Life Hacking
Life hacking is a concept focused on enhancing productivity and simplifying everyday life through clever strategies and techniques. These hacks can range from simple solutions, like cooking and eating from the same pan to reduce dishwashing, to more complex integrations of technology, such as managing home lighting and appliances from a single device. The term was coined by technology journalist Danny O'Brien in 2004, originally referring to computer scripts that boost productivity for programmers.
Today, life hacking encompasses a broad spectrum of activities, including organizing tasks, optimizing household chores, and even improving personal habits. It often relies on technological tools like apps and software, which are designed to streamline various tasks and enhance efficiency. In addition to technology, life hacks can also involve practical tips for daily living, such as using Post-It notes for cleaning or maintaining emergency information in one's wallet.
While many appreciate the benefits of life hacking, some critique it for potentially detracting from leisure time, as individuals may become overly focused on efficiency tools. Nonetheless, life hacking encourages individuals to rethink their routines and explore new methods for achieving their goals, promoting a balance between productivity and enjoyment.
Life Hacking
Life hacking is the ability to make life easier and more productive by using clever tricks or strategies. These tricks can be either simple, such as eating out of the pan with which one cooked something to cut down on dirty dishes, or complex, such as controlling lighting and appliances in a home from one central device. Life hacking frees people to do things that they enjoy and is meant to increase proficiency.
Life hacking is popularly associated with technological solutions—using applications (apps), software, and other technologies for everyday tasks. The definition has broadened to everyday menial tasks such as cleaning, cooking, and washing. Indeed, even the Oxford English Dictionary added an entry to its online database to define life hacking as "a strategy or technique adopted in order to manage one’s time and daily activities in a more efficient way."
Background
The term "life hacking" was invented by Danny O’Brien, a technology journalist from California. He first used it in a presentation titled "Life Hacks: Tech Secrets of Overprolific Alpha Geeks" at a technology conference in San Diego in 2004. In an interview, O’Brien said that the term "life hacking" was originally intended to describe computer scripts that computer programmers write to increase productivity.
Life hacking has inspired a number of websites and blogs about the subject—such as lifehack.org, lifehacker.com, 1000lifehacks.com—and many social media pages on Facebook, Tumblr, Instagram, and Reddit. There have been a number of conferences held and books written about the subject.
Examples in Technology
The term "life hacking" originated with technological solutions for programmers and office workers. These solutions include apps, scripts, and programs meant to make tasks more efficient and workers more productive.
Rich Site Summary (RSS) feeds are an example of a life hack, as they give users a chance to read summaries of a number of blogs that contain information that users may be interested in reading, freeing up the time it would take to read through each of them. Likewise, hashtags (styled as "#") can be used to search for content pertaining to certain subjects.
There are many mobile apps that can be downloaded to smartphones to help make people’s lives more efficient and increase productivity in the workplace. Apps can be either free or cost a relatively low price and can be downloaded to smartphones from cell-phone providers. Apps include calendars, jogging monitors, weather information, and photo editors.
Desktop and laptop computer software programs that increase productivity are the inspiration for the term "life hacking." As with many smartphone apps, these are generally used for organization. Extensions, for example, can be added to web browsers that have functionality similar to smartphone apps. Cloud computing (the storing of files over the Internet) can be seen as another technological life-hacking tool.
Examples in Everyday Life
Besides technology, life hacking can be used for daily chores. Some examples include using Post-It notes to clean a computer keyboard by running it through the keys or putting an identification card in one’s wallet with vital information such as medical statistics and emergency contact information.
In everyday life, life hacking can also include ways to better one’s personal life. For instance, writing out goals may allow people to have a better idea of how they want their lives to unfold. Also, setting aside time to determine basic habits and patterns may allow one to cut out bad ones to maximize time and productivity. Life-hacking tricks can be used to make households more efficient. There are many weblogs about life-hacking tricks that can be used around a home.
Conclusion
Some say that life hacking has the opposite of its intended effect. For instance, life hacking may actually take away from leisure activities, as people are wired to their apps and the Internet constantly. Finding so-called efficient ways to cope with everyday life can become an all-encompassing activity. In that sense, people tend to spend more time on the tools for life hacking than enjoying the simplicity these tools are intended to bring to their lives. Life hackers strive to perfect all aspects of their lives, so they are always searching for the perfect fix in everything that they do.
Nonetheless, life hacking can make menial tasks easier if one does not spend so much time on the actual process of gathering life-hacking tools. A balance can be established in which people are not obsessed with the process of becoming more efficient. Another positive aspect of life hacking is that it can motivate one to think outside of their established habits and routines. Most people are set in particular ways of doing things, and habits can be difficult to change. Life-hacking techniques can illustrate how to do tasks differently and more efficiently.
Bibliography
Bradford, Keith. Life Hacks. Avon: Adams Media, 2014. Print.
Grant, Richard P. "Life-Hacking the Brain: Better Living through Science!" Guardian. Guardian News and Media. 19 Dec. 2013. Web. 28 May 2015.
North, Anna. "The Life-Hack Bias." New York Times Op-Talk. New York Times, 9 June 2014. Web. 1 May 2015.
Roll, Rich. "Why You Should Stop Hacking Your Life and Invest in the Journey." Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 23 Aug. 2014. Web. 2 May 2015.
Morozov, Evgeny. "Down with Lifehacking!" Slate. Slate Group, 29 July 2013. Web. 2 May, 2015
Saval, Nikil. "The Secret History of Life-Hacking." Pacific Standard. Miller-McCune Center for Research, Media and Public Policy, 22 Apr. 2014. Web. 28 May 2015.
Sjöberg, Lore. "Condense Your Day with the Life-Hacking FAQK." Wired. Condé Nast, 22 Aug. 2007. Web. 2 May 2015.