3 ms·

How one-sided. Anything worthy can be done to excess, but that line is drawn by the individual. Take running as an example - the couch potato thinks the weeken

How one-sided. Anything worthy can be done to excess, but that line is drawn by the individual. Take running as an example - the couch potato thinks the weekend 5K duffers are "running to excess"; the 5K duffers think the person training for a marathon is "running to excess"; the marathon trainers think the ultra-runners are "running to excess"; the ultra-runners think the 72-hour endurance runners are "running to excess". As long as a person's lifehacking "system" is contributing to their well being, and serving them, who's to say it's wrong? If someone steps back and says, "ok, I'm working this system too much and I want to change it", then that's fine too. Really, people - live and let live - it's not that hard.

robbles 13y ago
I agree, but I also think this argument goes both ways. The 5K runners think the couch potatoes should run more, the marathon trainers think the 5K runners should run more, etc. In a similar fashion, the "inefficient" are bombarded with lifehacking advice from the likes of Tim Ferriss and David Allen. I think if there's one good takeaway from this article, it's that the lifehackers should "live and let live" as well. Not everyone needs or wants to optimize their life.
- theorique 13y ago
  I agree with that too. People don't need to evangelize their latest productivity system.
  - tankbot 13y ago
    I'm not sure. I'll agree that it can be irritating, but I think sometimes people actually do need to evangelize their latest $WHATEVER in order to help motivate themselves and stay focused. Whether or not this is a sign of un/healthy activity could also be an interesting debate.
    - theorique 13y ago
      Yes, generally it's more about the evangelizer rather than their target (see: vegan, Christian, vi-user, etc)
      - tankbot 13y ago
        Haha! Wait... That was funny until the part about vi. Vim is the best editor ever and you should use it! Your editor is bad and you should feel bad!
anigbrowl 13y ago
Take running as an example - the couch potato thinks the weekend 5K duffers are "running to excess" A classic straw man example. I hadn't herd of this 'running to excess' term, but I defy you to find someone who thinks running 5k once a week is excessive. I'm not into running myself, but I walk a round trip of that length a couple of times a week (to a specific destination, I don't mean that's my only exercise) and the idea of jogging it instead doesn't seem particularly radical.

robbles 13y ago

I agree, but I also think this argument goes both ways. The 5K runners think the couch potatoes should run more, the marathon trainers think the 5K runners should run more, etc. In a similar fashion, the "inefficient" are bombarded with lifehacking advice from the likes of Tim Ferriss and David Allen. I think if there's one good takeaway from this article, it's that the lifehackers should "live and let live" as well. Not everyone needs or wants to optimize their life.

theorique 13y ago
I agree with that too. People don't need to evangelize their latest productivity system.
- tankbot 13y ago
  I'm not sure. I'll agree that it can be irritating, but I think sometimes people actually do need to evangelize their latest $WHATEVER in order to help motivate themselves and stay focused. Whether or not this is a sign of un/healthy activity could also be an interesting debate.
  - theorique 13y ago
    Yes, generally it's more about the evangelizer rather than their target (see: vegan, Christian, vi-user, etc)
    - tankbot 13y ago
      Haha! Wait... That was funny until the part about vi. Vim is the best editor ever and you should use it! Your editor is bad and you should feel bad!

anigbrowl 13y ago

Take running as an example - the couch potato thinks the weekend 5K duffers are "running to excess" A classic straw man example. I hadn't herd of this 'running to excess' term, but I defy you to find someone who thinks running 5k once a week is excessive. I'm not into running myself, but I walk a round trip of that length a couple of times a week (to a specific destination, I don't mean that's my only exercise) and the idea of jogging it instead doesn't seem particularly radical.