Saturday, November 5, 2016

What are some useful skills I can learn in minutes?

Memorize your wallet. Specifically, this information:
  • Credit card numbers (and CVV), or just the number of the card you use most often
  • Library card number
  • Frequent flyer plan number (if you travel a lot)
  • Passport number (if you travel internationally a lot; thanks to Vivek Ponnaiyan for the suggestion)
  • Driver's license number
  • Health insurance plan and provider number/names
  • Cell phone numbers of a few people you can call if you're in trouble, or you lose your phone
Depending on how your brain is structured, it should take five minutes max to memorize each number, and the convenience gained is enormous. You can make online purchases or pay bills without pulling our your wallet. You can fill out most forms with ease. And if you lose your phone and have to reach someone important, you're not screwed.

If you're good at memorizing numbers, or want to be an overachiever, it's also helpful to memorize account numbers for your various utilities and services (electric company, cable TV provider) in case you need to call them about an issue.

Another helpful memory tip is to create some sort of algorithm or formula for your various online passwords. Unlike the previous idea, I did not think of this one myself. But again, it's come in handy because I can create a unique password for all my accounts, yet be able to figure any of them out by applying my algorithm, which is based on the website's main URL. Occasionally, you can be screwed if the site requires you to change your password, but then you can apply another formula for this instance (say, change it to the reverse number-letter combination). Not as exciting as zip tie bike tire chains, but I think it's worth something.

Read other answers by Caroline Zelonka on Quora: Read more answers on Quora.

from Quora http://ift.tt/2fo0qxu
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