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43Folders.com is Merlin Mann’s website about finding the time and attention to do your best creative work.

April Power Hacks!

How about a roundup of some hot new 43 Folders “hacks” for starting your new month off right?

  1. Pencils are a great way to write things down.
  2. Sharpen new pencils soon after you’ve bought them, so you can use them to write things down more easily.
  3. Make sure you put gas in your car, or it won’t run very far after you’ve bought it, and then you’ll have trouble getting to work.
  4. When you get letters from people, you can send a response by using some paper and one of the pencils I mentioned a little earlier. (Just make sure they’re sharpened!)
  5. If you have a long list of things to do, make sure to do some of them sometimes. Make pencil marks by the ones that are “finished.”
  6. When people ask you how you’re doing, it’s okay to say “Great! How about you?” They’ll probably have some kind of response, though, so be ready.
  7. You can put recipes on your computer and look at them later to make food you like. Tip: You can also write down recipes using the pencils I mentioned earlier.
  8. If you’re having trouble getting inspired about something, it’s probably because you’re temporarily lacking inspiration. That’s what you need. You need inspiration.
  9. If you keep forgetting your house keys when you go out, you shouldn’t do that any more, or you’ll eventually lock yourself out.
  10. It’s easy to remember how many teaspoons are in a quart (192) with this simple mnemonic:

    Over nearly every hamburger, under nearly dead raccoons—every delayed nanosecond inculcates nearly every teenager you think wears oranges.

  11. Cut your hair when it starts getting long or you’ll eventually have trouble wearing the hats that you enjoy.
  12. Try putting your shoes on before you go to work in the morning. The ground is cold and sometimes there are sharp things on the sidewalk. Try taking the car if it has gas in it.
  13. If you don’t like the song that’s playing on your stereo, you can put a different one on. This goes for television too, but with pictures.
  14. When you get a check from the place you work, you can cash it to buy groceries, soda, and more of the pencils I mentioned earlier.
  15. If you have a car, use some of the money you got from your check to buy gas, too.
  16. Consider using a desk.
  17. If you hear a weird scraping noise when you’re writing something down, make sure that your pencil is still sharpened.
  18. Once you’ve sharpened your pencil, give yourself a reminder about the scraping noise.
  19. If you forget to wear shoes to work and accidentally get a rusty nail in your foot, you should probably take it out eventually.
  20. If you’ve bought pencils and already sharpened them, don’t use them to sign the check you got at work. Pencil marks can be erased fairly easily, then people can steal your money and you wouldn’t be able to buy groceries or soda or gas or more pencils. That’s a hack!

Do you have any good hacks to start off the month? Leave a comment or a trackback!


TOPICS: Heh

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Merlin Mann's picture

mct: I don't currently have...

mct: I don’t currently have an internet connection, so I can’t see that page. Based on the description, though, it sounds hilarious and very insightful.

Do they discuss pencils, pencil sharpeners, shoes, and haircuts explicitly, or are they just implied?

Petey's picture

You can totally trick out...

You can totally trick out your aforementioned pencil with some boffo pencil-toppers. You’ll be the envy of society.

Tip: Life is too short. Don’t erase. Get some golf scorekeeping pencils.

mct's picture

Is that, pray tell, in...

Is that, pray tell, in response to this (found at Lifehacker), or just in the spirit of the day?

Evan "JabberWokky" E.'s picture

Does anybody know where I...

Does anybody know where I might be able to buy a Fisher Space Pencil with compressed lead? I tried asking my Moleskine, but it just sits there… I think I will have to reinstall Windows on it.

monkeyinabox's picture

When using those new pencils,...

When using those new pencils, make sure if you breathe in, you also breathe out.

fondomatic's picture

Any tips on what kind...

Any tips on what kind of pencils to buy? Do you have an Amazon link to the right kind? What is your favorite pencil sharpener?

Merlin Mann's picture

Pencil sharpeners are important, Ron,...

Pencil sharpeners are important, Ron, although they should only be used for sharpening pencils.

If you want, you can buy a pencil sharpener at a store near your house. Unfortunately you may have trouble giving yourself a reminder about the reason for the trip unless you already had a sharpened pencil on hand. (Writers call this kind of thing “ironic.”)

If you don’t have a “pre-sharpened” pencil to give yourself a reminder, and, if your car has gas in it, I’d recommend driving to the store, since it will take less time, and you’ll be less likely to forget about the pencil sharpener by the time you get there.

Once you get the pencil sharpener and sharpen a pencil, give yourself a reminder to always keep one sharpened pencil on hand, just in case, so this won’t happen again.

Judine's picture

Record Merlin's incredibly insightful hacks...

Record Merlin’s incredibly insightful hacks down in your Moleskine with the aforementioned pencil. Or, jot each one down on an index card (again, with the pencil) and rotate two different cards into your Hipster PDA each day. Now that you’ve captured them, review these hacks in your spare moments so that you don’t forget them. (Don’t forget to open your Moleskine to the page with the hacks or to bring the card with the hacks to the top of your Hipster PDA.)

Matt's picture

I call my pencil my...

I call my pencil my Hipster Writin’ Stick, or HWS.

JTBoofle's picture

Another really good hack that...

Another really good hack that I’ve found makes sure you’ll never lose your keys — never take them out of the lock. When you go out in the morning, just turn the key in the lock and leave it there. When you get home, the key is already in the lock saving you both the time of looking for it and of inserting it. Just unlock and enter your house. If you leave the key in the lock, it will already be there for you the next morning.

About Merlin Mann

Merlin Mann's picture

Bio

Merlin Mann is an independent writer, speaker, and broadcaster. He’s best known for being the guy who started the website you’re reading right now. He lives in San Francisco, does lots of public speaking, and helps make cool things like You Look Nice Today. Also? He looks like this, answers questions, and has something like a life.

Merlin’s favorite thing he’s written recently in the past few years is a short essay entitled, “Better.”

 
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Inbox Zero

The original 43 Folders series looking at the skills, tools, and attitude needed to empty your email inbox — and then keep it that way. Don’t miss the free video of Merlin’s Inbox Zero presentation.

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