Get Stacked - The Art of Doing More with Less
We all get 24 hours a day.
Stacking is the art and science of doing multiple mutually conducive things at the same time. It is about progressing faster by assessing options and being aware of the possible implications of your actions. It sounds cold and calculating but this is about increasing the meaningful elements in your life, not detracting.
I’ve arranged my thinking so that I no longer see this compartmentalisation of separate things, and I work very intensely to stack up multiple things, so that’s — that’s stack your life. — Katy Bowman
Have you got an unavoidable commute to work on the train? On this commute we have the necessity: being on a train, which is (hopefully) conducive to your goal of working so a positive. We then we have parallel stacking options to explore.
- We know that standing up is better for your health, and that balancing on moving surfaces is even better (link).
- Listening or reading something intelligent is good for your personal development (link).
- Wearing shoes without a heel and that allow your toes wiggle room is good for your feet and your body in general (link)
- Practicing deep breathing is good for remaining calm (link)
- You could even talk to your fellow commuters… (link)
Stack these small conscious changes on top of each other and you have a much better commute and a better investment in yourself at no extra cost, other than awareness and effort. Over the years, the cumulative gains can be immense. It’s like building a tower, you have the foundations (your top values) and then you can keep building other floors as long as your tower retains structural integrity.
Define Your Goal(s) First:
To begin thinking in terms of stacking, you first need to know what your values are. For example, an individual that loves to drink, smoke and eat junk doesn't value health as a high priority. They are more about short term hedonic experiences. For them, a perfectly stacked evening could involve Rustler Burgers and a 20 pack of cigarettes. For those more concerned with their health, the opposite would be true - bring on the superfood smoothies, goji berries and Toega (Google it).This isn’t about smoking being inherently bad or yoga being absolutely good. It’s about knowing and working towards what you want the most.
The Stacking Continuum:
Everything you can conceivably do stands on a continuum…
Anti-Value Activities (affirms anti-values):
Doing things that push you in the opposite direction of your goals with no positive upsides (ie. poor posture, stressed and commuting to a shitty job you don’t want) if you care about these things.
Neutral Activities:
Doing things that keep you exactly where you are without any particular leaning towards positive or negative direction. This is the land of the status quo. Examples include training your body in the same way for years, without any tangible signs of progress or real enjoyment.
Best Case Activities (optimal value attainment):
Stacking multiple conducive activities together to achieve serious life gains on a consistent basis ie: making the most of opportunities. The best activities can even self perpetuate desirable effects that last longer than the initial event itself. Examples would be planting fruit trees which yield for years to come (of course, you would have to love fruit but really — it’s delicious).
This is not multitasking:
It may appear to be, but it’s not. Stacking is not about wasting cognitive willpower on 7 demanding projects at once. It’s about prioritising the one thing and then curating other (low cognitive demand) activities around it. How you eat, drink, sit, think, look, feel & interact are all fair game factors to play with in the world of stacking. In an ideal world, we would do things that are at best synergistic, and at worst neutral in the pursuit of our highest value goals.
Stacking Emporium (Some Suggestions):
Below are some ideas to try out but of course, they are relevant to my interests and values, so may not be relevant to you.
- Is your education important to you? — You can listen to audiobooks while walking, washing or weeding the garden.
- Do you struggle with ankle mobility? — work at a standing desk and stretch your ankle throughout the day.
- Is your eyesight important? — go and spend some time in an open space and look at faraway objects. Also download Flux on your computer.
- Is your productivity important? — go for walk at lunch and tap into the unconscious mind’s solving problem superpowers. Aristotle did it so you probably should. Don’t just sit there (link).
- Do you have a shoulder injury? — do high rep banded exercises while waiting for meals to cook.
- Are you learning a language and/ or studying? — read a textbook in a foreign language (see Charles Poliquin).
- Losing weight & improving health markers while increasing discipline? — fast for a day. You won’t die.
- Foot or lower body pain? — take shoes off as soon as you get home. This one is huge. We are not designed to wear shoes.
- Do you like fresh food? — grow your own, the ultimate in stacking investment.
Send off…
As you can see, stacking is about expanding your perception and getting creative. Doing anything in true isolation is an illusion. Everything you do is connected so its best to realise that there is often much more that you can do to help yourself do more of what you want. Its about mixing in things that are a plus for you regardless of your obligations. You have options!
Resources:
- Katy Bowman’s podcast on stacking https://nutritiousmovement.com/podcast-transcript-ep-39-stack-your-life-for-more-natural-movement
- Pic 1— https://unsplash.com/@jeremythomasphoto
- Pic 2 — https://unsplash.com/@jwwhitt
- Pic 3 — https://unsplash.com/photos/eY7ioRbk2sY
