CHAPTERS
- 0:00 – 3:19
Life Hacks 109 kickoff + Protein Works steel shaker giveaway
Chris, Jonny, and Yusef set up the episode’s “tools, approaches, apps, and products” theme and riff on food habits. Chris explains the sponsor giveaway mechanics and why they prefer steel protein shakers over plastic.
- •Life Hacks 109 format and energy-setting banter
- •Protein Works sponsorship + steel shaker pitch
- •How to enter giveaway: share episode, DM/tag Chris
- •Affiliate links note: supporting the show via Amazon
- •Humor on gym bags, smells, condensation, and plastic taste
- 3:19 – 4:31
iPhone screenshot: crop instantly from the preview
Chris shares an iPhone micro-hack: you can crop immediately after taking a screenshot by tapping the preview and dragging the crop handles. The others test it live and joke about accidentally drawing on the screenshot.
- •Tap screenshot preview to edit without opening Photos
- •Drag corners to crop, square, or zoom to details
- •Avoids extra steps in the photo editor
- •Quick demo and accidental markup moment
- 4:31 – 6:41
Coffee shop ordering hack: choose filter coffee for a free upgrade
Jonny argues filter coffee is usually the best-value and best-tasting choice. If a shop runs out, they’ll often substitute an Americano at the filter price, effectively giving you a free upsell.
- •Filter coffee is typically the cheapest menu option
- •Often tastes better than an Americano (in Jonny’s view)
- •If out of filter, many shops offer Americano for same price
- •Examples of chains likely to have filter coffee
- 6:41 – 10:26
Keyboard-only computing: Vimium + ShortCut to avoid the trackpad
Yusef explains how Vimium and ShortCut let you navigate clickable elements using keyboard labels, reducing reliance on the trackpad. The group discusses how this keeps focus and prevents distraction spirals.
- •Vimium/ShortCut assign letters to clickable UI elements
- •Staying on keyboard reduces mindless scrolling/distraction
- •Tools popular with coders; efficiency mindset
- •Apple accessibility/voice control parallels
- •Light debate about ‘breaking’ laptops with tweaks
- 10:26 – 15:56
Crash safety tip: hold the bottom of the steering wheel during spins
Chris relays a NASCAR-derived rule: in a spin/rollover, grip the bottom of the steering wheel to keep arms in and reduce injury risk. They explore bracing, plane-crash posture tradeoffs, and the chaos of real emergencies.
- •Bottom grip helps prevent arms flailing out windows
- •Anecdote of driver nearly crushing his arm in a rollover
- •Discussion: brace vs relax; crash dummy plane test outcomes
- •Human behavior in emergencies (including luggage delays)
- •Humorous “practice” problem: hard to train without crashes
- 15:56 – 23:55
Toastie machine obsession: butter outside, choose fillings, buy the right bread
Jonny makes the case for owning a toastie (sandwich) maker and shares lessons from buying a cheap model that caused issues. They cover technique (butter outside), why sauces/tomatoes fail, and why “toastie bread” works best.
- •Why a toastie machine increases at-home sandwich quality
- •Cheap appliances can be false economy; mid-range recommended
- •Butter the outside to prevent sticking and improve browning
- •Avoid wet fillings/sauces (mayo separates; tomato causes mess)
- •Use thinner ‘toastie bread’ for better compression and seal
- 23:55 – 25:21
Group scheduling made painless: Doodle Poll vs Calendly
Yusef recommends Doodle Poll for coordinating multiple people without endless back-and-forth. They compare it to Calendly and note the free tier is often enough for most planning (e.g., stag dos).
- •Doodle Poll collects availability across many people
- •Reduces group chat negotiation chaos
- •Calendly comparison: better for 1:1 booking
- •Free tier discussion and practical use cases
- 25:21 – 27:45
Social reach ‘free gains’: auto-share Instagram Stories to Facebook
Chris explains how to toggle automatic cross-posting from Instagram Stories to Facebook Stories to boost reach with no extra work. He notes which story features transfer and what doesn’t (like swipe-ups).
- •Instagram setting: auto-share story to Facebook
- •Facebook Story reach can be surprisingly high
- •Polls/questions often transfer; swipe-up links don’t
- •Useful for business accounts and fan pages
- •‘Already making content—double distribution’ mindset
- 27:45 – 33:31
Dodgy supermarket tactic + Chris’s ‘malignant’ checkout hacks (ethics debated)
Jonny shares a controversial method to avoid the paid bag fee by asking after payment—then admits it’s a ‘dick move.’ Chris piles on with tactics to get staff to pack and even “go fetch something” while they do it.
- •Ask for a bag after paying to avoid the 5p charge (sometimes)
- •Acknowledgement: undermines the intent of bag charges
- •Chris: trigger phrase to get help packing
- •Escalation: pretend you forgot something to avoid packing yourself
- •Light ethics and practicality debate
- 33:31 – 36:04
Schedule iMessages + iPhone automation: Apple Shortcuts
Yusef demonstrates using Apple’s Shortcuts app to schedule messages and automate common phone tasks. The others challenge him to prove it works, and they riff on how automation can create a personal ‘chatbot’ vibe.
- •Shortcuts app background: Apple-owned automation toolkit
- •Scheduling iMessages via a shortcut workflow
- •Widgets/one-tap actions for repeat tasks
- •Humor about pre-scripting ‘nice’ replies and chatbot behavior
- •Automation examples beyond messaging (playlists, audio, etc.)
- 36:04 – 39:43
Best free stock photos: Unsplash + integrations (Unfold) + Zoomy aggregator
Chris recommends Unsplash for high-quality, non-clinical stock photos and explains how it’s useful for marketing/event graphics. Yusef adds Zoomy, a paid Mac app that searches multiple stock libraries at once, and they mention Unfold’s built-in Unsplash search.
- •Unsplash: well-curated, royalty-free stock photography
- •Better aesthetics than typical ‘clinical’ stock images
- •Unfold app can search Unsplash directly inside story creation
- •Zoomy Mac app aggregates Unsplash/Pexels/Pixabay (paid)
- •Workflow improvement for creators and marketers
- 39:43 – 42:52
To-do list prioritization: the 5-3-1 method + Todoist color-coding
Jonny shares a structured daily planning method: 1 key task, 3 medium tasks, and 5 admin tasks. He explains how Todoist supports this with priorities/colors and drag-and-drop scheduling.
- •5-3-1 productivity: 1 big, 3 medium, 5 admin tasks daily
- •Admin tasks reduce ‘life friction’ and accumulate over weeks
- •Do the single most important task first when possible
- •Todoist supports prioritization via labels/colors
- •Creates a balanced day plan without ignoring small errands
- 42:52 – 47:16
Frictionless task capture: hotkeys, smart capture, and ‘send to Kindle’
Yusef describes quick-capture keyboard shortcuts in task managers (Wunderlist/Todoist/Things). Chris adds Things’ smart capture that pulls page titles/URLs, and they discuss forwarding documents to Kindle for seamless reading across devices.
- •Global hotkeys to add tasks without opening the app
- •Todoist-style tagging (lists, priority) via symbols/natural language
- •Things Helper: smart capture grabs title + URL from active window
- •Evernote email-to-inbox concept mentioned as reference filing
- •Kindle email address: forward compatible docs to sync across devices
- 47:16 – 48:22
Gym timing hack: count house-music beats for seconds
Chris explains that most house music sits around 124–128 BPM, making every other beat roughly one second. This lets you time planks, stretches, and isometric holds without looking at a clock.
- •House music BPM range ≈124–128
- •Every other beat approximates one second
- •Useful for planks, stretches, isometrics
- •Avoids breaking focus to check timers
- 48:22 – 51:59
Macro compliance: plan MyFitnessPal early + cookbook barcode scanning
Jonny reframes habit-building around lead indicators: planning food intake in the morning increases adherence versus tracking after eating. He highlights James Haskell’s cookbook feature—barcodes that scan straight into MyFitnessPal with macros included.
- •Lead indicator approach: plan the behavior that causes success
- •Pre-logging meals reduces end-of-day ‘over calories’ surprises
- •Most people’s breakfast/lunch are routine; dinner is the variable
- •Cookbook innovation: barcodes per recipe scanning into MyFitnessPal
- •Macro labeling in cookbooks is still rare but valuable
- 51:59 – 1:22:07
External displays, Duet, BetterTouchTool, and standing desk upgrades
Yusef argues that adding external screens dramatically improves workflow, including using a TV as a monitor or Duet to turn an iPad/iPhone into an extra display. Chris closes with ergonomic upgrades: standing desks, the Fully Capisco chair/stool, Varidesk alternatives, and movement breaks to reduce back pain.
- •HDMI/adapter setup: use old TVs as external monitors
- •Duet app: iPad/iPhone as an extended display (not just mirroring)
- •BetterTouchTool gestures to fling/maximize windows across displays
- •Standing desk benefits + sit/stand Pomodoro rhythm
- •Fully Capisco chair/stool and Varidesk as equipment options; movement breaks (e.g., McGill/Starrett)
