Lifehacks

306 Articles

Reason Versus Sentimental Attachment For Old Projects

December 5, 2025 by 4 Comments

We have probably all been there: digging through boxes full of old boards for projects and related parts. Often it’s not because we’re interested in the contents of said box, but because we found ourselves wondering why in the name of project management we have so many boxes of various descriptions kicking about. This is the topic of [Joe Barnard]’s recent video on his BPS.shorts YouTube channel, as he goes through box after box of stuff.

For some of the ‘trash’ the answer is pretty simple; such as the old rocket that’s not too complex and can have its electronics removed and the basic tube tossed, which at least will reduce the volume of ‘stuff’. Then there are the boxes with old projects, each of which are tangible reminders of milestones, setbacks, friendships, and so on. Sentimental stuff, basically.

Some rules exist for safety that make at least one part obvious, and that is that every single Li-ion battery gets removed when it’s not in use, with said battery stored in its own fire-resistant box. That then still leaves box after box full of parts and components that were ordered for projects once, but not fully used up. Do you keep all of it, just in case it will be needed again Some Day™? The same issue with boxes full of expensive cut-off cable, rare and less rare connectors, etc.

One escape clause is of course that you can always sell things rather than just tossing it, assuming it’s valuable enough. In the case of [Joe] many have watched his videos and would love to own a piece of said history, but this is not an option open to most. Leaving the question of whether gritting one’s teeth and simply tossing the ‘value-less’ sentimental stuff and cheap components is the way to go.

Although there is always the option of renting storage somewhere, this feels like a cheat, and will likely only result in the volume of ‘stuff’ expanding to fill the void. Ultimately [Joe] is basically begging his viewers to help him to solve this conundrum, even as many of them and our own captive audience are likely struggling with a similar problem. Where is the path to enlightenment here?

Continue reading “Reason Versus Sentimental Attachment For Old Projects” →

A hand holds a charcoal-colored rectangle with a black and white screen in taking up most of its face. A bulleted list of items are displayed: "Start work on new blog, Update eSticky FW, Start working on eSticky PCB, New enclosure for eSticky, Buy 18650 battery, Buy 3DP extruder anycubic, FW Update Sigma 18-35."

ESticky Is A Paperless Post-It

August 23, 2025 by 21 Comments

E-paper screens have opened up a wide variety of novel use cases that just wouldn’t work with the higher power draw of an LCD. [gokux] thought it would be perfect for a digital sticky note.

Using a Waveshare 2.9″ e-paper display hooked up to a Seeed Studio XIAO ESP32C3, a battery, and a switch all inside the 3D printed enclosure, the part count on this is about as simple as it gets. Once everything is soldered together and programmed, you get a nifty little display that can hold some of your thoughts without having to reopen an app to get to them.

Access is currently provided via a web page, and there are a few minor hiccups like text alignment and image upload support. This project is open source, so [gokux] has expressed interest in anyone wanting to help refine the concept. We think it might be nice to add a magnet on the back for an easier way to actually stick to things.

If you prefer a different way to use electricity for a sticky note, why not do it at 2,000 V? If that’s not your jam, how about a plotter that writes your label or message on masking tape?

Continue reading “ESticky Is A Paperless Post-It” →

Can A Thermal Printer Cure ADHD?

August 6, 2025 by 34 Comments

No, of course not. Per Betteridge’s law, that’s the answer to any headline with a question mark. On the other hand, while a thermal printer might not cure ADHD, it can help treat it — according to [Laurie Hérault], to the point of curing his procrastination habit. Even if you don’t have ADHD, you probably do procrastinate sometimes, so this hack is worth a look.

The printer itself is a key hardware portion of the hack, but the hack itself is purely organizational. [Laurie] started with post-its before adding automation. Before the post-it notes came a simple realization: [Laurie] could sit and play games for hours, but not buckle down for serious work for more than a few minutes, if he could even get started. (Who can’t relate?) That sent him down a rabbit hole reading about the psychology of what makes games so addictive — and the idea of “gamification” that was so popular in educational circles not long ago.

Unlike work, games give you a loop of unambiguous, instant, and continuous feedback to pump your dopamine circuits. [Laurie] uses the example of an FPS. You aim, you shoot — and either you miss, or you hit the target. Either way, there’s feedback. When you hit, your brain gives you dopamine. This fast loop of input -> feedback is what [Laurie] felt he was missing from his day.

Continue reading “Can A Thermal Printer Cure ADHD?” →

Prusa Mini with endoscope nozzle cam and pip preview

Prusa Mini Nozzle Cam On The Cheap

May 2, 2025 by 2 Comments

Let me throw in a curveball—watching your 3D print fail in real-time is so much more satisfying when you have a crisp, up-close view of the nozzle drama. That’s exactly what [Mellow Labs] delivers in his latest DIY video: transforming a generic HD endoscope camera into a purpose-built nozzle cam for the Prusa Mini. The hack blends absurd simplicity with delightful nerdy precision, and comes with a full walkthrough, a printable mount, and just enough bad advice to make it interesting. It’s a must-see for any maker who enjoys solder fumes with their spaghetti monsters.

What makes this build uniquely brilliant is the repurposing of a common USB endoscope camera—a tool normally reserved for inspecting pipes or internal combustion engines. Instead, it’s now spying on molten plastic. The camera gets ripped from its aluminium tomb, upgraded with custom-salvaged LEDs (harvested straight from a dismembered bulb), then wrapped in makeshift heat-shrink and mounted on a custom PETG bracket. [Mellow Labs] even micro-solders in a custom connector just so the camera can be detached post-print. The mount is parametric, thanks to a community contribution.

This is exactly the sort of hacking to love—clever, scrappy, informative, and full of personality. For the tinkerers among us who like their camera mounts hot and their resistor math hotter, this build is a weekend well spent.

Continue reading “Prusa Mini Nozzle Cam On The Cheap” →

An ESP32 Pomodoro Timer

March 29, 2025 by 15 Comments

The Pomdoro technique of time management has moved on a little from the tomato-shaped kitchen timer which gave it a name, as [Rukenshia] shows us with this nifty ESP32 and e-paper design. It’s relatively simple in hardware terms, being a collection of off-the-shelf modules in a 3D printed case, but the software has a custom interface for the friend it was built for.

At its heart is a NodeMCU board and a Waveshare display module, with a rotary encoder and addressable LED as further interface components. A lot of attention has been paid to the different options for the interface, and to make the front end displayed on the screen as friendly and useful as possible. Power comes via USB-C, something that should be available in most working environments here in 2025.

We’ve tried a variant on this technique for a while now with varying success, maybe because a mobile phone doesn’t make for as good a timer as a dedicated piece of hardware such as this. Perhaps we should follow this example. If we did, the Hackaday timer couldn’t possibly use an ESP32.

Toot-B-Gone, With The FartMaster 3000

January 7, 2025 by 19 Comments

Face it, we’ve all been there, in a crowded workshop building something, and horror of horrors, things are going to get a little… windy. Do you try to drop it quietly and hope nobody says the rhyme, do you bolt for the door, or can you tough it out and hold it in? Never fear, because [Roman_2798881] has got your back, with the FartMaster 3000.

No doubt born of urgent necessity, it’s a discreet wall-mounted fixture for a shop vac line which allows a casual activation of the shopvac as if some sawdust needed removing, and backing up for a safe disposal of any noxious clouds under cover of the vacuum’s whirring.

We have to admit, this one gave us something of a chuckle when we saw it in the Printables feed, but on closer inspection it’s a real device that by our observation could have been useful in more than one hackerspace of our acquaintance. There’s a square funnel in front of a piece of ducting, with a rotary valve to divert the vacuum in an appropriate direction to conceal the evidence.

Then simply turn it back to straight through, vac your pretend sawdust, and nobody’s the wiser. Unless of course, you also integrated a fart-o-meter.

The TimeChi Never Shipped, But You Can Build One From Scratch

December 26, 2024 by 6 Comments

What do you do when a crowdfunded product you really liked gets cancelled? Naturally, you take the idea and build your own version of it. That’s what [Salim Benbouziyane] did when the TimeChi project on Kickstarter saw its launch cut short. This device allows you to set a ‘no distractions’ timer, during which notifications on one’s phone and elsewhere are disabled, making it something similar to those Pomodoro timers. What this dial also is supposed to do is integrate with home automation to set up clear ‘focus’ periods while the timer runs.

A quick prototype of the newly minted Focus Dial project was set up using an ESP32 and other off-the-shelf components. The firmware has to run the timer, toggle off notifications on iOS and trigger firewall traffic rules to block a batch of social media addresses. Automating this with iOS was the hardest part, as Apple doesn’t make such automation features easy at all, ultimately requiring a Bluetooth audio board just to make iOS happy.

After this prototyping phase, the enclosure and assembly with the modules were drawn up in Autodesk Fusion 360 before the plastic parts were printed with a resin printer. The end result looks about as good as the Kickstarter one did, but with a few changes, because as [Salim] notes, if you are going to DIY such a failed crowdfunding project, why not make it work better for you?

Continue reading “The TimeChi Never Shipped, But You Can Build One From Scratch” →