How Did We Survive Before "Life Hacks?"
Every week, I get at least three or four newsletters or updates from people and organizations offering me up a new selection of so-called "life hacks."
I had to pause and ponder for a moment whether we have always had life hacks — perhaps under a different name — or this is a new thing. Did my grandparents use life hacks? Or did they just use some kind of clever process or shortcut that was the equivalent of what we call a life hack today?
To me, it seems more likely that life hacks have been birthed out of the reality that our lives in 2026 are filled with more things than ever, but we are stuck with the same 24-hour days we've always had. So we end up inventing tools and gimmicks to help us navigate ever-growing daily to-do lists that are perhaps longer than our realities can support.
I have no issue with life hacks, by the way. I'll take all the help I can get! What I have a growing amount of dis-ease with is the fact that we even need life hacks because it strikes me as a primary indication that we all have too much to do and not enough time.
Granted, my preference has long been to have less activity around me, rather than more. That is to say, my quality of life is far more important to me than quantity of life. I don't feel any compulsion to fill every waking moment of my existence with something!
Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful Friday!
How about YOU? Have you used any so-called life hacks? Do you think they are new, or have they always been around? Leave a comment if you feel so inclined — share your experiences — be part of the conversation!
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Created at 2026.07.17 01:27PDT
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De los posts que alegran el feed. Con los años uno aprende que estas son las cosas que realmente importan.
I think Life Hacks used to go in books, and before that they were spread by word of mouth. Here's a book from 1873,
Facts and Hints for Every-day Life ;-). My guess is that we've had some sort of Life Hacks for as long as we've had language.
Los trucos para la vida diaria son aquellas ideas que se nos ocurren para optimizar todos nuestro deberes en un tiempo determinado, sin descuidar el descanso. Yo por ejemplo hoy coloque una ropa en la lavadora mientras hago el desayuno y completo el almuerzo, de hecho estipulo un tiempo para esas dos cosas para que luego me de tiempo de colgar la ropa e ir hacer algo de ejercicios, leer, pintar o dibujar antes de entrar a mi trabajo. Mi transporte es una bicicleta esto tambien me ayuda a optimizar mi tiempo. Esto es un ejemplo. que pases feliz viernes