Your next hyperfixation

anti-optimizationDocumented

FRICTIONMAXXING

Optimizing life by deliberately making selected parts of it less convenient.

MAKE THE WRONG THING HARDER.

What is FRICTIONMAXXING?

Frictionmaxxing is the practice of adding selected, safe resistance to a life made overly seamless by apps, automation and instant gratification. It does not mean making life inconvenient at random: useful friction makes temptations harder to reach and meaningful tools easier to use, while harmful friction still gets removed.

Supposedly maxes

attention / engagement / resilience / memory / contact with physical reality

Adherents believe

  1. Convenience has hidden costs.

  2. Effort creates attention.

  3. The shortest route is not always the richest.

  4. A tool can remove the experience with the problem.

  5. Some difficulty should be selected, not eliminated.

You may already be FRICTIONMAXXING if…

  • your phone is intentionally inconvenient
  • the easiest option is rarely the one you trust
  • you move temptations farther away and tools closer
  • your environment makes decisions before you have to

Typical practices

  • using paper and pen
  • walking without navigation
  • cooking instead of ordering
  • choosing in-person interaction
  • doing one task without AI or automation

Spotted in the wild

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