I hate how lifehacking as a term degenerated. I remember first hearing it in 2005 and seeing instances of really clever "hacks" that I wouldn't have known otherwise. Using salt water as a mouthwash and baking soda to whiten your teeth, or learning about effective weightless exercises for staying in shape, or making cool and attractive piles to store your stuff. When computers did get involved, it was always something neat and small and pleasing - the FuzzyClock app on the Mac still stands out to me as one of the smallest and most pleasant programs on my computer, and I'm pretty sure I came across it via Lifehacker. Teeny tricks to make life better.

Somewhere along the road, lifehacking became focused more on productivity and less on pleasure. That's when I stopped reading Lifehacker. I know Merlin Mann had a semi-meltdown of a similar sort two years ago.

Zen Habits once really irritated me - it was list-based and monotonous - but for the last year it's really been a great source of occasional reading and relaxation. This article in particular was terrific.