If you’re anything like us, you might randomly start daydreaming about just how awesome things would be if life were more like our favorite video games. The plotlines would be better, we’d feel empowered, and it’d be extremely convenient to see our stats and abilities whenever we want. And if things get too tough—our rent increases a bunch or we find ourselves frequently ill—we could simply type in a ‘cheat code’ and find our problems disappear, effortlessly.
Though real life is as far from video gamey as things can get (look, I really want my own personal starship), cheat codes actually do exist in real life. It’s small things that you can do throughout your day that drastically improve the quality of your life. And though it’s not actually ‘cheating,’ the positive results can make you feel as though you’ve got an angel or a wizard in your corner, backing you up.
The insightful folks over on r/AskReddit have shared a whole bunch of cheat codes for life in a series of fun and informative threads. Bored Panda has compiled the very best posts to give you a boost in whatever part of your life that might feel lacking, dear Readers. From relationships and cooking to parenting and health, there’s a hack for pretty much every situation. Upvote your fave tips and tricks, and pop by the comment section to share your own advice that’s so powerful, you can’t keep the secret all to yourself.
Oh, and in case you’d like a crash course on excelling at work and navigating tense job situations, we’ve got you covered. Check out Bored Panda’s recent list of workplace cheat codes right over here, when you’re done reading through this article.
Bored Panda reached out to fitness coach Anna Armagno Toussaint for her advice and ‘cheat codes’ when it comes to taking care of our physical and mental health. Read on our full interview with the fitness expert below.
#1
My big cheat code is always compliment. Not their eyes or weight, but something that they chose. An unnatural hair color, a dope a** backpack, or some wicked Chucks they’re rocking.
Image source: Bunneyyy
#2
Cutting toxic people out of your life has zero consequences and will make your life 100% better.
Image source: woah_broh
#3
Be polite to people who can help you over the phone. I’ve had people bend over backwards to help me just because I was nice.
Image source: jazzyt98
#4
People don’t think about you as much as you think they do.
Image source: [deleted]
#5
If you’re a parent and want to enjoy some time undisturbed use the cheat code “I’m gonna take a nap and when I wake up we’ll all do chores together” on your kids. They’ll want to let you sleep as long as possible to avoid doing housework, so they’ll leave you alone to actually nap or do other things like read.
Image source: -eDgAR-, Tanaphong Toochinda
#6
Even if it is on sale, you still have to spend money.
Image source: [deleted], Artem Beliaikin
#7
If you want an answer to something, don’t just ask. No one answers. Instead you deliberately put in the wrong answer: “Is THIS how you do something? xyz”. People just love to correct you. They just hate answering straight questions for unknown reasons..
Image source: TheRealSilverBlade
#8
When you are really angry at someone, write why you are down on a piece of paper and sleep on it. If you are still angry about it in the morning talk to them about it. This has saved me from making a big deal out of relatively small things.
Image source: homerda1, Jan Kahánek
#9
Books, they are the real cheat codes for life. in a few hours reading you get information that took years for the author to get.
My favorite books are ‘A brief history of nearly everything’ by Bill Bryson, ‘And then there were none’ by Agatha Christie and ‘A brief history of time’ by Stephen Hawking
Image source: WinterGlitchh, Susan Q Yin
#10
Playing dumb has gotten me out of trouble more than once.
Image source: Jumpinalake, Torsten Dederichs
#11
Respond with a friendly and polite attitude when someone is being an [jerk]. It shuts them down 90% of the time.
Eventually you develop a reputation for being calm and consistently friendly with assholes, so if you DO decide to cuss out or be rude to that last 10%, your coworkers and boss won’t believe the complaints. :)
Whatcha gonna do about it, customers?
Image source: deleted
#12
Plant food, but focus on perennials.
Spring hits, food just starts growing. Everyone is starting seeds, and I will have asparagus in about a week. My garage is filled with Jerusalem Artichokes. I have thousands of strawberry plants out of the 4 that I bought.
Given everything that’s going on right now, I think a lot of people would really benefit to having food growing on their land instead of just useless grass lawns. Keep some lawn, sure, but maybe also plant some potatoes or something. Everyone’s freaking out about a food crisis and I just keep giving food away to neighbours. I also just do this as a hobby, I work full time. I just decided to replace some lawn with food, and it’s been really helping out people around me as they panic about being locked up and having nothing to eat.
Now imagine if everyone did this. Not a ton, just a little here and there. How much less stressful would this crisis be if everyone had 6 months of stored food at all times – kinda like their grandparents lived. It’s actually not that hard either. Some stuff is hard, but some stuff is stupid easy, like Jerusalem Artichokes, strawberries, fruit trees, etc.
Image source: Suuperdad, Sandie Clarke
#13
When it looks like someone isn’t going to give you space on the side walk, I stop walking and pretend I’ve stopped walking because something on my phone caught my attention.
We’re now no longer playing king of the side walk. They’re faced with the choice of walking into someone standing still, or moving to their side. I’ve never had someone not give me appropriate room doing this.
Image source: honestgoing
#14
Count to 5 before opening your mouth, does magic, sometimes you’ll discover that you don’t even have to open it.
Image source: MobBap, Clarisse Meyer
#15
If you want food to taste good, butter.
I used to think there was something restaurants did to make food so delicious and they must be amazing cooks. I’m sure some of them are.
But when my daughter was a toddler, she was underweight and the doctor told me to add twice as much butter to my cooking for her to get extra calories. Turns out, butter is amazing. Half the time when you eat something that is just heavenly, it isn’t magic or crazy skills or exotic ingredients. It’s just butter, and lots of it.
Edit: This isn’t to discredit people who are actually great cooks! Butter isnt the end-all of good cooking. But it is really difficult to make good food with only minimal fat and it is really easy to make good food with a lot of fat. If you want to be a 10/10 cook, go to culinary school. If you want to take your cooking from 3/10 to 7/10, add butter.
Image source: PopcornWhale
#16
Give a customer a longer estimate knowing it wont take that long, and then that way it impresses and pleases them when you gets the results more quickly. This is a “cheat code,” because it gives the impression that you’ve worked harder or faster, when really you’re just manipulating expectations.
This can apply to most any timetable or deadline. The easiest example would be a hostess at a restaurant. Tell a party it will take 30min to be seated, knowing it will take actually take 10-15min.
IIRC, this technique was mentioned on Star Trek as a ploy the engineers would often use to impress the captain.
Image source: Swampfoxxxxx, Michał Parzuchowski
#17
If anything seems too big or too difficult break it down into small steps.
Image source: Beanieboru
#18
Use your local area code + 867-5309 as the membership id at almost every grocery store and it will work. You get the discount without having to sign up because someone else already signed up with that number.
Shout out to Tommy Tutone.
Image source: thisemailisfake, Franki Chamaki
#19
For college kids: if you need a bunch of sources for a paper just go to the Wikipedia page and go to the bottom where the sources are. There’s usually more than 50 PROPER sources in citation format.
Please, make sure to at least briefly read over the source to make sure it’s relevant to your topic.
Image source: poolprty, Oberon Copeland @veryinformed.com
#20
Brushing your teeth when you’re young and continuing to do so throughout your life will save you a lot of money after 30.
Image source: undersquirl
#21
Everyone in these comments is calling buffs and starting traits “cheat codes.” It’s like they’ve never played video games. I’ll give you a couple real ones.
Compliment your friends behind their back, your relationships will improve magically.
If you ask someone you don’t know well for something small, like to borrow a pen, they will actually like you just a bit more. (for best results, return pen) (does not stack)
Image source: themonkery, Devin Avery
#22
Be kind to people, and don’t be a douchebag. You don’t know how many favors or help I’ve received in my life by not being a d**k
Image source: ooo-ooo-oooyea
#23
Realize that life isn’t fair. It never will be. Once you accept that, you’re on the first step to success. That guy driving a Porsche, sipping Starbucks and living in a huge house? Odds are, he busted is ass to get that. If he didn’t, he’s either lucky or inherited the results of someone else’s labour.
Life. Is. Not. Fair. The sooner you realize that and divert your time and energy to getting educated, getting trained, doing SOMETHING to improve yourself instead of protesting the 1%, the sooner you’ll be on the road to a life of comfort. Luxury? Maybe not. Comfort? Yes.
Repeat after me:
LIFE. IS. NOT. FAIR.
Image source: anon
#24
Dont ask your wife what she wants 2 eat, instead, tell her to guess where you’re taking her then take her to the first place she guesses.
Image source: anon
#25
Buy ingredients and cook for yourself. I started recently, and I’ve spent 30$ for over 10 meals. A fast food burger and fries is around $7-8, and bad for you too. Not only that, but cooking for yourself is an excellent skill that earns brownie points.
Image source: Hamderber
#26
For getting people to like you: be genuinely interested in their personal life. Not embarrassing things, but things they enjoy about their own life. Ask about their kids, dog, etc. And (this is key) remember details for the next time you talk. If they tell you they are potty training, then ask how it’s coming along. Only offer advice if it is truly helpful, not for the satisfaction of giving advice.
Also, learn their name as quick as possible. For many people, their favorite word is their name.
Image source: level 1 AustinRiversDaGod, Bewakoof.com Official
#27
Write it down. Whatever it is. Then you don’t have to focus on remembering it or worrying about it. The simple act of writing it down makes it more real. I always have a pen on me and paper close at hand. Make lists, keep a budget, tell someone you love them, jot a reminder, doodle.
Image source: shinyviper
#28
You can sneak into pretty much anywhere if you wear business casual and stand up straight and talk on your phone about business-related things.
Also, you can wear a blue-collar getup and bring a cooler full of beer, no one stop the beer guy, works with bags of ice too.
Very important that you act and look like this is just another shi**y day in your shi**y job, don’t look in a rush either.
Image source: deleted, Jeff Tumale
#29
I find that if I drink water when I wake up, and then drink coffee later, that I feel better and have more energy throughout the day
Image source: Tiurpslen
#30
Give children a choice when you want them to do something, like instead of saying “can you clean up your mess?” Say “would you like to either clean up your mess or do the dishes?” Make the second one a lot more likely for them not to choose.
Image source: 929yiyi
#31
Pay daily expenses and bills with a rewards credit card and pay it all off each month. No interest that way but you keep the rewards. Just make sure you can pay your bills and daily spending.
Image source: First-Fantasy
#32
Press 0 to get a human.
Ever have to dial a hotline and have to go through Press 1 for, Press 2 for, Press 3 for, etc? A lot of time when you want to speak immediately to someone on those prerecorded telephone hotlines you can just hit 0 for a human. Now some places they are really smart. Hitting 0 just ends the call, which by then you mentally implode.
Image source: GetOutOfTheWhey, https://unsplash.com/photos/9_SaFlgwFdA
#33
If you need to remember something but don’t have anything to remind you (like you don’t have time to set an alarm), visualize yourself remembering. For example, if you don’t want to forget to bring your hat when you go out, imagine yourself about to walk through the door, and imagine yourself thinking, “oh, my hat!” Bad example maybe, but the point is that just visualizing is quick, easy, and effective.
Image source: justonemom14, Yang Deng
#34
I always ask for a romantic table when making a reservation at a restaurant for a date. Usually my date and I get seated at the restaurant’s quietest or “best” table. I’ve also occasionally received a free drink or dessert, probably in an effort to help me impress my date. Highly recommend!
Image source: waxjumpoff
#35
If you get a bloody nose, you can stop it by stomping the heel of your foot on the same side that your nose is bleeding on. I know it sounds absurd, but I swear to you it works. I get heavy nosebleeds, and nothing would stop the damn things. That is, until I learned the heel trick. It works every time without fail.
Image source: SkyeWolfofDusk, Maria Luísa Queiroz
#36
Cooking bacon in the microwave. Quick, no mess, crispy and perfect. Is like using a cheat code to get extra lives/energy.
Image source: island-breeze, Wright Brand Bacon
#37
Under promise, over deliver. People will be pretty impressed and even if they know your good at something you come off as modest
Image source: Mrofcourse
#38
When you go to Chipotle wait until after they’ve scooped your first scoop of meat to ask for double meat. That way they’ve shown their hand on what a single scoop is
Image source: bdlcalichef, Jonathan Borba
#39
There’s hundreds of free certifications you can get online and add to your resume. Throw a few on your resume that are relevant to your career and they’ll become a conversation piece during the interview. They won’t land you the job by themselves, but they’ll make you stand out among other candidates.
Image source: Lyn1987, Robert Anasch
#40
Actually sleeping 8 plus hours a night. Trying sleeping at 10 pm to to no less than 4 am every night. This is when your body has enough melatonin and get the sleep it needs.
Most people wait till they are literally falling asleep while watching tv or their smartphone.. by then you have already messed up your natural sleep cycle
Image source: Smiadpades
#41
Start a savings account when you turn 16(or sooner)
put 10% of EVERY paycheck into it and DO NOT TOUCH IT. once you turn 18, you can put that money into a retirement account(preferably one that can utilize investments) and again, do not touch it. once a year, transfer the money from the dedicated savings account into the retirement account. continue until retirement.
also, USE your credit card. use it as soon as you can, but unless you can afford to pay it off in full at the end of the month, dont get too much into credit card debt. been using my credit card this way for the past 15 years, and recently found out i am sitting on an 830 credit score. i dont even have a house yet, but when i start looking soon i will be very well qualified.
Image source: tunersharkbitten
#42
Don’t drink or do drugs. You will find that you have more time and money, a clear mind, you will feel better, and have very few problems.
Image source: anon
#43
If you fake confidence long enough, you become good enough for people to believe it hence you will become confident.
Image source: IleanK
#44
Shredded parm inside the breading. chicken parm gets that sexy crunchy outside this way
Image source: intersecting_lines, Sigmund
#45
Save and invest early. If you didn’t start early, start now. Compounding returns are incredible.
Image source: DarthRusty
#46
I have a tendency to break out in acne and feel really sluggish after I eat ANY kind of junk food, any dairy, eggs, or anything with a ton of unnatural sugars in them. (But….I love chocolate, and cheese especially.)
My personal cheat code for this is, if I eat some of any of that, when I get home or wake up, I put two teabags of green tea in a mug and I drink that.
Green tea is great for clearing toxins out of your body and for helping boost your energy, so my face clears up faster and I don’t feel the effects of the foods I’m not used to as much.
It may be a bitter tea with a kind of a sharp tang, but it is so worth it not to look like a pepperoni face.
Image source: littleargent
#47
If you use code: “no salt” when ordering mcdonalds fries you can annoy the mcdonalds staff. Oh and you get fresh fries.
Image source: EatTheGreedy
#48
Reverse psychology in children. Tell them not to do something you secretly want them to do, and they’ll do it almost every time.
Image source: Bob-the-Human, Susana Coutinho
#49
If you say you are a social worker most companies will just tell you any information you need, believing you are helping someone.
I actually am a social worker so you know, I can abuse this power for good.
Image source: VloekenenVentileren
#50
Being conventionally hot. I recently lost 20 pounds and people treat me so differently, and it wasn’t even that dramatic of a change (though I’m 5’1 so it does make a difference on a small body)! When I’m in a crop top, and my hair and makeup are done it’s like all social interactions go on easy mode.
Image source: not-into-usernames, Katsiaryna Endruszkiewicz
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