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Lifehacker: The Guide to Working Smarter, Faster, and Better
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.Technology is supposed to make our lives easier by helping us work more efficiently. The Guide to Working Smarter, Faster, and Better, Third Edition is your guide to making that happen!
504 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 3, 2011
108 people are currently reading
1152 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 48 reviews
May 15, 2012
There are some good tips in here and some of them inspired me to get organized to a degree that I've not been in some time. There are also many cool web apps covered (though I imagine this will mean that the book will not age particularly well). As someone who works in IT and reads Lifehacker regularly, a lot of the contents were familiar territory so I ended up skipping a lot, but I think someone who's less technical might benefit quite a bit from this book.
My main objection is that a lot of the tips are computer-based and only focus on Windows and occasionally Mac, with little coverage of Linux. Admittedly Linux is a tiny fraction of the audience, but Lifehacker's coverage of Linux topics is pretty good, so I was hoping for a bit more of this in the book.
Overall I think it's a solid, practical book for people who want their lives to be a bit easier, and are willing to put in a bit of effort. Would make a good gift.
My main objection is that a lot of the tips are computer-based and only focus on Windows and occasionally Mac, with little coverage of Linux. Admittedly Linux is a tiny fraction of the audience, but Lifehacker's coverage of Linux topics is pretty good, so I was hoping for a bit more of this in the book.
Overall I think it's a solid, practical book for people who want their lives to be a bit easier, and are willing to put in a bit of effort. Would make a good gift.
September 1, 2014
I was only interested in a few of these personally. I couldn't view the table of contents on the Kindle in a way that I could see enough of it to see which of the tips I might want to read. It was very time consuming to page through all the other tips to see which ones I was interested in. I wish the table of contents had a better view.
March 4, 2012
This book is full of tips to improve your life. If you read Lifehacker (the blog) on a regular basis, you might expect a lot of variety. However, most of the book is dedicated specifically to "tech tips". I felt disappointed by that. I guess I think of "life hacking" as a larger endeavor than just "use your computer more efficiently". But is that the book's fault, or mine? It's a book worth looking at.
April 23, 2013
I enjoy having this book on my nightstand as a reference for whenever something goes a little awry in my techno life. REALLY helped when my father's internet browser got hijacked (again). I enjoy not having to help him every single time he messes something up (at least five times a day) so I make him check this book first to see if the answer might be in there. Gooooood stuff.
May 20, 2014
Love the website. The book? Not so much. It's focused more on tech tips and I thought I could glean additional information, but I guess I know more about technology than I think I do.
June 23, 2017
By far the most useful of several productivity books I've purchased recently. I don't buy these books to join the author on their 'journey' or to hear about how they set up a multi-million-dollar business at university. I need practical, straightforward, clever advice aimed at an educated layman with a standard set of tools, and that's exactly what this volume offers. Divided up into eleven chapters, it focuses on computer shortcuts, software, tricks and hacks that can help you keep your inbox clear, fight distraction, and make yourself more productive on a day-to-day basis.
Solutions are given for both Windows and Macs, and for several different internet browsers including IE, Chrome, Firefox and Safari. The authors Pash and Trapani are virtually self-effacing: this is a manual, not a life philosophy, and it's the kind of thing you can dip into for bright ideas. I've only received it today and already I've implemented a couple of hacks. Whether they'll help to make me more efficient, who knows? - but there's a lot of down-to-earth, sensible stuff here and it also brings together several strategies from other books as well. All in all, it's a productivity bible.
So why only four stars? Well, this is the third edition, published in 2011. Many of the hacks are still applicable (LastPass and Evernote, for example), but some have been superseded or are no longer current (e.g. using Picasia to organise your photos). I hope the authors might bring out a fourth edition at some point, but I'll be keeping my eye on the Lifehacker website for more up-to-date tips. Really pleased with this.
Solutions are given for both Windows and Macs, and for several different internet browsers including IE, Chrome, Firefox and Safari. The authors Pash and Trapani are virtually self-effacing: this is a manual, not a life philosophy, and it's the kind of thing you can dip into for bright ideas. I've only received it today and already I've implemented a couple of hacks. Whether they'll help to make me more efficient, who knows? - but there's a lot of down-to-earth, sensible stuff here and it also brings together several strategies from other books as well. All in all, it's a productivity bible.
So why only four stars? Well, this is the third edition, published in 2011. Many of the hacks are still applicable (LastPass and Evernote, for example), but some have been superseded or are no longer current (e.g. using Picasia to organise your photos). I hope the authors might bring out a fourth edition at some point, but I'll be keeping my eye on the Lifehacker website for more up-to-date tips. Really pleased with this.
December 27, 2018
You'll Save at Least an Hour a Day. Totally worth $20
Lifehacker's one of those sites that you wish you'd been reading daily for the past three years, but didn't have time to. At odd moments, I've thought about going through all its articles in one day and creating a grand reading list. Then I saw the editors had done just that in this $20 opus. I walked away with 50+ tricks, techniques and tools that'll save me at least an hour a day. You're sure to find at least that number regardless of what platform you use - PC/Mac/iPhone/Android. I recommend the print version. It's easier to flip through than the Kindle and you feel more of a sense of accomplishment hacking through its forrest of pages.
Lifehacker's one of those sites that you wish you'd been reading daily for the past three years, but didn't have time to. At odd moments, I've thought about going through all its articles in one day and creating a grand reading list. Then I saw the editors had done just that in this $20 opus. I walked away with 50+ tricks, techniques and tools that'll save me at least an hour a day. You're sure to find at least that number regardless of what platform you use - PC/Mac/iPhone/Android. I recommend the print version. It's easier to flip through than the Kindle and you feel more of a sense of accomplishment hacking through its forrest of pages.
December 26, 2020
Well written book with lots of useful tips to improve productivity. Despite being 9 years old, many of the tips' general principles still apply, you just might need to find new tools to accomplish it.
One great example being the hack about RSS, not only is Google Reader dead (RIP) but RSS itself isn't really relevant nowadays since less sites use it and the ones that do often only show short snippets now cause they want people to actually visit the site for ads. A more modern example might be to follow topics inside of an app like Google or Apple News.
One great example being the hack about RSS, not only is Google Reader dead (RIP) but RSS itself isn't really relevant nowadays since less sites use it and the ones that do often only show short snippets now cause they want people to actually visit the site for ads. A more modern example might be to follow topics inside of an app like Google or Apple News.
September 5, 2017
Clear and concise -- even though this was a bit more techy for what I wanted it for (productivity tips) I still got a few things out of it. I read the third edition -- so I think much was outdated.
August 17, 2018
A fun reference book for its time, but hasn't aged well given the steady march of technology.
July 10, 2022
Somewhat outdated. Functions best as a reference for folks who aren’t tech savvy.
October 27, 2016
Stebėtinai gera ir naudinga! Tačiau turinys: paimtas iš lifehaker puslapio.
October 12, 2011
One would think I am the perfect target market for this book: I am an efficiency addict, so much so that my wife calls me "Captain Efficiency". I am constantly updating my systems in search of the elusive goal of ever-increasing productivity. And of course I follow the Lifehacker.com blog (in my RSS reader, natch) to learn about the latest tools and tricks.
Alas, the Lifehacker Guide mostly served as an opportunity for me to hone my speed-reading and skimming skills... because I already do so many of these things! Frequently I found I am already using the same recommended programs (e.g. Evernote.com, a real fave), but not always (e.g. I still don't see what's so special about Dropbox.com). Perhaps some of this is because of the overlap between the blog authors' favorite tools and tricks and those which were shaken down into this "how-to" book.
That is not to say that the reading was useless for me--I also have a handful of new websites and software tools to check out in the near future, and I expect some of these will be real improvements over what I am already doing or not doing. And in that way, the book speaks to my "Captain Efficiency" heart.
In any case, I would particularly recommend this book to people who feel the need to learn better ways to increase their day-to-day productivity but generally don't have the time to spend seeking out and trying new options. But you efficiency gurus--and honored members of the Captain Efficiency Fan Club--might learn a few new tricks, too.
Alas, the Lifehacker Guide mostly served as an opportunity for me to hone my speed-reading and skimming skills... because I already do so many of these things! Frequently I found I am already using the same recommended programs (e.g. Evernote.com, a real fave), but not always (e.g. I still don't see what's so special about Dropbox.com). Perhaps some of this is because of the overlap between the blog authors' favorite tools and tricks and those which were shaken down into this "how-to" book.
That is not to say that the reading was useless for me--I also have a handful of new websites and software tools to check out in the near future, and I expect some of these will be real improvements over what I am already doing or not doing. And in that way, the book speaks to my "Captain Efficiency" heart.
In any case, I would particularly recommend this book to people who feel the need to learn better ways to increase their day-to-day productivity but generally don't have the time to spend seeking out and trying new options. But you efficiency gurus--and honored members of the Captain Efficiency Fan Club--might learn a few new tricks, too.
October 15, 2016
I picked up a copy of Lifehacker: The Guide to Working Smarter, Faster, and Better
* written by Adam Pash and Gina Trapani. I am not sure I would have picked up the book if I was not already familiar with the Lifehacker Website. I also regularly listen to Gina Trapani on TWIG and All About Android. The book I picked up is a gem. I have already implemented a number of ideas and plan to implement a number of others in the coming days. Read more
* written by Adam Pash and Gina Trapani. I am not sure I would have picked up the book if I was not already familiar with the Lifehacker Website. I also regularly listen to Gina Trapani on TWIG and All About Android. The book I picked up is a gem. I have already implemented a number of ideas and plan to implement a number of others in the coming days. Read more
October 10, 2013
This was a good one. The book is laid out by topic, so it was easy to skip over the stuff that I didn't have any interest in. Since the book casts a pretty wide net, there was quite a bit that I either already knew, or didn't care about. However, there was a lot of stuff that was crazy useful; I was able to find several things to improve efficiency in my work and personal life. I'm a big fan of anything that helps me free up time, which is essentially what this book is all about. It's worth looking at for anyone wanting to learn to be a bit more efficient or productive. Alternately, you could just check out the Lifehacker website, which is where all the stuff in the book comes from.
November 7, 2011
Very useful tips and tricks. I thought some sections were unnecessarily long, especially those that included details on how to carry out installation steps (which may be self-explanatory when you're actually installing the software) like "After you click Next, you will be led to.. blah blah." Some tricks like the Seinfeld chain website were also not that useful but rather seemed to be only for fun or coolness. I totally support the Seinfeld method but the website sucked big time... I would rather stick with the paper-calendar version to maintain my Seinfeld chains.
August 10, 2011
As a long-term subscriber to the Lifehacker blog and newsletter, I can't really say that a I learned a lot from this book. Most of the tips I had already heard about. There were a few gems though which were probably worth the tiny price I paid for the book (about USD 10$ directly from the publisher for the electronic version).
If you've never visited Lifehacker before this book will certainly be useful. Though you might be irritated at the tell-tale blog post format.
If you've never visited Lifehacker before this book will certainly be useful. Though you might be irritated at the tell-tale blog post format.
July 21, 2013
I picked up a few new tips, but much of it was at least familiar. There were some tips that I'd never do, but maybe a more IT savvy person would enjoy those. The book is from 2011, but already there were some dated tools. That's the thing with reading computer/web focused texts. They're out of date within a year.
Still, it's an easy read if someone just wants to skim it for a few hours. You'll surely pick up some new tips.
Still, it's an easy read if someone just wants to skim it for a few hours. You'll surely pick up some new tips.
December 31, 2013
If you're reasonably technological, you'll have already made use of most of these tricks. But there's always another one and a new way to save time, work more efficiently, and make technology your servant. For me, the tips on passwords alone was worth the price of the e-book. If you're a regular reader of Lifehacker on line, you won't need this compendium, but for everyone else, this book will offer you enough tasty morsels to make the meal worthwhile.
February 4, 2013
Many great ideas to use technology to become more organized. I quickly scanned through those that appealed to me and ignored many others. A few years old and I believe recently updated. I found this book on a library site, so was able to read without purchasing, which is good as many of the hacks are now outdated or old hat.
June 27, 2017
영어에서 hack이라하면 해킹hacking처럼 부정적인 의미를 가지는 경우도 많지만, 최근에는 '까다로운 문제를 영리하게 해결함'을 뜻으로 사용하는 경우도 많다. Life Hack은 말그대로 개인이 매일 해야 할 일들을 효율적으로 관리하고 처리하는 기술이라는 뜻. 이 책은 IT 개발자들이 업무에서 처리할 일들을 어떻게 단순화하여 처리할 수 있는지 정리하고 있다. (잠실 교보문고에서 이 책은 임베디드 프로그래밍 및 보안 관련 책들 사이에 파묻혀 있었다. 라이프 해킹은 그런 해킹이 아닌데...)
책에서 설명하는 내용중에 약 70% 정도는 이미 나도 하고 있는 것이라는 점에서 뿌듯함을 느꼈고, 나머지 25% 정도는 필요하지 않은 일이었다. 맥에서 방화벽 설정하는 것 정도가 참고할 만한 내용.
책에서 설명하는 내용중에 약 70% 정도는 이미 나도 하고 있는 것이라는 점에서 뿌듯함을 느꼈고, 나머지 25% 정도는 필요하지 않은 일이었다. 맥에서 방화벽 설정하는 것 정도가 참고할 만한 내용.
January 11, 2012
Me demoré en terminarlo porque está repleto de buenas ideas que dan ganas de implementar. Seguramente todo esto está en la Web, pero me parece un excelente resumen de los mejores trucos para los geeks de la productividad. Recomendable!
October 14, 2025
Obsolete if you visit the Lifehacker website more or less regularly.
Very helpful tips, but unfortunately rather "beginner-level" and many of them are common sense. The introductory parts were quite lengthy too.
Very helpful tips, but unfortunately rather "beginner-level" and many of them are common sense. The introductory parts were quite lengthy too.
June 14, 2012
If you avoid paying for software whenever possible, are always in the presence of a very fast Internet connection, don't mind the loss of all sorts of useful features that native apps provide, find ugly user interfaces enjoyable, and think Google is your friend, there's a lot in this book for you.
August 6, 2014
Some useful tips from organising your email and getting things done to setting up your own home media server. Explanations are for Mac and Windows, very nice.
But also some tips of how to organise your papers and organize your 'real' desktop, which I didn't need
But also some tips of how to organise your papers and organize your 'real' desktop, which I didn't need
February 17, 2016
More of a reference type book - good information if you're looking for shortcuts, but not a lot of in depth tips. Just tips for how to do things faster. Version I had was 2011, but a lot of tips where for online programs - which may quickly go out of date
September 4, 2011
Very useful advice. Hopefully I can make myself use some of it.
October 2, 2011
luckily my life isn't crazy or complicated enough for many of these tips to be useful for me. but the applicable ones i did find were totally worth skimming through this book. swype! <3
October 20, 2011
Lot's of useful tips. Definitely worth skimming through. Especially if you are like me and don't have the free time to keep up with stuff as it is posted to the site.
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November 16, 2011Quite an interesting read with all the life hacks mentioned.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 48 reviews