Right now, I have a problem. I have been successful. Successful in reducing distractions, optimizing workflows, and having organization of my life. It feels great- or does it….

The Optimization Paradox: When you optimize so well and provide yourself enough time and peace of mind that you are utterly lost about what to do with yourselves.

It also reminds me of those people who go on to sell their businesses for boat loads of money and get depressed vacationing in the islands.

What I want is to feel happy with my free time- well, actually I do not know what I want. On one hand, more free time means less things I have to do. More nothingness. On the other hand, maybe I can use this excess time and mental overhead to apply myself towards greater ends. They both are feasible.

If I just do nothing- I will probably idle out somewhere. Sure I am doing good, but I could be doing better. Then again, life is not always about the rat race. I don’t always need to be doing more, reading, working, optimizing 24/7. If I use that time to apply myself towards other ends, I will burn out and hate my life, unless I can continue to optimize in this new level to this same point?

I guess the answer to this question depends on where you want to end up in life- I want to be successful, I want to be a scientist and push the world forward with engineering and design, I want to be happy and healthy, I want to spend my time leisurely by the beach. I want it all I guesss.

The biggest problem with the optimization paradox is that it leads you into two extremeness. The “settle here” approach or the “hammer through” approach. The other hurdle is that you can never decide where you want to be on that spectrum. You need a clear picture of what you want your life to look like.

This is why, if you want to achieve your goal of orienting your time towards the life you want, you need a bulls-eye to aim towards. The issue is that you do not want you vision to be too exact or demanding. I mean if you afford yourself no flexibility, you will grow out of your vision and abandon it. That is the problem with goals and vision boards. They do not grow with you like they should. They need to be flexible for the changing times and conditions- you do not know what the future will hold and likely the future will change you and your goals.

The best way to resolve this issue with the given obstacles, is to create a simple list of 3-5 top-level goals that you orient yourself. These are called principles and they are not easily identified. They require lots of work and thinking. These are the life principles by which you live and die for- it orients your compass. So now- without thinking write down the 2-5 principles that come to your head:

• family
• health
• wealth
• happiness
• Advancement

These are what come to mind. Let’s use them as a rough draft- these are only the first step in a staircase of exercises we will go through to refine and tailor your principles to be solid, actionable, flexible, and clear.