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The Manual

Every life skill, by area

150 free, step-by-step lessons in the skills school skips, in nine areas. Each area has one principle, a few numbered rules and a lesson for every skill.

The nine areas

Browse by topic
1 BodySleep, food, movement and looking after your health.16 lessons →2 MindAttention, emotions, habits and knowing when to ask for help.15 lessons →3 PeopleConversation, conflict, consent and working with others.17 lessons →4 MoneyBudgets, debt, taxes, saving and investing.17 lessons →5 SafetyCPR, choking, bleeding, fire, water and calling for help.17 lessons →6 InformationScams, AI, statistics and telling what is true.16 lessons →7 KitchenCooking real meals, safely, on a budget.17 lessons →8 HomeCleaning, laundry, repairs and emergencies at home.17 lessons →9 HandsKnots, tools, sewing and basic repairs.18 lessons →

Newest lessons

Added October 23, 2026 · RSS

The nine principles

One for each area

The Undertaught Principles are nine rules for the everyday skills that matter in real life, one for each area of the Manual. Each principle is split into smaller rules, and each smaller rule is taught by one or more lessons with the steps and the evidence behind them. Many of these skills get little or no time in a typical school timetable, so the Manual teaches them directly, at any age.

  1. 1Build your health with small daily habits, and check the risks you cannot feel.Body · 8 rules
  2. 2Train your attention and your emotions like any other skill, and get help early.Mind · 8 rules
  3. 3Build relationships on a few learnable habits: ask, listen, say what you mean and repair what you break.People · 7 rules
  4. 4Plan your money before you spend it, and make compound interest work for you, not against you.Money · 8 rules
  5. 5Learn what to do in the first minutes of an emergency, because you will often be there before help is.Safety · 8 rules
  6. 6Check where something came from before you trust it, pay for it or share it.Information · 7 rules
  7. 7Keep food safe, learn a few methods by heart, and plan before you shop.Kitchen · 8 rules
  8. 8Know your home's shutoffs, keep supplies and records ready before you need them, and do routine care safely.Home · 6 rules
  9. 9Learn the correct method for everyday jobs, because one small wrong step is often what makes a job fail.Hands · 8 rules
All 150 lessons as one list

1 Body

  1. 1.1 Washing your hands properly
  2. 1.2 Getting water out of your ear
  3. 1.3 Brushing your teeth for two minutes
  4. 1.4 Riding a bike
  5. 1.5 Getting up off the floor without your hands
  6. 1.6 Slow breathing to calm down
  7. 1.7 How to put in a tampon
  8. 1.8 How often should you wash your hair
  9. 1.9 Reading a nutrition label
  10. 1.10 Sleeping with your phone outside the bedroom
  11. 1.11 Doing 10 full push-ups
  12. 1.12 How to stretch your hip flexors
  13. 1.13 How to swaddle a newborn, and when to stop
  14. 1.14 Reading a prescription label
  15. 1.15 Booking a doctor's appointment and describing symptoms
  16. 1.16 Knowing your blood pressure

2 Mind

  1. 2.1 Staying with boredom
  2. 2.2 Naming what you feel
  3. 2.3 Grounding yourself after a fright
  4. 2.4 Letting someone see you upset
  5. 2.5 What to wear to a funeral, where to sit, and what to say
  6. 2.6 What to write in a sympathy card
  7. 2.7 Focusing for 25 minutes
  8. 2.8 How to stop overthinking
  9. 2.9 The 988 crisis line
  10. 2.10 Changing your mind when the evidence changes
  11. 2.11 The 7 stages of grief, and why grief comes in waves instead
  12. 2.12 Telling a friend you're not okay
  13. 2.13 Knowing when stress needs professional help
  14. 2.14 Building a habit by tying it to an old one
  15. 2.15 Spending an evening alone without screens

3 People

  1. 3.1 Introducing yourself and asking a question back
  2. 3.2 Asking a question in front of a group
  3. 3.3 Apologising properly
  4. 3.4 Disagreeing without insults
  5. 3.5 Writing a clear email, subject line to sign-off
  6. 3.6 Comforting someone who is crying
  7. 3.7 What to say to someone who lost a loved one
  8. 3.8 Saying no without an excuse
  9. 3.9 Phoning a business
  10. 3.10 How to burp a newborn
  11. 3.11 Asking for consent
  12. 3.12 Resigning from a job in writing
  13. 3.13 Answering interview questions with the STAR method
  14. 3.14 Walking into a room of strangers
  15. 3.15 How to write an obituary
  16. 3.16 Speaking up in a meeting
  17. 3.17 Pausing an argument

4 Money

  1. 4.1 Counting back change
  2. 4.2 Comparing unit prices
  3. 4.3 Endorsing and depositing a check
  4. 4.4 How do you write a check
  5. 4.5 Setting up direct deposit with a void check
  6. 4.6 Why minimum payments cost so much
  7. 4.7 The rule of 72
  8. 4.8 What does APR mean on a credit card
  9. 4.9 Making a monthly budget
  10. 4.10 Reading a contract to find how to cancel
  11. 4.11 What is a high yield savings account
  12. 4.12 What is a contingent beneficiary, and how to name one
  13. 4.13 Filing your own tax return
  14. 4.14 How retirement accounts save you tax
  15. 4.15 Index funds and why fees matter
  16. 4.16 Ask for a raise with a number
  17. 4.17 Know how long your savings would last

5 Safety

  1. 5.1 Call 911 and give your location
  2. 5.2 Plan two ways out in a fire
  3. 5.3 Sheltering from a tornado: watch vs. warning
  4. 5.4 The five water survival skills
  5. 5.5 Test a smoke alarm and change its battery
  6. 5.6 Cool a burn with running water
  7. 5.7 AED pad placement: how to use an AED
  8. 5.8 Carbon monoxide detector beeping: what it means and what to do
  9. 5.9 Put out a pan fire with a lid
  10. 5.10 How is a fire extinguisher used? The PASS method
  11. 5.11 Stop heavy bleeding
  12. 5.12 The recovery position
  13. 5.13 Spot a stroke and call 911
  14. 5.14 Hands-only CPR
  15. 5.15 Help a choking adult
  16. 5.16 Respond to an opioid overdose with naloxone
  17. 5.17 When can an infant car seat face forward

6 Information

  1. 6.1 Work out a tip in your head
  2. 6.2 Why gift card payment means scam
  3. 6.3 Wrong number text scam, and how to spot other scam texts
  4. 6.4 How to turn off location on iPhone and Android
  5. 6.5 Working out percent change
  6. 6.6 Spot a phishing message
  7. 6.7 How to block spam calls on iPhone and Android
  8. 6.8 Turn on two-factor login for email
  9. 6.9 How to check if your phone is hacked
  10. 6.10 Trace a claim before you share it
  11. 6.11 Check an AI chatbot's answer
  12. 6.12 Spot a bar chart that exaggerates
  13. 6.13 Hang up on a 'bank' caller
  14. 6.14 What never to paste into an AI chatbot
  15. 6.15 Self-reported vs measured numbers
  16. 6.16 Relative risk vs absolute risk

7 Kitchen

  1. 7.1 How to set a table
  2. 7.2 Cracking an egg cleanly
  3. 7.3 Following a recipe and measuring accurately
  4. 7.4 Using an oven safely
  5. 7.5 How to tell if an egg is bad
  6. 7.6 Boiling an egg to the yolk you want
  7. 7.7 How to cook rice on the stove
  8. 7.8 How long is cooked chicken good for in the fridge
  9. 7.9 Chopping an onion with the claw grip
  10. 7.10 Storing raw meat safely in the fridge
  11. 7.11 Reading food date labels
  12. 7.12 How to thaw chicken fast
  13. 7.13 How to season cast iron
  14. 7.14 Cooking chicken to a safe temperature
  15. 7.15 Five dinners you can cook from memory
  16. 7.16 Planning a week of dinners with one shopping trip
  17. 7.17 Cooking dinner for six, all ready at once

8 Home

  1. 8.1 Making a bed with tucked corners
  2. 8.2 Removing sticker residue
  3. 8.3 Cleaning a toilet properly
  4. 8.4 How to clean a shower
  5. 8.5 How to get blood out of clothes
  6. 8.6 Laundry symbols: how to read a care label
  7. 8.7 Doing a load of laundry
  8. 8.8 Cleaners you must never mix
  9. 8.9 How to get rid of fruit flies
  10. 8.10 Unblocking a toilet with a plunger
  11. 8.11 Resetting a tripped breaker
  12. 8.12 Building a 72-hour emergency kit
  13. 8.13 Shutting off the water
  14. 8.14 Reading a utility bill
  15. 8.15 How to clean a dryer vent
  16. 8.16 Recording a rental's condition on move-in day
  17. 8.17 Splitting chores with a housemate

9 Hands

  1. 9.1 Tying shoelaces that stay tied
  2. 9.2 How to wrap a present
  3. 9.3 Addressing an envelope
  4. 9.4 Tying a square knot (reef knot)
  5. 9.5 How to tie a clove hitch
  6. 9.6 Reading a tape measure
  7. 9.7 Hammering a nail in straight
  8. 9.8 How to fix a separated zipper
  9. 9.9 Sewing on a button that stays on
  10. 9.10 Tying a bowline
  11. 9.11 How to remove a stripped screw
  12. 9.12 Hanging a heavy picture securely
  13. 9.13 Tying a four-in-hand necktie knot
  14. 9.14 How to put air in tires
  15. 9.15 How to change windshield wipers
  16. 9.16 Checking the oil and other fluids under the hood
  17. 9.17 Assembling flat-pack furniture
  18. 9.18 Changing a flat tire
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