When in doubt, optimize your life for uberlight.

Uberlight weight. This means you can walk around all day with less fatigue.

Uberlight car goes faster (less weight = more power). More fun to drive. Also uberlight cars tend to be smaller, thus it makes it easier to park your car regardless of where you go.

Uberlight camera means you always have your camera wherever you go, thus no missed decisive moments. More creative productive output.

Uberlight phone, laptop, and devices = less strain on your neck, thumbs, and generally you can carry your devices with you everywhere you go. Thus, more creative output and creativity.

When traveling, pack uberlight. When in doubt, throw it out. Also, recognize that by traveling uberlight you don’t have the “optimal” setup, but by having fewer tools, it will force you to become more “creative” (creativity comes from necessity and lack; figuring out how to hack the subpar tools you already got is probably the true source of innovation).

When to go heavyweight?

Certainly you don’t want to be uberlight with everything in life.

For example at the gym if you want to become stronger, you must lift heavier weights.

Or if you want to become stronger you need more challenging and difficult tasks (heavy challenges).

But the question I’m always curious about is this:

In which domains in life is uberlight desirable, and in which domains in life is heavyweight desirable?

When in doubt, go uberlight

I haven’t figured it all out yet, but it seems as a heuristic (rule of thumb):

When in doubt, go uberlight.

If you optimize your life for uberlight, here are the upsides:

1. Economical: Generally speaking uberlight things tend to be cheaper, unless of course you purchase more expensive materials (carbon fiber) for weight savings.
2. It seems to have less body fat (adipose tissue) is desirable. Seek to maximize muscle mass, and minimize body fat.
3. With cameras, don’t optimize for image quality. Optimize for uber lightweight (RICOH GR cameras).
4. For devices, it seems that in the tradeoff between performance and weight, it is better to optimize for lightweight devices. Thus better to own a MacBook Air than to own a MacBook Pro, or better to own a lighter iPhone than a heavier iPhone.
5. With cars, it seems that lightweight cars are more fun to drive and own. Perhaps we should do more “weight comparisons” with cars, instead of optimizing for horsepower or design.
6. When traveling, make it a fun game to see how uberlight you can go. Treat it like a fun “creative constraint”.

Uberlight baby!

ERIC