“Hacks” aren’t just for computer programmers. They can also be clever but simple ways to improve your life.
When it comes to technique, there are many hidden tricks that will come in handy if you take them to heart.
Whether you’re battling with annoying website notifications, trying to organize your charging cable, or just want to speed up typing speed on your phone, we’ve got some great tech hacks for you.
1. Block Annoying Website Notifications
You may be surfing the Internet, checking your favorite news sources, looking at cute cat pictures, or maybe just doing a little shopping. You may be considering your own business, but some of these websites don’t leave you alone. A small window opens in the corner of your Chrome browser saying that the website wants permission to send you notifications.
You can choose to block these requests each time, but it’s easy to stop them in their tracks at first.
For Chrome, open your Settings, select “Advanced,” and then open Content Settings. The “Notifications” setting is probably set to “Ask before sending (recommended)”.
Click on it to set it to “Blocked” instead and enjoy your internet adventures with fewer interruptions. If you find some benefit in receiving notifications from certain sites, you can always choose to block or allow individual websites. You can find the list of sites and change the settings in the notification section.
2. Protect Your MacBook Cord From Damage
Your power cord is your lifeline when it comes to your MacBook. Protect this part of your investment with a clever hack using a spring from a retractable ballpoint pen. Detach the pen, pull out the long spring, and wrap it around the cord near the end.
This reinforcement will help to keep tension out and tension on the cord and prevent it from fraying. The same trick can be used for other thinner power cords, or you can pick up a larger spring at the hardware store.
YouTube user myoldreteacher provides a simple tutorial video for this tech hack.
3. Scroll up and down using your keyboard
Are you still spoiling your fingers using your mouse to scroll up and down on long webpages? Now’s the time to take your fingers off that task with one of the most useful and often overlooked keyboard shortcuts:
Hit the spacebar to scroll down and use a combination of the spacebar and shift keys to scroll back up. Even better, this trick works with almost every web browser. Your additions will thank you.
4. Organize Your Cords With Lego Figures
Meet one of the cutest tech hacks of all time. It turns out that the hands of Lego minifigures are just the right size to hold multiple electronic charging cables, especially for cellphones and other portable gadgets.
You can tuck the cord in there for safekeeping. Set up several toys to organize a bunch of cables, or use just one to keep cords from falling behind your desk when not in use. If you want to get extra creative you can even build more elaborate Lego structures and anchor minifigures to them.
5. Learn the Spacebar Double-Tap Trick
Here’s a time-saving smartphone tip that will also help you save your sanity while typing a text message or email on that tiny screen. Double-tap the spacebar on the keyboard to automatically get a period and a space when you reach the end of a sentence.
It will also capitalize the next letter you type so that the following sentence can begin correctly. It’s a simple trick, but not many people know it even exists. This is especially satisfying for those who strive for good grammar even in text messages.
6. Charge Your Phone Faster
Here is a tip for those times when you need to squeeze as much juice as possible into your phone in the shortest amount of time. Turn on Airplane Mode when you plug in the charger. Airplane mode turns off your phone’s wireless connection, so it lowers its demand for energy.
This can take some valuable minutes away from your charging time. Just remember that charging times can vary greatly depending on the type of phone and charger you’re using. Using this trick also means that you won’t be able to make or receive calls when the phone is in airplane mode.
But when every minute counts, this setting can come in handy.