Living hack free is hard

A hack-free 2016 revisited

Back at the beginning of 2016 I wrote a post about living hack free. In looking back over 2016 I can say without reservation that the effort was an abject failure. Why? Because there are benefits to hacks when you find the right ones. Now don't get me wrong, I did make an effort to reduce the number of hacks. However I found as the year progressed that eliminating all the "hacks" made me miss some great productivity ideas.

Where's the middle?

So is there a balance between "hack free" and "hack happy?" In looking at my original post the guidelines I applied there still apply today:1. Will it make an immediate impact on my everyday productivity?2. Is it sustainable over the long term without the addition of work to my daily routines?3. Does it require a change in mindset to implement?Through a little more judicious application of these questions I've found there's no reason to go to the hack-free extreme. Quantitative and qualitative analysis of hacks as they're found give me the chance to see if they're worth trying, saving, or ignoring. While the process isn't perfect, it's a good way to triage the flood of ideas directed at you if you're into being productive.