A key difference between Stanford and the “Stanfords” of the East Coast is that a much larger proportion of our students go into unconventional career paths straight after graduation. I think this is awesome. At Stanford, we’re encouraged to pursue wild self-actualization in a plethora of forms. In the spirit of this tradition, I’d like to explore one of the archetypes embracing this wild self-actualization.

I’d like to explore the lifehacker.

I woke up at 9:45 a.m. to my alarm after eight hours and 15 minutes of sleep, turned off the sleep-enhancing rain music emanating from my laptop, ate one and a half bowls of high-fiber, low-carb cereal with once-a-day multivitamin and Omega-3 capsules from 9:46 a.m. to 9:53 a.m., speed-read articles on Google Reader for seven minutes, then showered for nine minutes. I logged in my iPhone leaving Synergy at 10:13 a.m. I made a note in my journal to park my bike on the other side of the bike rack in the future–for more efficient access. I biked down the Row listening to a TED Talks podcast. I sat down when I got to class, checked analytics on my computer usage from the day before on RescueTime, which automatically logs any activity and opened Evernote to review recent goals and lessons in the computer science section of my “academics” notebook. I then set my iPhone to airplane mode to allow myself to be totally present and launched Concentrate, which I’d set up to open required applications, block off distractions and send me regular supportive messages throughout the lecture saying, “This class is valuable for your personal growth!” After an hour and 15 minutes of class, I opened my Omnifocus and reviewed my to-dos. I was with my computer, so I decided to execute action steps for the day filtered by the “Email” context, which included checking-up on tasks I’d recently outsourced through oDesk. It was a good day; I had two hours and 45 minutes of recreational time!

Just another day in the life of a lifehacker. Throw away what you previously thought was possible. Re-envision what you can accomplish. Turn over the page in your journal and write a new heading: Part 2.0.

A decade ago, I was the skinny, socially awkward kid with reading disabilities who didn’t stand a chance. While I may still be the quirky kid, the tough path to Stanford is why I get so pumped about people realizing their potential. This is the call to action: be bold in the pursuit of your ideal self.

A small contingent of friends and I have recently been looking to push the boundaries of lifehacker-style self-actualization. We’re sharing lessons and aiming to create a totally immersive environment that will take us towards actualization.

With the knowledge that you are what you measure, we’re trying out quantified-self, where you measure so much more than just grades–think: time, food, weight, exercise, learning, productivity, communication, computer activity. We’re open-sourcing our lives to create instant feedback loops. Knowing that you can only truly know 150 people, we’re listing the people who we really want to forge relationships with. We’re making introspection a continual process, taking journal notes after each interaction. We’re developing our unconscious intuition through pattern recognizing–looking through everything from different types of art, facial expression, to worldly success. We’re brainstorming, using design thinking, Six Hats and lateral thinking to take our thought processes to the next level. We’re aiming for polymathic knowledge by speed-reading Wikipedia, online resources and classic works. We’re embracing Renaissance-style learning of the humanities, a social science informed view of people and an engineering underpinned world-view. We’re embracing social media platforms as a way to iterate on personal brand, develop a distinctive voice and crowdsource feedback. We’re using StrengthsQuest and Myers-Briggs to optimize around our current strengths. Above all else, we’re embracing the attitude of relentless self-improvement. This is just the beginning.

You have incredible potential, yet it’s up to you to realize it. Becoming a lifehacker is just one of myriad ways to self-actualize. Find the one that resonates with you and embrace it. I care about your self-actualization because others cared about mine. You have your ideal self to lose and the world to change.

STEWART MACGREGOR-DENNIS ’13
ASSU Vice President