It’s the eighth day of fall, and the eighth quarterly issue of This Mortal Portal. I didn’t write a summer newsletter; I was still in turmoil after my friend Dave's death, and I didn't have the energy to write something real. So I skipped it rather than forcing it. Now I’m back, with:

1. A microessay/rant about lifehacks
2. Vic's Picks are back!
3. For the Record

Plus a 90's GIF and a cartoon.

-V

Lifehacked To Bits

Escaping the tyranny of a thousand tiny changes

I’ve fallen out of love with lifehacks. You know, the tiny little changes that promise to “change everything”? Lifehacks are the premise of countless 99¢ apps, cheap knickknacks, and that corner of the internet that performance coach Brad Stulberg disparagingly calls “bro science.”

There’s a part of me that’s drawn to lifehacks. They tap into a deep human desire for shortcuts to success. They promise us that the pot of gold is just around the corner, that the One Ring will guarantee victory, that bliss and godlike power are only a bite of fruit away.