Life Editing versus Life Hacking

Posted on November 9, 2009 by Bruce Keener

Maybe it’s just a matter of semantics, but I am for replacing the term life hacking with the term life editing. To me, the word “hack” sounds like a patch, like patching an operating system, or patching a tire, instead of really fixing the core problem.

Another way to see the point I am trying to make is to consider the difference between editing a book and “hacking” it. The way I look at these terms is that a hack tries to fix anything wrong with individual sentences in the book … so a book with 1,000 sentences could wind up with a 1,000 hacks after proofreading. Editing of the book, though, would involve looking at whether a paragraph makes sense (for example), and whether it is even needed, or whether it is in the right place for the best effect. Editing results in changes that are more reasoned and holistic/integrated, rather than piecemeal.

So, what do you think? Is there a difference between life editing and life hacking, or I am making something out of nothing?

Share


 

This entry was posted in Personal Development and tagged . Bookmark the permalink.
  • http://ruudhein.com Ruud Hein

    Perhaps because my interest or approach regarding this has changed, I tend to think of it as life tweaking; fine-tuning, so to say.

    Although I like life editing it also brings up ideas of “removing” and especially correcting errors.

    A lot of life hacks are little tricks, really, to improve a process. Hence my tweaking :)

    • http://www.keenerliving.com/ Bruce Keener

      Good comment, Ruud. I suppose Life Editing does bring up the idea of “removing,” whereas hack does not.

      It perhaps brings up thoughts of major change, too, as the case of Dr. John Polkinghorne, who switched to being an Anglican Priest and well-respected theologian after 25 years as a well-respected scientist. Or, a Navy Admiral I know who became a CEO of an organization after retiring from an impressive career in the Navy.

      These sorts of major changes are on my mind a good bit these days, as I wonder whether it is time for me to make a major life change. Hence the concept of life editing seems like a good one for me, but I can see, based on your points, that it is not likely to catch on with most people who only need tweaks in their life.

      Thanks for the good comment.