The old quote goes: “life isn’t about getting a good hand; it’s about playing well with the hand you have.”
Maybe you feel like there’s not enough time in the day to get after your goals.
Working out, crushing it at your job, hitting the dating scene, staying well read: each can consume all the waking hours of your day.
So how do you find balance?
How do you find the right actions to take that will change your life the most?
And leave the rest behind.
We put together seven of the most important hacks any guy can take advantage of immediately—from money tips to self care to love and lust.
Skip Ahead
True Life Hacks Take Time
Before we get started, we want to be clear about our definition of a life-hack.
Sure, there are the “bio-hacks” out there like eating a Brazil-nut every day that supposedly do this, that, and the other thing for you.
Others might recommend boiling a chicken and sitting with the bubbling pot under your covers to get rid of a cold (that’s not made up—we heard this once).
You may have learned by now that there are no “quick” fixes on the path to a more fulfilling life.
But that doesn’t mean there aren’t some easy levers to pull that will make massive changes to your life. And it doesn’t mean you can’t get started right away.
To us, a true life hack takes months—sometimes years—to produce fruit.
The Power of Small Changes
Most of what we recommend is simple. They’re slight changes that you can make every day, every week, or just once a month.
Practice the rule of getting 1% better every day in the key areas of your life that mean the most to you. Can you become 1% better in your finances every day? Can you become just a little more physically fit than you were the day before? Can you spend an hour every week reading books written by the leaders you respect the most?
If you absolutely can’t spend the small amount of time needed to put these hacks into place, there’s no point in continuing to read.
But if you’re ready to change your life, let’s get started.
7 Life Hacks for Men
1. Invest Your Money
Want to be a millionaire? Obviously.
Well it only takes a little discipline, and you don’t even need to have a massive income. To demonstrate, let’s look at Investor Jimmy.
Investor Jimmy doesn’t make a wild amount of money. Over the course of his career, Investor Jimmy makes an average of $40k a year. When he turned 25, he didn’t have a dime to invest, but he decided he’d invest 10% of every paycheck.
Every month, Jimmy puts $400 into an investment account—just 10% of his salary. Over the course of 40 years, he makes an average of 8% interest on his investment (that’s the average of the S&P 500 over the past 60 years).
Want to guess how much Jimmy has at age 65?
Nope, you’re not seeing things.
Investor Jimmy has over $1.2M to his name. And he never made six-figures. He never made half of a six-figure salary.
Investing early and practicing patience is a tremendous hack, but so few people use it. Why?
Because they don’t see their 40, 50, 60-year old self as the same person.
Don’t make the same mistake.
If you’re lucky, you’ll be old one day. And when you’re old and rich, come back and thank us.
So we know investing is important, but what should we invest in?
The simplest investment you can make is in low-cost index funds (these guys explain it better than we can).
But every investment portfolio should have what’s called diversification. So while you might think it’s a great idea to spend all your money on Tesla stock, you may get lucky, but you may lose everything.
Diversification allows for a steadier rate of return. Again, you’re building over time, so you don’t need huge gains. Just steady growth.
Stocks are a common investment. Bonds are safe investments, too.
Another common investment you probably hear a lot about, but may not know how to begin is real estate.
Sure, we know property costs go up every year. But what do you do if you don’t have $600k to spend?
DiversyFund allows you to invest in a fully managed portfolio of apartment buildings without spending a huge sum. You can invest as little as $500 in what’s called a REIT, or real estate investment trust.
DiversyFund pools your investment with others to buy properties all over the country. Their current fund is term-based, so your investment will appreciate every five years.
There is one downside, though. Once you’ve invested in a project, you aren’t able to move your money until the fund reaches maturity and DiversyFund starts selling the properties.
As part of a larger portfolio, DiversyFund offers an easy, passive way to invest in institutional-grade real estate now, which is something most regular investors have never had the option to do.
DiversyFund's mission is to allow Americans outside of the 1% to invest in real estate and diversify how they build wealth. With a minimum investment of only $500, own a piece of a multifamily real estate portfolio that's fully vetted and SEC approved.
2. Pay Yourself First
We’ve seen how powerful investing can be, but how can you start?
One of the most powerful books on personal finance and building wealth is The Richest Man in Babylon by George S. Clason. Written in 1926, the parables in this book are just as relevant today as they were when the book was written (and as they were 4000 years ago).
A simple idea from the book is that you pay yourself first.
What does that mean?
For every paycheck you earn, take a certain percentage and save it.
(We recommend investing in a well-diversified portfolio—The Total Money Makeover has a few diversification strategies that have brought consistent results to readers over the past several decades.)
With Investor Jimmy, he saved 10% of every $40k/year paycheck and became a millionaire by the time he retired.
But what if he saved just 5% more?
Five extra percentage points end up netting Jimmy over half a million dollars over the years.
The best way to consistently build your wealth and take control of your personal finances is to save money regularly.
By committing to a percentage and saving or investing that immediately when your paycheck hits your bank account, you won’t have to think about it.
We can’t dive into how that’s done here, but if you want to automate your savings, read this guide.
3. Start With Your One Important Thing
Can you apply that same “pay yourself first” idea to other areas of your life?
Of course.
What’s your number one goal?
Do you want to get shredded? Start a business? Build a better relationship with your partner?
Make that your priority by doing something about it first thing in the morning.
Lose weight and build muscle by waking up and working out. Sure, you can go read a million different articles about when the absolute best time to exercise is, but the most important factor is consistency.
If you want to start a business, wake up two hours early every day and do whatever you can in those two hours to get your idea off the ground.
If your dream isn’t important enough to wake up two hours early for, you may want to reconsider your dream.
Life has a tendency to get in the way. If you put off your idea until after all the necessary work gets done (9-5 job, house chores, etc.) you might have trouble finding time for what you want.
So do what you want first. Then take care of what needs to get done.
4. Master Your Mindset
Positivity and happiness aren’t emotions—they’re skills.
And these skills will help you in every area of your life.
So how do you build them?
There isn’t a single path to positivity and happiness, so anything we recommend may not work for you. But just like any other skill, you must practice every day to get better.
Here are some things that help us build positivity:
- Regular exercise
- Deep breathing
- Consistent reading
- Making time for friends and family
- Giving generously
- Reflecting in a journal
- Maintaining a schedule (including the above)
As you can see from our list above, a few items are scientifically proven to boost mood (like exercise, breathing, and giving).
Others are more built around personality (like reading, friend and family time, journaling).
Mix some scientific mood boosters with a few things that make you happy and watch how much more you can get done in a day.
5. Improve How You Dress
Maybe you don’t want to admit it, but your style is a reflection of how you view yourself.
But just as important, how you dress makes an impression on others.
One of the easiest ways to boost how others view us is to change up what we wear.
Ditch the old, baggy t-shirts and gym shorts (unless you’re wearing them to workout). Put on a well-fitting shirt, a snazzy pair of jeans or chinos, and don a killer pair of shoes.
How do you feel?
Much more confident, yes?
In our experience, it’s much better to buy only a few perfect items, rather than getting as much as you can in a certain budget.
Just like the other hacks on this list, it may take several months (or even years) to build your ideal wardrobe. Be patient and buy one amazing item at a time. Before you know it, you’ll have two or three outfits that make you feel like a total boss.
Once you feel like a total boss, others will start seeing you the same way.
Not sure what your ideal wardrobe looks like? Head over to our Pinterest page and scan for outfits you like. Once you’ve saved a few outfit ideas, check out some of our favorite gear and recommendations or reach out if you’re having trouble finding what you want. We’re always here to help.
6. Stand Straight and Practice “Power Poses”
How you stand has a profound impact on the image you project into the world. And it’s not just how others see you. Your posture affects your body chemistry.
One easy way to boost your confidence is to stand straight and in one of the “power poses” noted in the video above. You’ll express more confidence to others, and you’ll feel more yourself.
Try to stand straight and leave your chest open. When you cross your arms, you send signals of discomfort.
You’ll notice that the power poses express either relaxation or assertiveness. You may have to practice these poses, and they may feel awkward at first, but soon they’ll become natural.
Avoid those powerless poses: slumped shoulders, hunched back, crossed arms—these are signs of apathy or fear.
There’s no reason for you to feel uncomfortable on a daily basis—you’re awesome. So puff out your chest and walk proud.
7. Go On a Media Diet
You’re either creating or you’re consuming. Neither one is necessarily good or bad, but each of us have a balance that makes our lives fulfilling.
Part of the reason we can start to feel overwhelmed, or like we need to make massive changes to our lives is because we’re blasted with news, hot takes, images, ads, and the list goes on.
Scrolling through social media feeds and mindlessly watching basketball highlights (don’t ask us how we know) can feel relaxing in the moment, but you can also over-do it.
Instead, try limiting the amount of digital media you’re consuming.
The less time you spend consuming, the more time you’ll spend building and creating. Whether that’s building a better relationship with your partner, creating a business, or crafting a stronger body.
Humans have a drive to create. Don’t ignore yours.
Which Hack Will You Use?
You’ve probably noticed, but many of these hacks go together.
Pay yourself first (hack #2) and start an investment portfolio (hack #1). Spend more time creating (hack #7) by waking up early (hack #3) and building the business you’ve always wanted.
The next time your friends see you, they’ll be surprised at how good you look (hack #3, #5, #6).
And for more ideas, check out our mega write-up on How to Get Your Life Together: 20 No BS Tips for Men.
So whether you’re ready to become the next big real estate mogul or you want to spend a more meaningful time with your family, with a little effort, these hacks will get you closer to the life you want.
FAQs
What are the best life hacks?
The best life hacks are simple changes you can make that, if you stick with them, will change your life forever. Using compound interest, mastering mindset, cutting out media, dressing well, and standing straight will all make you a stronger person.
What is a lifestyle hack?
A lifestyle hack is a small, simple change that dramatically makes your life easier or better.
