[aculver]

Being a developer is a certified superpower, so it's fair to expect that some of the life hacks unlocked by being a developer are on a life changing scale. Here's my recommendation:

Build a machine that prints money.

Find a problem that regular business computer users are solving with some combination of raw effort and a spreadsheet to keep track. Write an app that accomplishes the same thing, but better, and in a mostly automated fashion, and charge them monthly for access to your tool.

It's a lot of work upfront, but the gains you make each month compound. Most of the customers you sign up this month will still be customers next month and you don't have to resell them. Instead you focus on selling new customers, who themselves will be around the month after that. Eventually, the amount of money the machine prints each month is greater than the effort you're putting into it each month, and you've freed yourself from exchanging time for money.

In terms of life hacks that are particularly attainable for developers specifically, I think starting a SaaS is near the top.

[muflax]

How do you discover problems that regular people have?

Especially because what most businesses actually do on a daily basis, and what annoying problems they have, is totally invisible to me.

[user7878]

Great Idea!