☝️ Your Fingers Are Built-In Measuring Tools

GM Life Hackers,

Ready to supercharge your day? You've come to the right place! A few times a week, I’ll drop 3 quick and powerful life hacks in your inbox—simple tricks to make your day smoother, smarter, and more fun.

BUT… If you’re only going to read one thing today make it this:

What you’ll learn today: 

1. Conquer Your Day Before It Eats You

2. Outsmart Spam with a Simple “+” Character

3. Your Fingers Are Built-In Measuring Tools

4. Pic Of The Day

Outsmart Spam with a Simple “+” Character

Using your email to sign up for something but never want to hear from them again? Add “+spam” to the end of your email username (e.g. [email protected]). This will still work like a real email, but makes filtering a breeze.

Gmail (and many other email services) ignore anything after a plus sign in the username—so [email protected] is treated exactly like [email protected].

That means you can add “+spam,” “+shopping,” or “+newsletter” to track where your email ends up or filter incoming messages automatically. Combine this with filters and you’ll never have to manually delete a promo email again.

Your Fingers Are Built-In Measuring Tools

Need a rough measurement of something? The distance between the first and second joints of your index finger is usually about an inch.

Human anatomy is surprisingly consistent. While finger sizes vary slightly, this first-knuckle-to-second-knuckle distance is a reliable rough estimate of 1 inch for most adults. So if you don’t have a tape measure handy, your hand is basically a ruler on standby.

Conquer Your Day Before It Eats You

Do the task you’re least looking forward to first, and the rest of your day will seem much easier and more enjoyable.

This concept, made famous by productivity author Brian Tracy, is based on a Mark Twain quote: “If it's your job to eat a frog, it's best to do it first thing in the morning.” That dreaded frog? It's the hardest or most annoying task on your to-do list. Once it’s done, your brain gets a dopamine hit and your stress levels drop.

Tackling hard tasks first uses up what's called “decision-making energy” (thanks to your prefrontal cortex). By doing the hardest thing early—while your willpower reserves are fresh—you actually reduce procrastination and boost momentum.

Pic Of The Day

That’s all for today. Thanks for reading!

—Keith