Living in 2021, at the peak of civilization, with all of that mobile technology and the power of the information age at our fingertips, was supposed to be easy. However, these advances come with their own challenges, and somehow we find ourselves spending hours on things that didn’t even exist 20 years ago.
For this reason, time is more valuable than it ever was, and anything that can save us 5 minutes here or 2 minutes there is just too good to be ignored. With that in mind, here are some quick and easy hacks that make living in 2021 that bit easier.
#1 The battery bounce.
An odd one this, but perfect if you’ve got a drawer full of batteries that you’ve taken out of remotes or controllers that you don’t know if they are live, dead, or somewhere in between. Just drop them on a table from a height of about 6 inches, then if they give a small bounce and just fall over, they are full of life. A lot of bouncing and roiling around and they are empty or on their last legs and need to be recycled.
#2 Chilled beer in minutes
There are few things as disappointing as a warm beer. If you’ve just got back from the store with a pack and don’t want to wait for an hour or so for your refrigerator to work its magic, there is another solution. Wet a paper towel and wrap it around your beverage, then put it in your freezer for 10-12 minutes, after which you’ll have an ice-cold beer.
#3 Hangover alarm
After a heavy night, the last thing you want to do is get up. Of course, your body knows this, and it will do everything it can to keep you away from the painful reality of waking up for as long as possible. If you’ve got something important to do the day after, like maybe go to work to pay the rent, that’s not an option – so you need a bit more volume to get you out of bed. Placing your phone in a glass or mug will increase the volume of the alarm to an irresistible point.
#4 Legally stream free live-sports
If you’re not exactly a sports fan but like to watch the occasional match without having to pay out for a subscription that you’re not going to get value out of, you’ll like this handy little hack. Many of the major sporting events that are not on free-to-view TV can be streamed perfectly legally once you log into websites that offer the service. Sites like these offer tennis live streaming, live soccer streaming, and live basketball streaming.
#5 Spot your luggage easily
If you’ve just got off of a long flight, the last thing you want to do is spend half an hour trying to spot your luggage when it’s in a pile with 100 cases just like yours. Make yours easy to spot by tying a bright scarf or belt around your case so it stands out and you can identify it easily and be on your way to the hotel that bit sooner.
