Life hacks are all over the place. From productivity posts to biohacking, you can find thousands of posts on the internet telling you how to improve your life. On top of that, how many “10 Things Successful People…” posts have you seen on your newsfeed, on Medium or in everyday life. They are all around us, but life hacks aren’t better than living life.
Off Days Are Necessary
Maybe I’m just incapable of life hacking, but I find my greatest productivity comes after a couple of off days. Maybe it’s days off of blogging or maybe it’s letting my habit slide for a day or two. When I break my routine, I feel like I’m living, and when I get back into my routine, I feel rejuvenated.
I watch a lot of NBA. A couple of weeks ago, at the tail-end of an eight-game road trip, playing on a back-to-back, after losing a superstar (Kevin Durant), Steve Kerr decided to bench his four best remaining players (Green, Curry, Thompson, and Iguodala). Although the Warriors were going up against the San Antonio Spurs (probably the only team that’ll beat the Warriors in a best-of-seven this year) they still got their rest. After that game? The Warriors are on an eight-game winning streak.
Off days break you out of funks, but they also give you time to refocus your mind. The top players on the Warriors were carrying the weight of losing Durant all during the hardest stretch of their season. By shaking up their routine, and getting a game off, they came back with a new bounce in their step and a fresh mind.
For me, I don’t believe in “life hacking” all the time. Yes, I try to be as productive as possible and yes, I have a perfect day routine, but not every day has to be a perfect day. Sometimes the perfect days are the ones where you remember you’re living life, not racing in some productivity hacking marathon.