Prioritize the base of Maslow’s hierarchy
everything changes when you realize the smartest people you’ll meet in your life are merely you with abundant sleep, the most driven people are just you after reading something motivational, the hottest people are just you a great hair day; you can just change these things
… says Aidan Mclaughlin here. So we ponder: how can we improve ourselves?
Well-being and productivity depend on many factors. On some days I just inherently accomplish more than on others; some activities are more fun, some less so; some interactions make your day better and some make it worse. If you optimize either of these in your life, it makes sense to consider what makes a day better or worse.
But in a sense, these all feel like minor variations on the theme. I enjoy life and would like more of it! This is not just a rational preference: I genuinely feel like this in my bones most of the time.
In fact, there is only one set of factors that consistently degrades my opinion on life in general: physical pain, and deficiencies in other basic needs. To be precise, life feels positive at all times, except for the days I wake up with a migraine, or (rarer) days when I’m otherwise sick; on those days I sympathize with negative utilitarianism.
The following is such a good heuristic for me that it makes sense to write it down and commit to it: resolving lower-level issues (pain, thirst, hunger, lack of sleep, illness) is always the top priority, because inadequate care for basic needs harms my performance in every other domain.
If you’re like me, you might find the rest of the post useful!
Life hacks to maintain basic needs more easily
Given that issues related to the basic needs are such a major issue for productivity and overall well-being, investing in making these issues as rare as possible has very high ROI in the long run.
Always have melatonin, ibuprofen, paracetamol accessible. Also anti-allergy meds if applicable.
Get vaccinated against Covid-19 and the flu every year. In Europe, it is usually best to do it in early October, as that year’s flu strain might not be in circulation before then. Immunity takes 2 weeks to kick in.
Buy a reusable bottle; or have bottled water lying around; make it extremely convenient to drink water. Beware trivial inconveniences. Also get electrolytes.
Order meal replacements to make sure you are not hungry (and that you do not resolve your hunger by eating sugary snacks).
Spend money on controlling the temperature in your working environment. If you can’t install AC, get a fan.
Have a primary care doctor you can book on a day’s notice. Build a relationship with them so you don’t need to visit in person for every minor thing. This step is really easy to skip if you move countries, but you will be very glad you did it when you need it.
Exercise your back so you do not get chronic back pain. (But be careful to not hurt yourself in the gym.)
Buy an ergonomic keyboard to avoid repetitive strain injury.
The pyramid of needs
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs1 puts physiological needs at the bottom of the pyramid.
I feel the hierarchy does not actually strictly work this way, in the sense that I am able to pursue the top-level needs even if I don’t have some of the middle-level ones. However, the basic needs of sleep, health, food, water, and tolerable temperature are if anything underestimated in importance.
Fun fact: Maslow the famous psychologist, never actually said anything about a pyramid; the pyramid was invented many years later by a marketing consultant.