I’m a sucker for life hacks that save time and effort, and I consider this one of the easiest to implement.
When I use the microwave, I prioritize my button presses based on
- Number of Buttons Pressed
- Number of Different buttons pressed
An example:
My microwave has an “Add 30 Seconds” button, regular numbers, and requires you to hit start before cooking.
I often want to cook food in multiples of 30 seconds.
Here’s a breakdown of some options from worst to best:
30 Seconds:
Add 30 Seconds, Start
- 3, 3, Start
- 3, 0, Start
1 Minute:
Add 30 Seconds, Add 30 Seconds, Start
- 5, 5, Start
- 6, 0, Start
1 Minute 30 Seconds:
- 8, 8, Start
- Add 30 Seconds, Add 30 Seconds, Add 30 Seconds, Start
- 1, 3, 0, Start
Ultimately this saves me no time at all during the day. What does happen is I use math to figure out what to press, which is better than it was before.
I know that 88 seconds is not the same as 90 seconds, but it’s close enough for me.