I think I was in my late twenties when I found out I had been tying my shoes wrong all my life. There is a correct and an incorrect way to do it. This affects not just how the knot looks (straight vs crooked), but also how easily it becomes untied:
https://www.inc.com/minda-zetlin/theres-a-better-way-to-tie-...
I've taught all of my children to do it this way. Super fast, reliable way to tie a square knotted bow.
Though it is somewhat of a misnomer that it is called an 'Ian knot', because it isn't a novel knot, rather a technique to arrive at one already commonly known.
And you can still untie by pulling on one of the ends. Though you have to make sure that while untying, you don't allow the loop to go over the other end of the shoelace.
Yes! This is just about as strong as the standard childhood shoelace knot + double-knotting, but it's faster and doesn't need to be picked apart. I do get it tangled during the untie sometimes, but it's still worth it.
I'm sure I'm also not doing it the most efficient way, but every time I watch my one particular friend tie his shoes, I feel like he must have wasted so much of his lifetime to this because it's so inefficient.
To be honest, the kind of shoes I'm mostly wearing nowadays work very well without having to untie and retie the knot, so I don't do that very often anyway.
Adjacent to this, getting properly fitting shoes. The wrong size shoes can cause all kinds of problems for your feet and overall musculoskeletal health. There are still stores around where they will measure your feet for you and make recommendations. Strongly recommend!
Also, the material type can play a role.
I have one pair of shoes that will not stay tied. Nike runners with flat laces. I'm not sure if the synthetic material just wants to unwind. Replaced and have no issues.
