Dumb Optimizing

Recently I chatted with a friend of mine on the timeline.

Big name, love the guy, genuinely someone I really look up to.

The conversation was about notifications.

And he dropped something wild.

He still used…

Snapchat.

Wait what?

First of all, how the hell is that app still a thing?

Second of all, I was genuinely a bit in disbelief.

If you’re somewhat like me, somebody who absolutely despises any form of social media (besides, of course, for the obvious reason of growing a business), then you’ll remember the absolute unmatched feeling of freedom you get once you convince yourself the fomo, missing out and illusion of social media is simply not worth the mental toll it takes on you—and you decide to quit for good.

This is a completely personal opinion I have on the topic.

But why the fuck would anyone spend their time using social media “for fun” if it’s the thing giving you constant anxiety, comparison syndrome, and quite literally kills your mental health?

Look, I’m not an idiot.

I know apps like snap are cool to stay connected with friends. They can be quite fun to fuck around on.

And holy shit, the fear of missing out once you get off of em is REAL.

But for me, the mental peace I got after deleting everything (except WhatsApp, quite obviously) was insane.

Even though my friends thought I was an antisocial moron for 2 weeks.

And then they forgot about it, and I couldn’t make up any logical reason anymore to argue for social media use besides bizznuss.

Anyway, this isn’t even the topic for today’s email.

Because the craziest part?

My man still had notifications on for it.

We didn’t go much deeper into the topic, but he told me it helped him because having notifications enabled made him less likely to constantly have to check the app 100 times a day.

And I told him what I’m telling you now, I’d consider this a case of:

Dumb Optimizing

The concept is simple.

You try to “optimize” a behavior of yours, or a routine, or anything really, so you can essentially achieve a goal - more mental peace, more work done, higher energy, etc.

But here’s the kicker:

You don’t realize the thing you’re optimizing is detrimental for you in the first place, OR you try to optimize it so hard, the action itself defeats its purpose.

An example for case one:

You try to limit yourself to only playing video games for one hour a day.

If you’re a heavy gamer and want to reduce your gaming time to start doing more productive things, it seems like a valid strategy, right?

I’m not saying it’s wrong.

But it’s a case of dumb optimizing.

First, you will consciously spend the rest of your day (when you’re not gaming), thinking about the game, draining your focus and attention.

Not to mention that I consider gaming itself a pretty substantial waste of time, but that’s a personal opinion I guess.

The solution to dumb optimizing?

Cutting the thing completely, removing all headaches, stress, anxiety, time drainage and energy loss.

Another example is a classic: The morning routine.

Why do morning routines exist?

I’d consider the purpose of performing a morning routine to energize you, to set the tone for the day, to get you prepared for work.

Well. If you spend the first 3 hours of your day meditating, journaling, taking saunas, ice baths, and chanting affirmations into a mirror like an ancient shaman - you’re more likely to drain your energy before even getting the slightest bit of lever-movers done.

The extensiveness of the morning routine defeats its purpose.

It’s supposed to provide energy.

But you “optimize” it so hard that you start losing energy instead.

Classic dumb optimizing.

If you want to avoid falling into that trap, reflect on what you do every day.

Which routines you perform.

Where your time is going.

Where your energy is starting to drain.

And quite frankly, you have to be brutally honest with yourself and ask:

Is this adding or subtracting to my life?

You might find some surprising answers.

Hope this was insightful to you today.

See you soon,

Henri

PS: Let me know in which areas you used to be a “dumb optimizer”, or suspect you still might be. I’ll be happy to help you out :)