I’m a creature of habit.  Not all of my habits are good ones, but I’m still living and breathing, so I’m still working on that.  I thought I’d share a few behaviors I’ve developed, which have helped me with my successes.  Or at the very least, helped me not fail quite as much.  They’re in no particular order.

• In public restrooms, I always wipe the toilet seat first with toilet paper.  This accomplishes two things: 1. I don’t wind up sitting on some stranger’s piss droplets and 2. I wind up making sure that there is toilet paper.
• I always put my wallet, keys, and cell phone in the same place in my house.  I don’t remember the last time I lost my keys or wallet.
• The thing I always hated most about laundry was folding clothes, especially socks.  A year or two ago, I discarded all of my socks, bought new ones that are all identical (well, I have some that are black, and some that are white).  I no longer fold socks.  I hang up all of my clothes on hangers, so those don’t have to be folded, either.  The only things that have to go in drawers are my underwear and shorts, and I don’t wear shorts that often.  When I stopped folding socks, it was like freeing myself from a set of chains that I thought I’d have to live with for the rest of my life.
• I never write checks.  It’s either cash or debit card.
• I use my bank’s online presence to pay my bills.  I don’t let agencies automatically go in and take my money.  That way lies madness.  But I’ve got it down to the point where I spend 15 minutes a month paying my bills online, and never have to worry about bills again.  I haven’t had a late payment on anything in nearly 12 years.
• I don’t keep a lot of personal things at work anymore.  If I needed to move desks, I could do it in less than 15 minutes.  Because my work space is relatively sparse, it also always looks neat and tidy.
• I like to work in a place where people are happy to see me.  I like to work in a place where there is free food and candy available for people to enjoy.  I bring in doughnuts every Monday and put them in a high traffic place, and I keep a bowl full of candy near my desk.  I try not to talk about personal things going on at work, though some things get out.  This makes my work environment drama free, with sweets around me, more or less achieving my goals.
• The only credit card I use is a Chevron gas card.  It could have been Texaco or Shell or any major chain.  The point is to be exceedingly consistent with the type of fuel I put in my vehicle.  If there are car problems, I’m never going to wonder if it was some cheap gas I put in.  Also, I pay the Chevron card off completely every month, so I always know how much money we spend on gasoline.
• I keep the alarm clock across the room from the bed, so that I have to get up in order to hit snooze or turn it off.  When I kept it near the bed, I’d turn it off in my sleep.  I’m a heavy sleeper, and I have a hard time waking up in the mornings.  This one trick is pretty common to a lot of people, but I need to mention it just because of how much it’s helped me over the years.
• I keep dental floss near my computer at home, and in my drawer at work.
• When I’m overwhelmingly busy, I make lists.  I write down the tasks so I can cross them off.  If the tasks are large or complicated, I break those into sub-tasks.  Writing lists has gotten me through many crises.

I’m sure I have some others, but the list is already longer than I expected.

What sort of personal life hacks do you employ?