Hacks are all about getting somewhere quickly, and being so narrowly focused is rarely a good thing. Perspective is important, and the big picture is important.
These days it seems as though everywhere you look there is another video or article proclaiming some new ways to hack some aspect of your life. So, what exactly is a hack, anyway?
Simply put, a hack is ‘a clever modification or improvement.’ There are skin care hacks, hair care hacks, makeup hacks, cooking hacks, fashion hacks and all manner of hacks. Generally speaking, the purpose of a hack is to simplify a process and save time. Life hacking refer to any tricks, shortcuts, skills, or novelty methods that increase productivity and efficiency, in all walks of life.
‘Life hacking’ has never been more popular.
We live in the age of social media and instant gratification; patience is a thing of the past and waiting for anything is a no-no. We have become obsessed with time although this hasn’t necessarily made us more efficient. As I see it, a hack is supposed to help us get through the things we want or need to do in the shortest possible time without on impacting results; we want to give the impression that we worked on something that was hard and long without actually doing so. Getting some things done quickly is supposed to free up time to do those other things that are absolutely crucial to our happiness and pleasure. In turn this is supposed to ensure that our lives are more fulfilling. And while I am not here to determine anyone’s priorities, living life as a series of hacks just to spend more time to browsing Instagram is probably not the best use of that saved time.
While I am not here to determine anyone’s priorities, living life as a series of hacks just to spend more time browsing Instagram is probably not the best use of that saved time.
If life becomes a series of hacks, what is filling this free time we have created for ourselves?
Social media is making us antisocial. We shun physical contact for virtual ones. We send texts instead of making phone calls and life is less rich for it. Do we really want to go deeper down this rabbit hole? The internet has its benefits, but it also has its pitfalls. Hacks are not new, we can all probably think back to some way our mom or grandma or aunt would modify and hack something they did all the time. I’m all for hacks. I just hope that in our quest to hack our way through life, we don’t forget to actually live a life.
Sometimes we need to just slow down and enjoy the process.
Take some to time to enjoy the journey instead of being so focused on the destination. Hacks are all about getting somewhere quickly, and being so narrowly focused is rarely a good thing. Perspective is important, the big picture is important.
Don’t get me wrong, I am not saying hacks are bad. They are in fact, very beneficial–not all of them are centered solely around making us look pretty. A good example would be a recent Dr. Oz episode in which a gentleman by the name of Scott Carney spoke about the ways in which we could hack our bodies in order to improve health and wellness. If nothing else, this is certainly an intriguing concept and if there is ever a good reason to try a hack, improving one’s health and well-being would definitely qualify.
Editor’s note
Sometimes practicing life hacks on a routine basis can help or hurt the need for raw experience to transform and evolve a human being. There are some routines that stick and help free up time for pet projects and self-improvement, and some that just do not. It really depends on what works for your lifestyle. We just read a book for our NaturallyCurly Book Club, Present Over Perfect, by Shauna Niequist. Here’s one of my favorite quotes: “I don’t want to get to the end of my life and look back and realize that the best thing about me was I was organized.”
Do you feel like ‘life hacking’ works?
Let us know below and on the NaturallyCurly Facebook.
