June 29, 2025

Living > Life Hacking

What if we stopped hacking life and started living it?

It's so easy to get caught up in the allure of life hacks. Endless podcasts, social media posts and videos promise us a life of greater efficiency, productivity, and optimization.

What if, in our pursuit of these shortcuts, we are missing out on the richness of life?

Let's consider these key elements:

• Intentionality: Life hacks usually encourage a reactive approach: we look for a quick fix after a problem arises. Instead, when we live a life full of deliberate choices and effective habits, we engage with the uncertainties of our life at a deeper level of awareness.

• Integration: The focus on life hacks can lead to an artificial separation of our life between our work, friends, family, and personal projects. We end up striving for "work-life balance" as if work and life were opposing forces. Instead, when we let all aspects of our life interact with and flow into each other, we stop being in conflict with ourselves and the realities of our world.

• Mindful Engagement: In our quest to optimize and achieve, we often sacrifice our ability to be fully present. We rush through one experience after another, focused on the outcome -- never savoring the process. Yet, it's in those moments of mindful engagement – when we are attentive, appreciative, and fully present – that our life truly unfolds.

It's worth re-evaluating our relationship with life hacks. Not to reject them entirely, but to place them in perspective. To remember that efficiency and productivity are not measures of a life well-lived.

In what area of your life are you prioritizing hacks over wholehearted living?

What if you employed more intentionality, integration, and mindful engagement in that area?

Intentionally yours,
/rajesh