There are two kinds of people in this world: those who just plod through any given task, diligently putting one foot in front of the other, and those for whom the lingering question always remains: “There must be a better way to do this.” Previously, the latter group might have been called procrastinators, but nowadays we have a new name: lifehackers. These people are the tweakers, the nudgers, and the modifiers, always looking for some tool, some trick, some hack that will make everyday tasks just a little bit easier.

This book is the book for them. In it, Trapani provides the details of “88 tricks to turbocharge your day.” By this, it’s meant that there are 88 different, small hacks that you can use to help make yourself a more efficient person, using the simple desktop technologies available to most of us, as well as a few pen-and-paper and mobile phone hacks. Readers can choose to tackle each hack, and become the most efficient computer user ever, or pick and choose those that would be most helpful.

Each hack is laid out clearly, including “Level,” “Platform,” and “Cost up front,” followed by a step-by-step walkthrough of how to accomplish it. The chapters are divided nicely: they start with the simple sorts of hacks that might be useful to those who find themselves regularly getting bogged down in the details, starting with getting into your mindspace and clearing it out (chapters 1 and 2, “Free Up Mental RAM” and “Firewall Your Attention”), in preparation for the next level of organization (chapters 3 and 4, “Automate Repetitive Tasks” and “Streamline Common Tasks”).

In the later chapters, Trapani tackles the more advanced hacks. By advanced, I do not mean technically advanced; these are hacks that could take you to the next level of efficiency: “Get Your Data to Go” (chapter 5), “Control Your Email” (chapter 6), and “Organize Your Stuff” (chapter 7).

In the final chapters, you learn how to move into overdrive, with “Kickstart Your Productivity” (chapter 8) and “Master the Web” (chapter 9). The very brave might tackle the final chapter: “Tune Your Computer.”

There is both a Web site for the book (www.lifehackerbook.com), as well as an ongoing Lifehacker blog (www.lifehacker.com), where more tricks are being revealed every day. It’s unclear whether an actual book is really needed, since the hacks themselves are available online; however, the book does provide a nice compendium of the best hacks at the time it was written.