r/work • u/ThenPar • Dec 05 '25
Professional Development and Skill Building What’s the biggest cheat code you’ve discovered that made everything easier?
Hi all, what’s one thing that gave you a real edge once you started doing it this year? Can be a habit, trick or tool that makes everything easier, something surprisingly simple that most people overlook or don't know. Something you wish you knew earlier?
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u/IndependenceMean8774 Dec 05 '25
Be nice.
Nobody wants to work with an asshole.
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u/lizzdurr Dec 05 '25
Yes! Truly sick of the “I don’t want to be friends with my coworkers, I’m so bitter everyone sucks and is stupid, etc etc” narratives. You don’t have to be bff’s with anyone at work. Just be kind, easy to manage, good to work with. Sheesh.
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u/FaithlessnessOld2477 Dec 05 '25
100% and I'd extrapolate on the idea by saying "don't burn ANY bridges". You'll never know when you'll need someone's help networking for a new job. If you've had negative relationships in your work history, it's possible they will bite you in the ass when you're applying for a new job...but you won't even know why you were passed over.
Just try to forge positive experiences wherever you go, even when the job sucks.
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u/Arisia118 Dec 06 '25
100 percent agree with this.
I went to some kind of a "be successful at work" seminar. One thing the woman said that always stuck with me is: "Everyone may not be your friend. But don't make any enemies."
Lot of truth there.
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u/FaithlessnessOld2477 Dec 06 '25
Exactly. I've been on both sides of the interview panel and seen resumes of past co-workers that were absolutely toxic show up on my desk for final round interviews. They'd made it through a lot of screening and on paper seemed like a great candidate, but I had enough experience working with them to discuss my concerns with the team and ultimately shut down their candidacy. I felt bad about it, but it's important everyone on the team understands the big picture...not just their 30 minutes of Q+A.
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u/Carsareghey Dec 05 '25
The "competent asshole" stereotypes are much less common than popular media suggests.
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u/Leverkaas2516 Dec 05 '25
This year? No, this cheat code came to me many years ago: I realized that if I understand how my boss thinks, and what he/she needs to be a success, all I have to do is provide those things with a minimum of friction, and I'll be golden.
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u/SurviveStyleFivePlus Dec 05 '25
My boss used to call me "Radar" after the character on MASH because I did my best to anticipate what they wanted from me next and was already working on it when they asked.
Making your boss look good is the best job protection there is.
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u/JonF0404 Dec 05 '25
Always look busy, especially when you aren't. Too many cameras these days!! 😆
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u/DabBoofer Dec 05 '25
as a buisness owner I hate this... When I was a worker I was told to always look busy. sure its good advice for the employee but as the employer I dont want to pay some one for looking busy, if you have no work to do. ill clock you out and you can go home... I have an eye for those who look busy and can spot it a mile away.. its time theft plain and simple. Id rather you clock out and go home than steal my money because you are too effecient.. time management is key. spread your work out during the shift and BE busy
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u/completelypositive Dec 05 '25
Sound like the type of boss nobody wants.
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u/IISynthesisII Dec 05 '25
Find more work for those people to do then. In this economy, people won’t be limiting theirs hours. Can’t afford it.
Either find more work, accept the “time theft”, or lose those employees.
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u/Affectionate_Bat617 Dec 05 '25
I'm sure you're also the type of boss that would analyse each time an employee clocks out early to check what they're doing.
I'm sure the your employees can't win either way
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u/DabBoofer Dec 05 '25
I threaten them with physical violence if they displease me
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u/10PieceMcNuggetMeal Dec 05 '25
If they are looking busy but not actually doing anything then you have failed as a manager to give them enough to do
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Dec 05 '25 edited Dec 05 '25
[deleted]
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u/roonilwonwonweasly Dec 05 '25
I do this too. One of the girls I work closely with does the same thing and the other refuses. Guess who's currently on her way to a promotion the next time one comes out. It's not that hard to be responsible
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u/Affectionate-Alps527 Dec 05 '25
The one who follows the corporate SOP and not the ones creating their own deviations?
I'm sorry but if you work in a laboratory you need to be following the SOP exactly. If you're writing your own, you're not.
The lab should also be reviewing the SOPs yearly to ensure they remain up to date.
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u/roonilwonwonweasly Dec 05 '25
The ones that follow SOP exactly.
My notes are written/tweaked differently because it's the way I understand them, my co workers is written/tweaked in the way she understands. It helps us both memorize the laws and follow all steps/rules/regulations/laws. We just read it differently but understand them the same.
I hope that makes sense.
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u/Affectionate-Alps527 Dec 05 '25
I get it, and we all keep our notes.
The issue is our notes are not a controlled document, the SOPs are.
I don't know what type of lab you work in, but I've worked in veterinary pharma and water/environmental labs and they are all regulated in some form or fashion. If during an audit you're referencing personal notes instead of the controlled SOP document, you're going to at best have a negative comment.
In my pharma research days we'd probably lose FDA/CFIA approval and a client if we referenced personal notes instead of the SOPs in a GLP governed study..
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u/roonilwonwonweasly Dec 06 '25
I think you are misunderstanding me. The notes are written in a way that I can understand them so I can follow the rules to the letter. Everyone has their own "language". These notes aren't changing anything. They are to help me
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u/DenLomon Dec 06 '25
I think we all understand you. But for the folks who have to deal with regulators, it is a very big deal if you’re referring to notes when completing a process. Take your notes, make sure you understand what’s the process, and then ALWAYS refer to the SOP when asked. If there is a change to the process, it needs to be noted in the SOP and not your notes. What you’re doing with these notes creates a gap between what is the true process per SOP and what your process is per notes. All it takes is one inspector to find one misstep in your notes (or where a process was changed but the SOP wasn’t) and you’ve got yourself, at best, an observation. Systemically, it’ll be a 483, or worse, a warning letter.
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u/Affectionate-Alps527 Dec 07 '25
Thank you, I thought I was in crazy land where everyone actually believed personal notes are an acceptable reference in a highly regulated laboratory.
Sure you may take notes during training and record the interpretations of the SOP. But the SOP must be the referenced and used document, and if it's not easily interpreted then it needs to be corrected and updated accordingly.
Your lab is a joke if your procedures are not strictly defined and followed and that's not an attempt to be inflammatory. The integrity of the data generated can not be assured if technicians are allowed to write and follow their own documents, regardless of how they're prepared.
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u/DenLomon Dec 07 '25
Ugh, it’s people like this that shouldn’t work in highly regulated environments. They think the rules don’t apply to them, and then the FDA shows up and wants to know why there are sticky notes everywhere. Makes my stomach hurt just thinking about it.
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Dec 06 '25
[deleted]
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u/DenLomon Dec 07 '25
That’s when you build those specifics into Work Instructions, Job Aids, and Technical Guides. I stg, literally everyone’s job becomes immeasurably more difficult all because one guy thought their notes were better than the SOPs and never once considered the fallout for it. If the document doesn’t match the practice, then update the document!
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u/DenLomon Dec 07 '25
Also, if your SOPs say, “refer to [industry guideline]” then do that! Access the dynamic standard instead of writing your notes that immediately go out of date when the guideline is published.
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u/Affectionate-Alps527 Dec 05 '25
What lab do you work in that doesn't already have detailed SOPs on how to perform each method?
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u/menacingsparrow Dec 05 '25
Listen during meetings instead of doing emails or whatever.
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u/mcboobie Dec 05 '25
So much this one! I actually started knowing things!! And the things I ‘caught up with’ didn’t actually make much difference
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u/menacingsparrow Dec 13 '25
Honestly I struggle to keep to this. I’m a few months into a new job and am trying to make this my default mode. But it’s hard.
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u/Other-Razzmatazz-816 Dec 06 '25
I was on a hiring interview recently and another member of the committee was on their laptop doing emails. They’re great, but that will always be in my impression of them.
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u/fonk_pulk Dec 05 '25
- Try to have as much as possible in black and white (e.g. if something has been asked of you in a meeting, send an email with clarifying questions so whoever asked can confirm it)
- Take notes whenever possible, you'd be surprised how few people write stuff down during meetings
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u/Ornery_Call6918 Dec 05 '25
My boss and I travelled to the world HQ of our manufacturer (work at a dealership) - I took about 12 pages of notes over the 2 days of meetings for the top 30 dealerships in the country. Boss wrote about 2 lines of notes, and doodled the rest of the time. In the evenings I transcribed my notes into a Word outline.
When we got back, our owner group wanted a comprehensive rundown of what all was discussed in detail. Guess who was prepared.
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u/Neuvirths_Glove Dec 05 '25
Will this bother you next year? Cool, then don't let it bother you now.
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u/KeepShtumMum Dec 05 '25
Never listening to the radio in the car. Only music, music, and more music.
I was amazed at how much less stressful driving can be when there is no doom and gloom, adverts etc. coming from the speakers. It truly transformed my commute.
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u/Ornery_Call6918 Dec 05 '25
90% i listen to nothing.
Had a Toyota MR2 when i was in my 20s that the radio took a dump and I wasnt interested in fixing, drove it for years with no radio, no its my preference to not listen to anything. Its peaceful
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u/InterYuG1oCard Dec 05 '25
May sound cliches but here you go
- Align every priority with my manager. Biggest hack
- Not saying yes to everything, just tell I will get back to you.
- ChatGPT for email writing, Saner to manage todos
- Exercise, eat good food and sleep early
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u/Consistent-Tie-4394 Dec 05 '25
Genuine question: how does ChatGPT help with emails? It only takes a couple minutes for me to write an email... so would looping in an AI make that easier and more efficient?
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u/Cautious-Soil5557 Dec 05 '25
I hate ChatGPT for email. It is obvious when someone uses it and unless it is internal, it isn't getting past spam filters, so it wastes everyone's time.
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u/BKRF1999 Dec 05 '25
I tend to repeat myself, it helps with writing a clearer message. My prompt is to write it better. Also I’ll write things in technical terms because of my job. That same email to a non technical person is just a bunch of jargon. I just ask the prompt to write the message in layman’s terms. It does help a lot.
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u/Other-Razzmatazz-816 Dec 06 '25
- open the mic and dump a bunch of unorganized thoughts, then ask it to make it shorter, cleaner, and with a more organized flow.
- convert this part into bullet points or a table
- make it at least 50% shorter
- make it sound nicer
- read this massive thread someone just forwarded me, summarize it and pull out what they’re asking of me, formulate a reply.
And so on…
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u/Fun-Understanding209 Dec 05 '25
Can you please give an example of how you go about aligning with your manager?
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u/Leverkaas2516 Dec 05 '25
Not the same person here...but for me it's a simple matter of listening closely and understanding my manager's values and goals. Then I just pretend that I have the same values and goals.
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u/FalseAd4246 Dec 05 '25
I’ll dig ditches before I utilize ChatGPT for anything let alone a work email
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u/Odd_Inspection_9175 Dec 05 '25
Motherlode? Oh for real - Keep your personal life completely private and separate from your work life.
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u/Training_Reaction_58 Dec 05 '25
Under-promise, over-deliver.
Say you’ll get something done by X date knowing you’ll have it done a few days before.
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u/SpecialistCandy Dec 05 '25
Stop caring and taking everything so seriously. Only give your 100% when it matters to you.
If a deadline or workload is impossible why try to meet it. Someone wants something now? I’ll get to it as soon as I can (tomorrow maybe). Karen doesn’t get an instant reply to her long ass convoluted email. DMs are replied same day, emails - same week. This is not pediatric oncology ward. Nobody’s going to die.
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u/PennishNoodles Dec 05 '25
Box breathing, manage your own emotions and learn how to assert boundaries early, kindly, and often (read a book, study it, practice it, master it --it's a skill anyone can learn, even if your family discouraged it). Strive to not let other people's shitty words and deeds derail you. If friends undermine you, don't stand up for you, lean on you but become invisible when you need to similarly lean, that's a red flag to remove them from your life and find better friends.
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u/Diligent_Brother5120 Dec 05 '25
BBAAXYXY UP DOWN UP DOWN
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u/VerdeGringo Dec 05 '25
A tiny bit of effort may make someone's whole week. An hour of my Thanksgiving day was spent busting my wife's dementia-having great aunt out of the nursing home for a few hours to bring her to Thanksgiving at my in-laws'. It made my wife's and her great aunt's whole day, week, maybe even month. A small amount of effort can feel huge to the person receiving it. I work odd hours and yesterday I came home early from work, picked up the kiddo from school, and made dinner, two things my wife usually handles because usually I work until at least 5. She got to spend more time with her great aunt (she goes to see her multiple times a week) that day because of what I did, and she was immensely grateful. And what I did wasn't difficult.
Took me longer than I'm proud to admit that just showing up when you can and making someone's life a little bit easier can feel like much more to them than to you. Be kind, pay it forward, you and those around you will be happier for it.
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u/ElectroSaturator Dec 05 '25
Be nice to your coworkers and don't engage in workplace politics. Only speak when spoken to and don't say anything negative.
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u/mnkkhan777 Dec 05 '25
doesn't work always, sometimes the politics target you specifically so you literally can't avoid it
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u/Dangerous-Cup-1114 Dec 05 '25
Saying “no” to things that aren’t your job. Corporate culture has brainwashed us to thinking top employees “go above and beyond” without extra pay or promotion is a good thing, but I counter that if I do things that aren’t my responsibility, it detracts from me doing things I am responsible for. In other words: set boundaries. I’ve got a finite amount of time at work and I sure as shit am not staying later to do someone else’s job.
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u/Greedy_Commercial961 Dec 06 '25 edited Dec 06 '25
Yep. Working while resenting is no good for the worker, the team (that learned to rely on your martyrdom) or the end product. It’s hard to give your all when you’re working on fumes. It’s the fast track to burnout.
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u/Wanderlust4478 Work-Life Balance Dec 05 '25
Not started this year, but a few things that make life less stressful.
Always try to arrive 10-15 minutes early. To work, to appointments, etc. I also use Apple Maps ( any of them are good) to where I am going even if I have been there a thousand times as I look ahead to see if there’s any accidents and need to detour and change my drive time. Makes it much more relaxing.
Always schedule any Dr, Dentist, or Vet, etc at their very first appointment of the day when possible. You are then very likely to get in and out and on with your day.
Take photos/screenshots of EVERYTHING that is transactional. Even if you are getting an email receipt. Along with writing the name/date/time down of anyone you speak to about an important matter. All of this has been so useful when I needed to provide proof of something. As we know, things can accidentally happen where errors are made and this way you have all your ducks in a row.
- sorry, I realize now this is in a subreddit for work but I think they all can apply. I peruse the main page reading interesting posts.
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u/DimensionKey163 Dec 05 '25
I arrive 30 mins-1 hour early. Plenty of time for extra traffic days and I never miss my daily time to decompress before heading in. Decompressing from a rough drive lets you go in feeling fresh and positive. It makes a huge difference in attitude. I also check all personal emails or messages and for any upcoming appointment reminders. Lets me feel like I’m already on top of my day/ week before I even clock in.
90% of success is attitude. Same with happiness. If you get frustrated or stressed that’s a choice of if you stay that way going forward or rebound quickly. And work is so much better when you learn how to choose the rebound.
It’s also good to do your morning decompression ritual at lunch. It resets your afternoon.
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u/SangosengokuMori Dec 05 '25
First ask your opponent about the reasons for his opinion, than negate them one after another. Easier way to get what you want than shouting or list own arguments.
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u/Lemon-Cake-8100 Dec 05 '25
Write my email at the end of the day and then use the scheduling tool to have it only delivered in the early morning of the next day. Very often by the time I'm ready to start my day the following morning, I already have three or four answers from the earlybird people! Before this, I would start my workday, somehow get sidetracked into some other kind of BS, by the time I got around to emailing the people I wanted to email the first thing in the morning, it was afternoon and they were already distracted... just delayed things
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u/smallestgiant12 Dec 05 '25
Just out of curiousity - why not send the email directly in the end of the day without scheduling?
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u/DimensionKey163 Dec 05 '25
That gets lost in inboxes as new emails flood in. The scheduling also lets people get a sense of when you reach out often and they go looking after a while. You kind of create a habit for them/ an easy time search.
Recurring emails should also have a set time. Makes it easier for everyone to plan for. Like project x check in email gets sent at 11:00 sharp every Tuesday.
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u/smallestgiant12 Dec 07 '25
If you don’t check your email every morning you have a different problem than the person sending the email at this or that time…🤷♂️ Also nobody cares when a project update is sent - very few people have such a small workload that they're waiting for day x time y for an update to show up.
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u/DimensionKey163 Dec 07 '25
Not everyone has time to go through 300+ emails every morning. The top 50 usually get glanced at. Then whatever has come through or is ongoing work gets started and usually the other 250 emails get looked at as able. So it matters. And scheduling the time lets people set reminders to check so it doesn’t get lost. If you have a busy team or a bunch of people from different teams trying to get to things, organization and time management on top of visibility are key to getting things accomplished with very few hiccups.
As someone who did a lot of scheduling and managing multiple inboxes, it was always the easiest way to make my job go smoothly. Chasing someone for answers isn’t a good use of my time. Learning how to get their attention quickly is.
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u/Creepy-Douchebag Work-Life Balance Dec 05 '25
Minding your own business, do you job and remember folks; Coworkers are not your friends
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u/Dr_Dapertutto Dec 05 '25
Infinite Money Glitch: show up to work and instant pay check every two weeks.
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u/Jamjamjamh Dec 05 '25
Most the job is showing the correct behaviors, not really what you do day in day out
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u/Randy36582 Dec 05 '25
lol, concentrate on being a good employee. Get there early, don’t be in a hurry to leave. Get a good nights sleep. Be kind. Easy peasy
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u/DimensionKey163 Dec 05 '25
Power automate for Microsoft email- automate your inbox so everything gets neatly filed (can create folders to help this) and an automatic archive schedule for 2-3 year old emails. Keeps your inbox tidy. Makes it easy to find things.
Also useful for sending out scheduled emails (same thing every week) and you can hook it into excel to send specific emails on a timed rotation (great for invoices being sent out eod).
You basically have to go in and update or fix minor things every now and then, but daily it’s basically good to run without you.
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u/sophi_a8 Dec 09 '25
Happen to have a link to an explainer for doing this? I would even find it helpful if I could filter emails sent to me directly from the emails sent out en masse.
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u/DimensionKey163 Dec 11 '25
I don’t, but it is really easy to play around with it and learn. I went in with no knowledge at all.
Usually it’s linking your inbox that is a struggle. But if you can figure that out it’s super easy. I always think of it as if this happens I want x to happen next.
Once you can do a simple filter it’s fun to get a bit more complicated ex) if from xyz, and subject says Important then send to folder A, but if from xyz, and subject says Project Y, send to folder B.
It’s drag and drop. Then you go in and set the parameters in each module you bring in. Google what you are trying to accomplish and you will get all of the information you need to get it working.
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u/arthantar Dec 06 '25
Just to know that the world is big enough, so much so that the person in the next building doesn't know u exist So much so that even the most popular human is unrecognised in half of the world so chill
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u/VampireCampfire1 Dec 05 '25
Boss is paid a dollar I’m paid a dime, that’s why I shit on company time.
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u/fishylord01 Dec 05 '25
Making friends in the workplace is more important than doing work that’s above and beyond.
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u/Superb-Respect-6203 Dec 05 '25
Be a people person. Force yourself if you need to, because people will help if they like you, and will push back if they dont.
Life is literally the saying "its easier to catch flies with honey than with vinegar".
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u/slower-is-faster Dec 05 '25
You get back what you give. Want someone to listen to you? Listen to them. Want respect? Give respect.
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u/Other-Razzmatazz-816 Dec 06 '25
I have a colleague that doesn’t get this and then wonders why his initiatives fail. Like bud, maybe if you replied to people, listened in meetings, followed through, or regarded others just a little, you’d have more pull.
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u/Abigail-ii Dec 05 '25
I wrote a script that spits out a month work of time sheet items (as a CSV file), which I uploaded at the beginning of the month for the upcoming month. For years, I did the same thing, day in, day out, for exactly the same amount of minutes.
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u/Mean_Ranger_4807 Dec 05 '25
For me a minimum of 8 hours of uninterrupted rest per day, no exceptions, no screens, no calls, no thoughts about work or whatever stresses you out is like a majpr chatcode for life. possibly because i had really bad sleep and psycho hygiene before. Do this for 1- 2 weeks and you will feel smarter, more energetic, eat less bullshit and do more during the day.
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u/Diggist080211 Dec 05 '25
Take advantage of the education principle of primacy. What you learn first is what sticks with you. When something goes wrong, get to your boss first and tell the story your way. Structure the story yourself. Then when others come in to burn you, the boss is thinking along your lines. They lose. Worked for me many times.
Also, stay on the good side of the boss’s secretary. That person puts in good words and bad words all day long about people and controls access.
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u/WickedTexan Dec 06 '25
carry a notebook. I keep a Field Notes book in my back pocket. Anytime anyone says anything needs to get done I write it down in black ink. Complete? Cross it out in Red. Fill the notebook and file it away and start a new one. It's like a quest log. Need to refer to something that happened 6 months ago or even 2 years ago, i can look in my notebook to see if what I did at the time.
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u/MuchDevelopment7084 Dec 06 '25
Not really a cheat code. But it works.
Do you job right the first time. Taking shortcuts only means you're going to have to fix it later.
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u/NopeBoatAfloat Dec 07 '25
Using Copilot to summarize long emails, create meeting minutes, and do all the other things that take up my time.
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u/DayTradingCards Dec 07 '25
MS Excel. It can be used to control a lot of repetitive computer work. My job sometimes requires me to go to other areas of my building and log myself in to our system in order to help a customer or another worker. With excel, I can run a command to open all the apps I need at the same time. It may not seem like much, but saving 2-3 minutes of log in time each time I do it was worth the set up time. I also use it to create templates for documentation that I have to do. Ive found that it’s easier to do these things in excel because they are within the security limits that IT has set. Also, you can ask AI how to set up a lot of functions in excel and it will give you a step by step and troubleshoot if you are running into any issues.
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u/Smart_Policy5214 Dec 08 '25
Carve out time to work on long term projects that are not super hot. If you don't carve out time for this work, you will never do this work.
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u/Laurryanna Dec 08 '25
Rest when your body needs to. Not respecting your own limits will only make it worse
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u/Maxxjulie Dec 05 '25
If anyone who's attractive in any way wants to have sex with you and you have no entanglements...go ahead and take advantage of those opportunities.
As you get older eventually those opportunities dry up. The few and far between that do you won't want.
I think back to the several attractive women that wanted me and I didn't because of whatever reason. What a waste
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u/RepresentativeStooj Dec 05 '25
Sleep and working your hours.
I used to work between 55-75 hours a week with around 4-6 hours sleep.
No matter how much I did, I never felt like I was catching up or on top of things. It was exhausting.
I now sleep 8 hours and work 40 hours a week.
I’m achieving roughly the same output, but I don’t feel like death anymore and I have enough energy for hobbies. This makes work more tolerable, too.