20 tips and hacks to make your life better in 2018

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Whether its science-backed strategies or feel-good platitudes, we all need some extra motivation when it comes to our New Year's resolutions.

To get you closer to your goals this year, we combed through popular Reddit and Quora threads to create this list of hacks that people swear by, along with a few of our own.

From life-changing habits to simple tricks for your iPhone, here are 20 tips that could help you improve and transform your life in 2018.

Complete your hardest task first.

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Procrastination is a hard habit to kick, but learning how to "front-load your pain," as Reddit user ParallaxBrew puts it, can be a great place to start: "That thing you feel crappy about? That thing you're dreading? That is exactly the thing you need to do [...] You know you're going to end up feeling like s--- if you procrastinate anyway [...] [so] you might as well take the action that will improve your life."

As Reddit user  RevMen suggests, "practice choosing discomfort" whenever you're faced with a daunting task or tough decision, and it'll become easier over time.

If you're about to buy something you don't need, imagine the item in one hand and the money you would spend in the other.

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This visualization exercise by Reddit user Willwait can help you figure out which one you'd rather have — the item or the cash — and cut down on impulse purchases. You can also try converting the item's cost into its value in time, according to Reddit user VerifiedMadgod. Just calculate how many hours you'd have to work in order to buy that item, and consider whether it's worth that amount of time.

Before you book an international flight, double-check your passport's expiration date.

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If you've never traveled overseas, you may not know about certain passport validity rules. For example, some countries require that your passport is valid for six months after your intended return date. Some countries also do not accept emergency passports. To make sure you don't lose a ton of money on flights, learn more about your destination, including passport validity requirements, on the US Department of State website.

To expedite the passport renewal process, you may also want to check out ItsEasy, an app that lets you get a new passport or visa without ever leaving your home.

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