Top five from the first hundred

Next week I'll review the top five tips from the first hundred. For now, let me know which were your favorites, and have an excellent Halloween.

Tip #95: "What questions do you have?"

Instead of "Do you have any questions?" ask "What questions do you have?" It lets people know that you expect them to have questions and encourage them to ask those questions. Assume that someone has one, and it's just a matter of drawing them out.

Tip #94: You can borrow people's dogs

If you like dogs but don't have one, and you want the fun of playing with a dog, borrow one from a friend. When you say "Hey, can I take your dog out to the park and run around and play with him?" people think you're doing them the favor.

Tip #93: When working with people on the east coast, make plans in Eastern time

People in the Central time zone think about time zones and are aware of planning around time differences. Many people in the Eastern time zone tend not to. If you're in Central, take responsibility for making sure you keep them straight.

Tip #92: It's okay to go to a psychologist

They aren't witch doctors, you'll likely feel better, it doesn't imply you're broken or crazy, and most people won't judge you for it.

Have positive experiences of your own? Sound off in the comments.

Tip #91: Use your partner's birthday as a password

In case it isn't obvious, don't use this for your ATM password; use something more secure for that. This is a good thing to do for a bike lock or your cell phone -- something people aren't likely to try to hack anyway.

The benefit is that by entering the date so often, you really commit it to memory. Having devices remind you of important dates is great, but you run the risk of making someone sad if the reminder fails.

Tip #90: Take notes while troubleshooting

When you're trying to solve a problem (I'm thinking about computer issues, but it could be anything), take notes. You'll be able to refer back to them if you forget things, and they'll be incredibly handy if you encounter a comparable problem later.

Tip #89: Use less water than recommended for dehydrated food

When you're reconstituting dried food, use less water than the instructions tell you to. You can always add more later, but many of them recommend enough to make the food soupier than you're likely to want.

Tip #88: Don't mail squares

The USPS machines that sort mail can't handle envelopes that are square, so they need to be hand sorted. You have to pay more for postage, and it can take longer to get there. Avoid getting square things to mail in the first place.

Tip #87: When you bring a new thing into your house, figure out where it goes

Anything that doesn't have a place where it's supposed to be is always going to be a mess. It can't not be.

Tip #86: At a stop light on a hill, don't stop too close to the car in front of you

If the car is a manual and the driver isn't that experienced, he might roll backward when he tries to start. If you can, leave a good half a car length so he doesn't hit you if this happens.

Tip #85: Keep an umbrella in your office

If it isn't raining in the morning you don't need to worry about whether it will be in the evening. If you have one to spare and have a car, keep one there too.

Tip #84: Don't tell people about trivial problems they can't fix

If someone has the tag sticking out of his shirt, let him know. It's easy to fix.

If there's a giant stain or he's wearing it inside out or something, consider whether he can do anything about it and whether you telling him will just make him more uncomfortable. It's quite possible that telling him will do more harm than good.

Tip #83: Don't pay for art by the hour

If you need to pay someone to do something artistic, negotiate a fair price for the job ahead of time. Don't agree to pay by the hour. Even if the artist has the best of intentions, it's too easy for the cost to get out of hand.

Tip #82: Use SeatGuru to choose your seat on the plane

Most airlines let you select your seat when you check in online. Based on the airline and aircraft you can pull up a map on SeatGuru. It'll show you seats that are bad for some reason -- cramped, loud, cold -- in ways the airline's own map never will.

Tip #81: Never vote on design elements

Deciding what something should look like -- what color it should be, its name, how it should be laid out -- is challenging. One key way to screw it up is to do it democratically.

If you need group buy in for something being designed, show the group the design while you're working on it and take input. Once the design is done, ask for a single vote to approve the design. If the vote fails, get more input, revise, and submit for approval again.

Avoid the trap of holding votes for individual elements of the design. Especially when there are a lot of options, you can easily get an incohesive design with elements selected by plurality. There is a reason people malign things as having been "designed by committee."

If you ever hear someone suggesting that you should hold a vote on what to name something, protest. Tell her that she should solicit suggestions and then make an executive decision.

Tip #80: Put lights on your bicycle

It isn't about you seeing other things. It's so drivers can see you. Lots of people don't pay much attention when they're driving, lots of people don't have good night vision, and lots of people aren't practiced at noticing bicycles. If you're in a car vs. bike accident, it doesn't matter if it's the driver's fault, you still have to suffer the consequences.

Tip #79: When you're camping, bring three flashlights

You should have two on you at all times (one to use, the other in case the first one fails). The third can stay in your bag. It's there in case one of the ones on you fails so you can replace it and still have two with you.