What small piece of advice you would like to give that isn't heard enough ?

Computer related:

  • Don’t be your family computer savy guy, you just found yourself a bunch payless jobs…
  • Long desks are cool and all, but the amount the space they occupy is not worth it.
  • Block work related phone calls at weekends, being disturbed at your leisure for things that could be resolved on Mondays will sour your day.

Buying stuff:

  • There is expensive because of brand and expensive because of material quality, do your research.
  • Buck buying is underrated, save yourself a few bucks, pile that toilet paper until the ceiling is you must.
  • Second hand/broken often means never cleaned, lubricated or with easy fixable problem.
benwubbleyou,

I am a big fan of the advice CGP Grey gives regarding solutions.

Don’t pick the first solution that comes to mind for a problem, it is most likely the least effective.

stallmer, (edited )

It is absolutely okay to say, “I don’t know.”

I’d argue this is true even in instances where you should know as it will save time, damages, and/or misinformation.

Potatos_are_not_friends,

The smartest people in the room are the ones who are the most excited by the answer, regardless of who answers it. You see them say “I don’t know but I’ll find out” and watch them pull someone who might know.

kromem,

Being really good at the intersection of two different things is often a much more valuable skill set than being excellent at just one thing.

Exist outside the box.

0_0j,
@0_0j@lemmy.world avatar

Noted

lvxferre,
@lvxferre@lemmy.ml avatar

Most “rules of thumb” become awful advice when used indiscriminately.

People assign slightly different meanings to the same words. You need to acknowledge this to understand what they say.

Words also change meaning depending on the context.

When you still don’t get what someone else said, it’s often more useful to think that you’re lacking a key piece of info than to assume that the other person does.

Hell is paved with good intentions. This piece of advice is popular, but still not heard enough.

Related to the above: if someone in your life is consistently rushing towards conclusions, based on little to no information, minimise the impact of that person in your life.

Have at least one recipe using leftovers of other recipes. It’ll reduce waste.

Alcohol vinegar is bland, boring, and awful for cooking. But it’s a great cleaning agent.

Identify what you need to keep vs. throw away. Don’t “default” this indiscriminately, analyse it on a per case basis.

The world does not revolve around your belly button and nature won’t “magically” change because of your feelings.

You can cultivate herbs in a backyard. No backyard? Flower pots. No flower pots? Old margarine pot. (Check which herbs grow well where you live.)

0_0j,
@0_0j@lemmy.world avatar

When you still don’t get what someone else said, it’s often more useful to think that you’re lacking a key piece of info than to assume that the other person does.

This. Could be a difference between a Fiona and a Karen. It’s okay to always ask for a clarification. (Or just repeat what they said, LOUDER, only for them to feel like they are being trolled 😂, and successfully clarify)

ZapBeebz_,

That vinegar one feels way too specific to have come about naturally. Did that happen to you at one time?

lvxferre,
@lvxferre@lemmy.ml avatar

Long story short: someone else’s advice ITT reminded me a uni professor talking about a student hurting themself with glacial acetic acid. That reminded me how often I’m using alcohol vinegar for cleaning (alcohol vinegar is basically one part of glacial acetic acid for 24 parts of water), but I don’t see people doing it often - instead they often buy expensive cleaning agents that they use everywhere as “magical” solutions.

tslnox,

Why is it called “glacial” like it’s got something to do with ice? Why not simply “concentrated”, which it is? Thanks

lvxferre,
@lvxferre@lemmy.ml avatar

Glacial = anhydrous. People call it this way because pure acetic acid has a rather high freezing point (16°C), and it looks a lot like plain ice when frozen. (It still stinks vinegar once you open the bottle though.) But once you add even a bit of water, the freezing point drops considerably, so acetic acid solutions don’t show the same “ice”.

So in colder days, you need to rewarm it back into a liquid. Then people get really sloppy (I know it not just from that professor’s anecdote, but from watching it). They say “I’m just rewarming it, and it’s just acetic acid, what could go wrong?”. Well, it’s still a big flask of a corrosive, volatile, and flammable substance.

In the meantime, the same people doing dangerous reactions like nitration (it literally explodes if you let it get too hot - spreading nitric acid, sulphuric acid, and some carcinogenic solvent) “miraculously” pay full attention, obsessively taking care of the temperature of the ice bath.

Part of the advice that I mentioned in that comment chain is that - smaller dangers are still dangers, do not underestimate them.

i_stole_ur_taco,

Water dripping? Don’t call a plumber yet. Get on your hands and knees and try to figure out exactly where the water is coming from. You might need a $5 part and 10 minutes watching a YouTube video instead of a $400 callout. The same concept applies for most things in a home or vehicle. But don’t screw around with electricity if you don’t know what you’re doing.

If you’re shopping around based on price, make sure you’re factoring in the cost of gas and your time. Driving an hour to save $5 actually costs you money.

Need to quickly determine if a caller is a scammer or legitimate? Just ask who they’re calling. If they don’t know your name, you can hang up immediately.

Maintain your things. All your things. If you use something until it’s no longer working, it has moved from inexpensive maintenance to expensive repair.

0_0j,
@0_0j@lemmy.world avatar

Life’s a DIY

Interstellar_1,
@Interstellar_1@pawb.social avatar

Just ask who they’re calling. If they don’t know your name, you can hang up immediately.

Be aware that some scammers can get your name from public records or data breaches, so this isn’t a foolproof way to identify scammers.

Pratai,

Life exists within the grey area that is constantly bombarded by polarized extremism. Don’t buy into the “all” mentality. Because in reality it’s always just “some.”

Saigonauticon,

In no particular order:

Advice is usually worth (at most) what you pay for it.

The harshest lessons are about trusting the wrong person.

No one will have more words for you, than a lazy person who wants you to do something for them.

Judge weak people by their natures, and strong ones by their goals.

If possible, don’t be poor. If you are though, be wary of following advice on this topic from people who have never been poor for an extended period.

christian,
@christian@lemmy.ml avatar

There is expensive because of brand and expensive because of material quality, do your research.

If “do your research” means take a couple minutes to make sure there aren’t glaring red flags about a purchase, then yeah that checks, but I see this phrase used as a more serious concept which just doesn’t seem realistic given my experiences.

I feel like if you don’t already know what to look for in your specific product of interest it’s impossible to do research and have confidence. Like when I don’t know where to start and try to research products through a search, I go through so much SEO bullshit in such a short timeframe that I have no confidence in anything I’m looking at, including the stuff that looks like it has a good chance of being legit. Maybe I can find a forum of some sort, but I’ll need a way to tell that the users aren’t just talking out of their asses (or bots, or paid sponsors). Major review sites are a mess.

The phrase “do your research” is way overstated, because someone who knows what they need to look at is already going to do research and is not the target audience. The time it takes to filter through all the nonsense and form a coherent opinion researching something from scratch is so enormous that it’s hard for me to imagine someone actually doing that diligently for anything less expensive than a car. What actually happens is you just give up partway and make your best guess like you would have done in the first place. At that point your research has led you to seeing a bunch of ads and a few conflicting opinions. Yeah, that will influence your decision and possibly be helpful, but the benefits are marginal compared to the time investment, it’s rarely worth more than a few minutes if it’s not a major purchase.

Or maybe everyone else is a lot better at this than me and I’m making a fool out of myself by posting this.

Vcio,
@Vcio@lemmy.world avatar

The fact that you understand that something is an ad is a undervalued skill, sure there is lots garbage to go through(it’s the current state of the internet), but it’s not like you are looking at 12 brands of pasta at supermarket, just picking one it’s ok in some scenarios.

Telodzrum,

Merlin Mann has collected his version of such a list here: github.com/merlinmann/wisdom/blob/…/wisdom.md

I very much enjoy reading it from time to time, even if I disagree with some of the points.

Godnroc,

Being polite costs you nothing but may buy you much.

Chadus_Maximus,

Alternatively, being angry may cost you some elevated blood pressure but may buy you so much.

Godnroc,

Oh, absolutely, but it’s better to escalate. Sometimes you can’t put the toothpaste back in the tube.

HurlingDurling,
@HurlingDurling@lemmy.world avatar

Always remember that on any given day several people are having a shitty day.

Daft_ish,

Learn to let things go, you’re not special.

Witchfire, (edited )
@Witchfire@lemmy.world avatar

Buy a fire extinguisher (type ABC is best for home use), and check its pressure regularly. Many of them come with a simple wall mount that is very convenient.

Also, NEVER add water to a grease fire. It will explode.

InputZero,

Adding to this, depending on where you live you might be able to get a free fire extinguisher from your local fire department. One fire extinguisher in a kitchen turns a three engine call into a one engine call.

Omega_Haxors,

A friend will tell you “ok you’re about to date a serial murderer, I strongly suggest you reconsider but if you don’t that’s fine, it’s your choice.” A manipulator will tell you “NO YOU CANT SPEND TIME WITH THEM THEY LOOKED AT YOU FUNNY I FORBID YOU FROM BEING WITH THEM!!”

Your situation is going to be between those extremes: it’s going to be more of one than the other, and you’ll know which.

pingveno,

When someone has had a health issue, ask the people around them how those people are doing. When I was first diagnosed with epilepsy, a person asked my mom specifically how she was doing. She hadn’t really stopped to reflect on her own emotional state because she had been so focused on me. It was a great comfort to have someone guide her through thinking about herself.

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