I’m Abid Iqbal Shaik, the founder of The Everyday Manual. I’m thirty-one years old and based in Hyderabad, Telangana, India. I studied Computer Science Engineering and started my career in journalism in 2016.
Over the past decade, I’ve written about electronics, working with publications including MySmartPrice, 91Mobiles, NewsBytes, Onsitego, and SamMobile. I’ve also worked with Apple as a Siri Annotation Analyst.
However, the idea for The Everyday Manual didn’t come from my field of study or my career . It came from something much more personal, the way I approach almost everything in my life, and the topics I am interested in.
The way I approach things
For as long as I can remember, I’ve been someone who likes to figure out the best way to do things and keep things organised. As a part of that, whenever I take on something new, I tend to learn about the subject by understanding the bigger picture, look at the options available, consider the details, and determine what makes the most sense—not just in the moment, but in the long run.
I also tend to care about details that most people might not think twice about. Sometimes, perhaps, a little too much. I can spend an unreasonable amount of time trying to figure out the right approach to something that seems completely insignificant. For me, it isn’t simply about getting something done; I like understanding why I’m doing it a certain way and whether there is a better approach.
Take organising digital files for example. Before I start moving files around, I first visualise the overall structure. Then I create folders for different topics and subfolders to further segregate files. Once the structure is in place, I rename the files using a consistent naming convention. For example, when naming a bill, I use the YYYY-MM-DD format. That way, when I add a newer bill, it automatically appears in chronological order when the files are sorted by name.
I also think about how the system will work in the future. Will the folder structure still make sense as more files are added? Will I have to rename or reorganise anything later? Can I make it easier to find something months or even years from now? I tend to think beyond simply organising things in the moment—I like creating systems that remain useful as they grow. It’s a small example, but that is generally how my mind works.
Topics I’m interested in
I’ve always been particularly interested in automobiles and electronics, but my interests don’t end there. Over the years, I’ve found myself spending just as much time learning about real estate, homes, health, and countless other aspects of everyday life.
Often, I’m drawn to these subjects because there is something I want to understand or work out. I might be making a decision, solving a problem, trying to understand how something works, considering a purchase, or simply wondering whether there is a better way to do something. And when something catches my attention, I tend to go much deeper than I initially intended.
Over time, I began noticing a pattern. Whenever I found a good solution to a problem, discovered something particularly interesting or useful, or worked out a better way of doing something, I would often have the same thought: “I wonder how many other people are trying to figure out the same thing.” That question stayed with me.
How the idea came about
There are so many things we have to figure out in everyday life, particularly when we’re doing something for the first time. We may not know where to begin, what to look for, which option to choose, or even what questions we should be asking. How does something actually work? What is the right way to approach it? Which option makes the most sense? Is there a simpler, more practical, or more efficient way of doing it?
Finding those answers often requires going through a lot of information, comparing different options, and piecing together details from different sources. I’ve found myself doing that repeatedly in my own life. Eventually, I realised that the time and effort I spend understanding these things could be useful to someone else too.
That is what led me to create The Everyday Manual.
What The Everyday Manual is about
I wanted to create a place where I could document what I learn along the way and share it with other people. Not just about automobiles and electronics, but also about real estate, homes, health, technology, and the many other subjects that become part of our everyday lives.
Some of the things I write about may come from extensive research. Others may come from personal experience, a problem I had to solve, something I discovered, or simply a question I wanted to answer for myself. The common thread is that they are things I found interesting enough to explore and useful enough to share.
I don’t expect The Everyday Manual to have all the answers. I’m still figuring things out myself, and that is part of the point. The idea is to ask questions, do the research, understand the details, work things out, and share what I learn. If something that took me hours to understand can save someone else even a little time, effort, money, or frustration, then I’ll consider that time well spent.
Because sometimes, the hardest part of doing something isn’t actually doing it. It’s figuring out what to do, why to do it, and how to do it in the first place. And that is what The Everyday Manual is about: understanding the things we encounter in everyday life, figuring out how to navigate them a little better, and sharing what I learn along the way.