[lurker_primo]

> As far as life-hacks go, I generally seek to run my domestic operations like an OS scheduler - start background things first (get that kettle boiling, get that washing machine running, etc) and then proceed to interactive chores that need direct attention while other things are happening in the background.

I too try to do this as much as possible. But I find that this is only possible with tasks that follow a specific pattern every time. If I try to change even a single thing in the background task, I have to interrupt interactive chores because I will have forgotten something else. To remedy this, I always take 5 min to mentally list each step before starting.

People recommend listening to podcasts/audiobooks in the background while working. I would recommend against that. Eliminate background distractions - reddit, podcasts, anything. If I browse reddit while I wait for something to complete, I waste a lot of time by finishing the article/thread before taking action on finished items. This makes a lot of difference when time is limited, especially in the morning when I'll be running to catch the bus on time. If I listen to podcasts, I miss some information in the podcasts, and I miss some things on the tasks I'm working on.