Lifehacker: The Guide to Working Smarter, Faster, and Better [Paperback]

Adam Pash (Author), Gina Trapani (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 28, 2011 | ISBN-10: 1118018370 | ISBN-13: 978-1118018378 | Edition: 3

A new edition, packed with even more clever tricks and methods that make everyday life easier

Lifehackers redefine personal productivity with creative and clever methods for making life easier and more enjoyable. This new edition of a perennial bestseller boasts new and exciting tips, tricks, and methods that strike a perfect balance between current technology and common sense solutions for getting things done. Exploring the many ways technology has changed since the previous edition, this new edition has been updated to reflect the latest and greatest in technological and personal productivity.

The new "hacks" run the gamut of working with the latest Windows and Mac operating systems for both Windows and Apple, getting more done with smartphones and their operating systems, and dealing with the evolution of the web. Even the most tried-and-true hacks have been updated to reflect the contemporary tech world and the tools it provides us.

Hacks include:

Hack 1: Empty Your Inbox (and Keep It Empty).
Hack 2: Decrease Your Response Time.
Hack 3: Craft Effective Messages.
Hack 4: Highlight Messages Sent Directly to You.
Hack 5: Use Disposable Email Addresses.
Hack 6: Master Message Search.
Hack 7: Future-Proof Your Email Address.
Hack 8: Consolidate Multiple Email Addresses with Gmail.
Hack 9: Script and Automate Repetitive Replies.
Hack 10: Filter Low-Priority Messages.
Hack 11: Organize Your Documents Folder.
Hack 12: Instantly Retrieve Files Stored on Your Computer.
Hack 13: Overhaul Your Filing Cabinet.
Hack 14: Instantly Recall Any Number of Different Passwords.
Hack 15: Securely Track Your Passwords.
Hack 16: Tag Your Bookmarks.
Hack 17: Organize Your Digital Photos.
Hack 18: Corral Media Across Folders and Drives.
Hack 19: Create Saved Search Folders.
Hack 20: Create a Password-Protected Disk on Your PC.
Hack 21: Create a Password-Protected Disk on Your Mac.
Hack 22: Encrypt Your Entire Windows Operating System.
Hack 23: Set Up 2-Step Verification for Your Google Account.
Hack 24: Design Your Own Planner.
Hack 25: Make Your To-Do List Doable.
Hack 26: Set Up a Morning Dash.
Hack 27: Map Your Time.
Hack 28: Quick-Log Your Workday.
Hack 29: Dash Through Tasks with a Timer.
Hack 30: Form New Habits with Jerry Seinfeld's Chain.
Hack 31: Control Your Workday.
Hack 32: Turn Tasks into Game Play.
Hack 33: Send Reminders to Your Future Self.
Hack 34: Take Great Notes.
Hack 35: Organize Your Life with Remember the Milk.
Hack 36: Organize Your Life in Text Files.
Hack 37: Set Up a Ubiquitous Note-Taking Inbox Across Devices.
Hack 38: Off-Load Your Online Reading to a Distraction-Free Environment.
Hack 39: Limit Visits to Time-Wasting Websites.
Hack 40: Permanently Block Time-Wasting Websites.
Hack 41: Reduce Email Interruptions.
Hack 42: Split Your Work Among Multiple Desktops.
Hack 43: Build a No-Fly Zone.
Hack 44: Set Up Communication Quiet Hours.
Hack 45: Clear Your Desktop.
Hack 46: Make Your House a Usable Home.
Hack 47: Sentence Stuff to Death Row.
Hack 48: Drown Out Distracting Sounds with Pink Noise.
Hack 49: Search the Web in Three Keystrokes.
Hack 50: Command Your Windows PC from the Keyboard.
Hack 51: Command Your Mac from the Keyboard.
Hack 52: Reduce Repetitive Typing with Texter for Windows.
Hack 53: Reduce Repetitive Typing with TextExpander for Mac.
Hack 54: Automatically Fill in Repetitive Web Forms.
Hack 55: Batch-Resize Photos.
Hack 56: Bypass Free Site Registration with BugMeNot.
Hack 57: Speed Up Web Pages on a Slow Internet Connection.
Hack 58: Securely Save Website Passwords.
Hack 59: Become a Scheduling Black Belt with Google Calendar.
Hack 60: Set Up an Automated, Bulletproof File Back Up Solution.
Hack 61: Automatically Back Up Your Files to an External Hard Drive (Mac).
Hack 62: Automatically Clean Up Your PC.
Hack 63: Automatically Clean Up Your Mac.
Hack 64: Automatically Reboot and Launch Applications.
Hack 65: Make Google Search Results Automatically Come to You.
Hack 66: Automatically Download Music, Movies, and More.
Hack 67: Access Your Most Important Files Anywhere with Dropbox.
Hack 68: Manage Your Documents in a Web-Based Office Suite.
Hack 69: Carry Your Life on a Flash Drive.
Hack 70: Create a Virtual Private Network (VPN) with Hamachi.
Hack 71: Run a Home Web Server.
Hack 72: Run Full-Fledged Webapps from Your Home Computer.
Hack 73: Build Your Personal Wikipedia.
Hack 74: Remotely Control Your Home Computer.
Hack 75: Give Your Home Computer a Web Address.
Hack 76: Optimize Your Laptop.
Hack 77: Speed Up Your Touchscreen Typing.
Hack 78: Break Down the Barrier Between Your Computer and Mobile Phone.
Hack 79: Remote Control Your Computer with Your Phone.
Hack 80: Automate Android Functions with Tasker.
Hack 81: Set Up One Phone Number to Rule Them All.
Hack 82: Augment Reality with Your Phone.
Hack 83: Remember Where You’ve Been Using Location Awareness.
Hack 84: Command Your Phone with Your Voice.
Hack 85: Use Your Camera Phone as a Scanner.
Hack 86: Make Your "Dumbphone" Smarter via Text Message.
Hack 87: Connect Your Computer to the Internet via Mobile Phone by "Tethering".
Hack 88: Develop Your (Digital) Photographic Memory.
Hack 89: Send and Receive Money on Your Mobile Phone with PayPal.
Hack 90: Google Like a Pro.
Hack 91: Subscribe to Websites with RSS.
Hack 92: Quickly Search Within Specific Websites from the Address Bar.
Hack 93: Extend Your Web Browser.
Hack 94: Supercharge Your Firefox Downloads with DownThemAll!
Hack 95: Get 10 Useful Bookmarklets.
Hack 96: Find Reusable Media Online.
Hack 97: Get Your Data on a Map.
Hack 98: Set Multiple Sites as Your Home Page.
Hack 99: Access Unavailable Websites via Google.
Hack 100: Have a Say in What Google Says About You.
Hack 101: Clear Your Web Browsing Tracks.
Hack 102: Rescue Your PC from Malware.
Hack 103: Protect Your PC from Malware.
Hack 104: Clean Up Your Startup.
Hack 105: Undo System Configuration Changes.
Hack 106: Truly Delete Data from Your Hard Drive.
Hack 107: Compare and Merge Files and Folders with WinMerge.
Hack 108: Firewall Your Windows PC.
Hack 109: Firewall Your Mac.
Hack 110: Speed Up Windows with a Thumb Drive.
Hack 111: Free Up Hard-Drive Space.
Hack 112: Resurrect Deleted Files.
Hack 113: Hot Image Your PC for Instant Restoration.
Hack 114: Hot Image Your Mac for Instant Restoration.
Hack 115: Recover Files from an Unbootable PC.
Hack 116: Share Windows Files.
Hack 117: Share Mac Files.
Hack 118: Keep Your Web Browser in Sync Across Computers.
Hack 119: Share a Single Printer Between Computers.
Hack 120: Optimize Your Dual Monitors.
Hack 121: Control Multiple Computers with a Single Keyboard and Mouse.

Technology is supposed to make our lives easier by helping us work more efficiently. Lifehacker: The Guide to Working Smarter, Faster, and Better, Third Edition is your guide to making that happen!

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Start using technology to spend less time working and more time living

Isn't that what technology was supposed to give us—more time? If your tools and gizmos seem to be consuming your life instead of streamlining it, you need these 100+ shortcuts. Here are updated versions of tried-and-true techniques plus plenty of new tricks that take advantage of smartphone technology and the growing importance of the web. There are tips for everyone—from Windows, Mac, and Linux power users to those less tech-savvy—all designed to put hours back into your life.

A dozen ways to take back time

• Hack 7: Future-Proof Your E-mail Address

• Hack 12: Instantly Retrieve Files Stored on Your Computer

• Hack 24: Design Your Own Planner

• Hack 37: Set Up a Ubiquitous Note-Taking Inbox Across Devices

• Hack 43: Build a No-Fly Zone

• Hack 65: Make Google Search Results Automatically Come to You

• Hack 71: Run a Home Web Server

• Hack 80: Automate Android Functions with Tasker

• Hack 84: Command Your Phone with Your Voice

• Hack 93: Extend Your Web Browser

• Hack 109: Firewall Your Mac

• Hack 110: Speed Up Windows with a Thumb Drive

Companion website
At www.lifehackerbook.com you'll find hack updates, additional information, and more tips and tricks.

About the Author

Adam Pash is the Editor-in-Chief of Lifehacker.com and host of the popular Lifehacker web show. A self-taught software developer, he has created popular apps like Texter and MixTape.me.

Gina Trapani is the founding editor of Lifehacker.com. Named one of the Most Influential Women in Technology by Fast Company magazine, today she co-hosts popular web show This Week in Google.

Product Details

• Paperback: 504 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 3 edition (June 28, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1118018370
• ISBN-13: 978-1118018378
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.3 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #13,211 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #3 in Books > Business & Investing > Business Life > Health & Stress
  • #8 in Books > Computers & Technology > Microsoft > Scheduling & E-mail
  • #11 in Books > Computers & Technology > Computer Science > Human-Computer Interaction

More About the Author

Adam Pash is an author, editor, and programmer whose expertise lies in understanding and improving how we integrate the latest technology in our everyday lives. Based in Los Angeles, California, Adam spends the majority of his time working as Editor-in-Chief for Lifehacker, a blog with a focus on software, the internet, and productivity.

Adam's freelance work has appeared in a variety of publications, including Wired, Popular Science, and PC World;. He's authored three books: Lifehacker: The Guide to Working Smarter, Faster, and Better, How to Do Everything with Your iPhone, and The Complete Guide to Google Wave.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hacking Your Way To Productive, June 30, 2011

By 

Bradley Bevers "the lucid blog" (Brenham, TX) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Lifehacker: The Guide to Working Smarter, Faster, and Better (Paperback)

I will admit to being a sucker for books like this. I love books that offer ways to improve your time management, limit interruptions, and streamline your life. Lifehacker helps you do all that and more. It is the most practical book I have read on this subject, and I promise that it will improve the way you work.

There are a ton of "theory" books out there. Books that will tell you to spend your time more productively, not visit certain site, and get rid of all the extra emails. All great advice, but it can be hard for you to put into place without the right tools. Adam Pash and Gina Trapani give you those tools in Lifehacker. From email reduction to time-wasters to creating doable to-do lists, this is the best resource to turn to.

The book is structured in an easy to read way. At the beginning of each hack, the authors tell you the three most important pieces of information right up front:

Level: How easy is this going to be?

Platform: Where do I use this? Web, Windows, Mac, All?

Cost: How much does it cost?

This is a great way to evaluate the hacks that you will need quickly and will help you to find the information that will benefit you most. Fortunately, most of the hacks offered in this book are both easy and free.

Some of my favorite hacks in the book include:

Hack 1: Empty Your Inbox (and Keep It Empty)

Hack 9: Script and Automate Repetitive Replies

Hack 14: Instantly Recall Any Number of Different Passwords

Hack 24: Design Your Own Planner

Hack 25: Make Your To-Do List Doable

Hack 29: Dash Through Tasks With a Timer

Hack 39: Limit Visits to Time-Wasting Websites

Hack 53: Reduce Repetitive Typing

Hack 59: Become A Scheduling Black-Belt with Google Calendar

Hack 82: Augment Reality With Your Phone

Bottom Line: There is a ton of great information contained in this huge 476 page book. You probably won't use every hack and you probably already follow some of the author's advice, but you will (at least you should) use most of the hacks in this book. Highly Recommended.

BONUS: Lifehacker also has a companion website that has updates, additional information, and more tips and tricks.

BONUS #2: For the best theory book on why you should implement these time-saving tools, read The 4-Hour Workweek, Expanded and Updated: Expanded and Updated, With Over 100 New Pages of Cutting-Edge Content. They complement each other very well.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Changed the way I work in one weekend!, June 27, 2011

By 

Christine L Walker - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Lifehacker: The Guide to Working Smarter, Faster, and Better (Paperback)

I bought this book as a birthday present to myself. Lucky me!

Adam Pash and Gina Trapani have distilled the very best tools from the Lifehacker blog to help you streamline your workflow, focus your attention and work on the stuff that matters. I read it straight through in a weekend and now I am going back through, and following their clear, detailed instructions to implement very meaningful changes to the way I work. They have included hacks for everyone - newbies to geeks.

This is an outstanding example of book written to take full advantage of the digital format. They have included many links, allowing readers to go deeper into the content if they want. The table of contents is like a toolbox filled with gems. After reading it on my ipad, I downloaded it to my desktop and I am working from there to upgrade my digital life.

Lifehacker continues to be a Lifechanger!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Organize your life (or at least your email), October 5, 2011

By 

Timothy Walker (Orlando, Florida USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Lifehacker: The Guide to Working Smarter, Faster, and Better (Paperback)

(What's this?)

If you've ever visited Lifehacker.com and thought, "I wish this was a book", then consider this a prayer answered. Even if you've never heard of the site, if you are looking for a highly accessible, user-friendly guide to making better use of the technology that you likely use on a daily basis - a PC or Mac, a smartphone, and Google - then this book (and its parent site) are well worth your time and attention.

Four stars for those of us who already use keyboard shortcuts and know what macros are. Novices should give it one more star... or be given this guide for the holidays.