Slight off-topic, but what improved my life was buying good quality products. For instance, I used to use a cheap $2 nail clipper from the drug store. Now I use a Seki nail clipper imported from Japan. Sure it's 10-15x more expensive, but it's largely worth it. I've found that for items that you're going to use for decades, often it's worth it to spend a premium for higher-quality ones.
Sort of along the same lines and, funny enough, also related to nail clippers… Don’t be afraid to step back and find a new approach. Just because there’s a specialized thing for that problem doesn’t mean that’s the _only_ way to tackle it.
I tried a number of pairs of nail clippers but apparently have particularly _robust_ toe nails. I finally got fed up one day and grabbed some small end cutters out of my tool kit and… haven’t used nail clippers for that job since.
Similarly, I’ve been through a number of office scissors over time. After some time and abuse by the family, they’d often end up dull, bent, sticky, with broken handles, etc. At some point I replaced them with some cheap kitchen shears (like $20). They weren’t a lot more expensive, but they’re entirely stainless including the handles, much more robust, and easily slip apart to be cleaned or sharpened. Haven’t bought another pair of scissors since. Or sharpened them.
Sometimes I find myself using a particular thing out of tradition more than any sort of critical evaluation. When a product’s not solving my problem well, trying to find a solution to the problem instead of a specific product has served me well.
Slight off-topic, but what improved my life was buying good quality products. For instance, I used to use a cheap $2 nail clipper from the drug store. Now I use a Seki nail clipper imported from Japan. Sure it's 10-15x more expensive, but it's largely worth it. I've found that for items that you're going to use for decades, often it's worth it to spend a premium for higher-quality ones.
Sort of along the same lines and, funny enough, also related to nail clippers… Don’t be afraid to step back and find a new approach. Just because there’s a specialized thing for that problem doesn’t mean that’s the _only_ way to tackle it.
I tried a number of pairs of nail clippers but apparently have particularly _robust_ toe nails. I finally got fed up one day and grabbed some small end cutters out of my tool kit and… haven’t used nail clippers for that job since.
Similarly, I’ve been through a number of office scissors over time. After some time and abuse by the family, they’d often end up dull, bent, sticky, with broken handles, etc. At some point I replaced them with some cheap kitchen shears (like $20). They weren’t a lot more expensive, but they’re entirely stainless including the handles, much more robust, and easily slip apart to be cleaned or sharpened. Haven’t bought another pair of scissors since. Or sharpened them.
Sometimes I find myself using a particular thing out of tradition more than any sort of critical evaluation. When a product’s not solving my problem well, trying to find a solution to the problem instead of a specific product has served me well.
Left handed scissors for a left handed person are amazing.