoothie with a consistent recipe. They cover ingredients, prep workflow, freezing strategy, and why pre-frozen spinach ‘pucks’ are a blender nightmare.
- •Default breakfast = spinach + berries + banana + protein (+ supplements)
- •Reduces decision fatigue around ‘did I eat veg today?’
- •Fresh spinach frozen at home blends better than store-bought frozen pucks
- •Practical prep: weekly shop, freeze immediately, use frozen berries
- •Reported benefits: digestion regularity + general “clean” feeling
- 1:11:41 – 1:17:12
Branding/Instagram hack: VSCO Cam filters + batch editing workflow
Chris reveals his go-to photo-editing tool for consistently good-looking visuals: VSCO Cam. He explains filter choices, sharper controls than Instagram, batch exports, and the best practice of exporting full-size then cropping inside Instagram.
- •VSCO Cam as a lightweight pro-level photo editor
- •Strong preset filters (e.g., B1/A-series) for consistent aesthetic
- •Advanced controls: grain, sharpness, fine tuning
- •Batch processing to speed up content workflows
- •Export full-size first, then crop in Instagram for flexibility
- 1:17:12 – 1:22:10
Wrap-up: future episodes, social media breaks, and “Propane tools” teased
They close by riffing on future ‘business tools’ episodes and Chris previews upcoming guests again—meditation, mobility myths, and Johann Hari’s work. The conversation ends acknowledging they never reached the relationships topic and sign off with more banter.
- •Idea for a future episode: Propane/business tools and plugins
- •Chris previews Cory Allen (meditation), Quinn Henoch (mobility), Johann Hari
- •Discussion of taking a social media break vs running an events company
- •Jokes about delegating ‘being Chris’ via a manual/process
- •Final sign-off and promise of future deep-dives (e.g., slow cooking)
