Basic Instructions started out as a small side-feature Scott Meyer created to entertain people who came to his website looking to hire a comedian. It wasn't long before the comic was far more popular than anything Scott ever did as a comedian.

Basic Instructions is a series of guides meant to help you lead a better life. They cover topics as diverse as "How to Deal with Boredom" and "How to Travel Back in Time to Deliver a Dire Warning to Your Former Self". Basic Instructions is populated with exaggerated versions of Scott, his family and his friends, which has caused no small amount of unpleasantness.