Life Hacks: Seven Easy Ways To Simplify Your Life

A few weeks into Uni and you've probably found that life is hectic: lectures, seminars, lab hours, books to read and essays to write, and on top of that a social life to keep up with.

This is where our life hacks come in handy. What is a life hack? A life hack is a trick, shortcut or skill to make the little things in life a bit easier, giving you more time to get the important tasks done. 

Duct tape + jar = job done

Put a bit of duct tape (but enough for you to hold on to) on a jar you can't open. Pull until you hear that satisfactory pop. 

On your laptop in bed?

Watching a movie in bed can be made even easier with this hack. Download VLC and open up a video in it, go to tools and select ‘Effects and Filters’, then rotate video by 90 degrees – now you can watch a film lying on your side! 

Butter too hard to spread?

Grate it! For extra ease of access, why not grate butter into a bowl, cover it in cling film and leave it in your fridge? Then you can take it out and use as you need it.

Keep your pasta fresh…

Got an old Pringles tube that needs recycling? Store your spaghetti in there – it takes up less space than leaving it in the packet, keeps it fresh, and is good for the planet!

Keep your drinks chilled...

Forget ice cubes! Freeze grapes instead to keep your drink chilled without watering it down. Perfect for keeping white wine at the right temperature.

Avoid annoying adverts...

Smartphones don’t come with adblock, but you can stop ads from annoying you while you’re playing games by putting your phone on airplane mode. 

Keep your buttons done up…

Nothing is more annoying than a button falling off your shirt – especially if stitching another button on is not really part of your skill set. To avoid this, coat your buttons in clear nail polish. Guys, your girlfriends will believe you if you tell them why you need to borrow some… possibly.