Ask Lemmy

Edit my forum questions to add the solution, if found.

This one might seem to be a bit silly, but for the last few years I've made my girlfriend's breakfast every day and she's packed my lunch.

She has a hard time getting up, so it helps her to have a fresh coffee and whatnot ready for her. She in turn makes my sandwich for lunch because even though I like eating it, I don't like touching the lunch meat.

So while we're doing the same amount of work, we're doing a job for each other that the other doesn't really enjoy. It also irrationality suggests tastes better, because it was made with the other person in mind, not as a chore we have to do for ourselves.

Take my cart from where people randomly left it or from the return and leave it in the store.

Tidy up my table and stack dishes when I eat out.

Park between the lines.

Put my cart on the side when shopping instead of leaving it in the middle of the aisle.

Pick up the dog poop other people don't.

Pull forward product if it is shoved into the back of the shelf.

Hold open doors.

Pick up stuff that people accidentally drop, especially if they have kids or are elderly.

Leave intersections clear.

Let people merge.

Not park on the street when it snows.

Be polite to anyone working public facing, no matter how bad my mood is.

Take my meds.

Teach my kids to respect rules, even the ones that seem dumb.

Keep my dog leashed when not in a designated area.

Leave accurate and fair reviews.

Return ebooks early if someone is waiting.

Use my turn signal BEFORE slowing down.

I actually document my software.

I let people merge.

When I see someone doing something selfish, I assume they are having a bad day and give them grace rather than assume they are an asshole and try to teach them a lesson.

Live and let live.

I pick up after myself and don't just leave trash around because it's "someone's job."

When I go to the grocery store, I grab my shopping cart from the outside corrals instead of from inside. That way it's one less the employee has to take back in.

Bonus: I'll also always put the cart in the stack of the same kind when I put it back - a lot of places have various-sized carts and most people just shove them in there haphazardly.

I've found most people who have worked retail tend to do little helpful things like that without even thinking about it.

I have a very small car so I make sure to park toward the end of the parking spot so people don't pull half way in before realizing it is occupied. Your welcome.

Pick up litter when I come across small amounts of it.

I'm really only good at one thing, that is designing and developing software. So I try to make all my personal stuff open source, so others can benefit from it too.

I take out my neighbors’ garbage cans. It’s a collective home with a unique living situation and nobody really seems in charge of the house itself, including taking the trash to the curb. Since I gotta take mine anyway and they’re all in a shared alley, might as well do something nice for people who might need a hand.

That, and I’m trying to keep bugs and rodents at bay. So it’s not entirely selfless…

We have a pool of vehicles at work and I always reverse them into a bay when I put them back so the next guy can just drive out forwards.

I volunteer my time to tutor high school and college students in chemistry, biology, math and physics. Thousands of students tutored for free.

I am currently working on creating more tutoring videos and a tutoring blog as well as other science resources. i.e discussing current events in science

Despite being disabled from a broken neck and still riding a bicycle in the evenings for physical therapy (because disability is complicated), if you are on the side of the road or bike trail having problems with a bike, I'll still at least ask you if you need help, and I will fix almost anything you are having trouble with if asked. What I won't tell you is how much holding posture hurts and how helping you will cost me a few days of extra pain. I've been there and know how frustrating it is to get stranded over something silly and shit happens. I always have layers of backup redundancy on the bike to cover almost any situation.

Leave facilities as I found them and clean up after myself. It’s a slightly OCD thing in that it bothers me not to, but more from a sense of social obligation rather than preserving order.

Pick up plastic trash on the street. I walk/take transit and if I: 1) see plastic trash, and 2) see a trash can nearby; I pick it up and dispose of it.

Whenever it snows enough to need it, I will run my snowblower up & down the whole sidewalk along my side of the street, and will clear the snow off my elderly neighbors' driveway aprons for them. They always offer to pay me for my time, effort or gas but I won't have any of it. It doesn't snow that much here that often anymore, so it's a treat for me to break out the heavy machinery when it does. Might as well make it worth my time to bust it out, right?

Last time, someone left a bottle of nice bourbon in a gift bag on my front porch the next day.

I regularly shower.

I let people on and off the highway.

Contribute to FOSS software.

I compliment people when they are good at their job. Or that they make a solid effort.

I give a list of generic opt-out excuses when I invite people to an event. That way, if it doesnt sound fun to them, they just pick an excuse off the list instead of trying to make one up and potentionally seem rude.

Its simple, but surprisingly effective for staying on people's good side.

Mentor children.

It only takes about an hour a week and once you establish a relationship with them you just bring them along when you are doing something fun anyway. You feel a sense of purpose and they fare better in nearly every measurable statistic of emotional well being and academic success. Men in particular are needed to mentor young men and can have the greatest impact. Many organization will match you with a kid who has your same interests too so you're just doing stuff you both like. I really can't recommend it enough.

At the gym I often sort the plates on the racks I take minr from (not only mine).

I do it mostly out of selfishness, since it bothers me a lot when they're not sorted, but hey.

Whenever I come across a person in one of those driving school vehicles, I take my time to be extra nice to them and helping them a bit in a way.

Stay out of ‘em.

When someone parks like a complete asshole with a spot open on their driver’s side, I park like an asshole right up next to them so they have to get in another way. This teaches them not to park like an asshole so they don’t bother others.

Open source

If someone looks like wanting some help, and I'm able+willing to help, I ask the person "do you want help?" before touching whatever they're doing. Because a good part of making the others' lives easier is not making it harder; and if I were to screw shit up with my "GoOd InTeNsHuNs" + assumptions/idiocy, I'd certainly make it harder.

public restrooms. I always leave them better than I found them. I clean everything. So the next person that goes in there after me is greeted by a a nice clean bathroom and doesn't see what I saw when I walked in there.

In the USA, at most intersections you are allowed to make a right-hand turn at a red light.

If I am in the right lane and approaching a red light, I will move over to the left lane (even if this means I’m now behind other cars) to allow anyone behind me who might want to turn right to make that turn.

I try to make sure at least mine and a few other shopping carts are nested at those return spots, so there's room for the next person.

Show them kindness. World's messed up enough adding social stress on top just makes people's lives harder. That's not to say that I'll not call a dickhead a dickhead or point out inaccuracies or the like but, really, being an asshole doesn't help to make the world a better place.

Sometimes I hotlink photos or links on Lemmy.

I always appreciate it when other people do that on here to help explain or visualize things, or just give easier access to the source, so I try to do it to when I can.

Share my talents, knowledge, and time freely. You got an IT problem? I gotchu. Need furniture moved? I gotchu. Want advice on buying a coffee grinder? I'll talk your ear off.