Pro tips: trying to solve millions of small problems

We often see these clickbait articles (usually on facebook when we really should be doing work) with “Life hacks” or “Pro tips” in the title, aimed at solving the millions of little problems we all run into. http://1000lifehacks.com/ has a bunch of examples of the kinds of problems I am preferring to.

Dieter Bohn tries to go around solving all of these problems for good so that people won’t have to deal with these little problems forever. He enjoys solving these kinds of things. Some of the ones he mentioned in this article are tangled cords, messy computer interfaces, and confusing living room setups. He enjoys taking these problems, invoking a new design on them, and seeing how that design is way more effective than the original one.

I think the reason that we run into all these little problems is because the design of our products and goods is poor to begin with. For example, my desk chair wheels always catch my charging cord for my computer or my backpack straps. Maybe the wheels could be redesigned so that this event doesn’t happen as often as it does.

The example the Bohn gave in his video was headphones. I use Apple headphones (they are the only ones that fit in my ears) and I swear the material is made to tangle. The material of the chord is this sticky rubbery material that tangles very easily. The headphones I have come with a peice near the buds to hook the two strands together but even then the rest of the cord tangles like you wouldn't believe. So the material encourages tangles but it also discourages getting those tangles out. Because it is so sticky, the cord refuses to untangle, forcing you to apply some force. After force is applied the cords repel each other but meet again and re-tangle.

Bohn though of a storage solution for headphones that reduces most of the risk for tangles and makes the headphones more compact and easy to stow in backpacks or pockets. What Bohn does is that he takes the larger part of the headphones (which would be the buds) and holds it in place with his thumb against 3 fingers on the same hand. He wraps the cord around his fingers. When there is about 8–10 inches of the cord left, he removes the cord loops from his fingers and starts looping perpendicular to the existing loops. He loops the cord around itself in this way. Leaving some space at the bottom, when he gets to the end of the cord, he puts the end through the space and tightens. The result is a very compact set of headphones. The best part about this method is that with one gesture you can pull the headphones apart and start using them. This takes about 5 seconds, compared to the 5 minutes I usually spend untangling my headphones. Another great thing about this method is that it works for ALL CORDS. USBs, laptop chargers, lightening cables, everything!

I dream of a world in which we will no longer need life hacks to use our products efficiently and effectively. It will be challenging to get to this point, but I have hope.