Steps to ‘unhack’ your life

We all know about the “life hacks” trend. Life hacks are tips and tricks meant to squeeze that extra little particle of productivity out of our lives. On the way they often manage to squeeze out a lot of joy. I’ve decided to stop worrying about productivity and start worrying about productivity.

1. Get up later
2. Make lists when I need them (not because I was told to)
3. Read a book, or better yet if you don’t like reading books, don’t read a book
4. Never Google ‘time management software’, ‘viral marketing’, ‘text link ads’, ‘lifehacks’ or ‘sleep techniques’ ever again (EVER)
5. Work on one project per day that is something you absolutely love

Tomorrow morning I’m going to wake up at 7 instead of 6:30. I’m going to enjoy a coffee instead of scrambling to read emails on my iPhone. I’m going to read a newspaper (yes, that’s right – a printed newspaper). I’m going to work on 2 projects I now love: this blog and quadruple booting my new gaming PC (that’s right I wasted money on a brand new gaming PC and I’m still having fun months later).

Oh I forgot one:

• Stop being guilty (ever)

Old Plan New Plan

The Old Plan

• Start an eBay store selling hard drives
• Start 2 blogs – one on electronics and one on making money blogging
• Update every day relentlessly
• Never stop working, spare time is wasted, if I have spare time I should spend it researching link trading and finding new ways to monetize my blog
• Forget gaming and long conversations with old friends, we need time and the only way to get time is to sacrifice

The New Plan

• Relax
• Meet up with old friends and indulge in long luxuriant conversations
• Take the time to explore my favourite virtual worlds
• Read blogs that I enjoy reading (not ones about blog monetization)
• Stop worrying
• If I have spare time, fill it – with things I love to do
• Procrastinate just enough to feel alive
• Make blog posts because, I love making blog posts

Do What You Want

In the past weeks and months I’ve tried to do something many of us have -

Make Money Online.

I’ve tried to schedule every moment of my life to completing my duties as a full time student, blogging, looking for sources to start an eBay store, learning about affiliate marketing and buying and selling links.

I’ve learned one thing. If you want life to be bountiful, and I mean this in the greatest sense possible. If you want life to be bounteous in time, friends, love and enjoyment

Do What You Want.

Crazy I know. Ever since entering school, I’ve been constantly told to schedule, carefull put aside and manage my time. To squeeze every bit of productivity, every bit of money out of my time. What I’ve learned is that I was also squeezed out the enjoyment.

Money and the hoops we jump through to find it does not bring you friends, love or enjoyment (perhaps a few sugar rushes, followed by inevitable let downs). If you want friends, go find friends. If you want love, go find love. If you want enjoyment do what you love. I realize that doing the above is harder than it sounds but thats not the point.

The point is that if you want something, you should pursue it directly, not through money.

Now, I’m not saying quit your job. There is a reason we need money. We need money so that we don’t need money. We should worry ‘a bit’ about money so that we don’t have to worry alot about it. But, after all is said and done, money is always secondary.

Whatever you’d like to be doing at this moment, do it. If you can’t do it, pursue it and I don’t mean start saving for it, I mean actively chase what you want.

I’ve stopped going to school from 8:39 – 4:00, doing assignments and study from 5:00 – 9:00 and then looking for extra ways to boost my productivity from 9:00 – when I fall asleep and I can tell you I’m a lot happier.

You should be too and guess what?

You can (and you don’t even need to read this blog to do it).

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