Optimizing: The Efficiency Obsession

Good Morning!

I subscribe to Peter Coy’s Opinion Newsletter in the New York Times. Peter talks about economics, culture, and how the two intersect, and occasionally riffs on something random from time to time, which I can totally relate to as a writer.

Last Monday, Peter talked about the modern-day obsession with efficiency: Optimizing.

And I think this fits so well with health and wellness that I had to steal the topic because so much of the fitness dialogue today strives to talk about “what’s most optimal for X, Y, and Z.”

It’s almost like the business of precision optimization is more than a buzzword. It’s very much a way of life for some people. Chris Williamson, the host of the “Modern Wisdom” Podcast, uses the word about 2-3 times per episode minimum.

Coy writes:

We love to optimize our home lives, to tweak our processes at work, to attain peak efficiency in all things and to squeeze all the juice from all of our lemons. I personally admit to choosing T-shirts “first in first out” — that is, pulling them from the bottom of the stacks in the dresser drawer instead of the top so each is worn with precisely the same frequency.

But optimization can go too far. It can be … not optimal. I have just finished reading two books that explore what to do when your optimization needs some dialing back. One is “Optimal Illusions: The False Promise of Optimization” (2023), by Coco Krumme. The other is “When More Is Not Better: Overcoming America’s Obsession with Economic Efficiency” (2020), by Roger Martin.

Optimizing: The Efficiency Obsession

Whether it’s a LinkedIn post on collecting the most sales leads in the shortest amount of time or a social ad promoting software that helps you schedule and complete tasks faster, optimizing is everywhere.

The authors of the books Coy mentions seem to hone in on one key thing, though.

Not everything needs optimizing.

What (And What Not) To Optimize With Your Health

I think everyone still has the idea that if everything isn’t incredibly dialed in with health, it won’t work. That can’t be further from the truth, as I mention here.

Obsessing over optimizing your health is a surefire way to create more stress for yourself, as Caroline McMorrow notes:

“We want to slap solutions on to each individual problem and act as if they exist in isolation. When in reality, they’re all symptoms of the same sickness: chronic stress.”

Here’s what I would hone in on if you’re unsure of the big rocks in your health:

• Eating a diet that consists of foods you can find on a farm 75% of the time and not worrying too much about the other 25%.
• Aiming for a diverse exposure to fitness activities, one that isn’t driven solely by one class, style of training, or method
• Drinking water when you have any free time at all, like, ever
• Sleeping 7-8 hours a night, every night

Are there nuances to these four bullet points? Sure.

But don’t let these things get lost in the weeds.

This is an abbreviated version of my Friday Substack Newsletter, High Performance Health.

Please consider subscribing there to read full-length newsletters and continue to support my work!