Max-maxxing: The Only 5 Habits You Need

Is anyone else sick of seeing an endless amount of maxxing on the internet? If you don’t know what I’m talking about, the trend first began in the mid-2010s with Looksmaxxing. Basically, it’s when someone does various forms of facial exercises and body care routines in an effort to improve their appearance. The trend has since evolved into figuring out how to max every aspect of your life. So what should you be focusing on? Looksmaxxing? Sleepmaxxing? Goonmaxxing? I’m here to set the record straight.

Softmaxxing, a subgenre within looksmaxxing, is using non-invasive, common self-improvement routines to enhance physical appearance, such as skincare (clearing acne, moisturizing), getting haircuts, exercising, and dieting. Stop bonesmashing and putting things in your body that you can’t even pronounce. You’re not going to become a gigachad overnight.

You’ve probably heard about the 1% rule when it comes to self-improvement, where small improvements compound over time. Success is a process, and when we divide bigger goals, like becoming the best version of ourselves, into smaller goals, like adding vegetables to one meal a day, it becomes easier to hit those goals.

Proven success and results take time. In the words of J.R.R. Tolkien, “Little by little, one travels far.”

Chillmaxxing is a lifestyle trend and aesthetic that prioritizes extreme comfort, relaxation, and a low-stress, slower-paced life over hustle culture. Not every routine you have needs to be developed by a Marine. Hustle culture is everywhere, but it’s not the only way to live a successful lifestyle.

In the book The 7 Habits of Highly Successful People, there’s a concept called “Sharpen the Saw,” which is about continuously renewing yourself physically, mentally, spiritually, and socially/emotionally. Go on a walk, chill with your friends, read a book (you could even read The 7 Habits of Highly Successful People), and make time for yourself to sharpen your saw.

At the end of the day, we’re on a rock that spins in space (and some of us are buying bottled water). Sometimes straight chilling is going to do more for your mental well-being than another set of pushups or a business podcast (unless that’s chill to you).

Grassmaxxing is the intentional practice of maximizing time spent in nature to improve mental, physical, and emotional well-being. Humans need to touch grass, even though it’s almost impossible to disconnect these days and go outside (I believe in you).

A while back, Stanford found that a person’s creative output increased by an average of 60 percent when walking. Now add some nature to your walk and you’ll sleep better, feel better about yourself, and even improve your focus. There’s a huge movement right now to go outside more and reconnect with the natural world.

John Muir once said, “The mountains are calling and I must go.” You should go too.

Jestermaxxing is behaving like a jester/clown to win social approval, navigate social situations, or cope with difficult circumstances. Too many of us are constantly trying to take ourselves too seriously, but there’s a time and a place to act like a jester. We’re moving past being nonchalant and effortless in social settings, the time to relax and joke around is here.

Some of us are chopped from the start, but that just means you have to make up for it in other ways. Charisma isn’t built from how you look or how much money you have. We’ve all heard of the fat funny guy trope, sincerity mixed with irony is the real social currency.

When I think of funny people in history who were known for having unconventional looks, I think of Danny DeVito.

If you can manage to jestermax and be good looking, congratulations, you should play the actual lottery because you’ve already won once.

Timemaxxing is a productivity-focused approach aimed at optimizing daily routines through discipline, scheduling, and habit tracking to maximize efficiency. I can’t stress enough how important having a routine is. You don’t need to schedule out every second of your day, but blocking out pieces of your day to give yourself uninterrupted focus time is an easy first step.

Some of the best advice I’ve found is to…

1️⃣ Try one thing at a time: start small (1% rule)

2️⃣ Make a plan: set clear intentions and hold yourself accountable

3️⃣ Reframe your thinking: incorporate healthy habits into the things you’re already doing, and be mindful of the time you’ve locked in.

At the end of the day, none of these maxxings are meant to be taken to the extreme on their own. They’re tools, and the real power comes from knowing which one to pull out when you need it. Some days you need to jestermax to loosen up, other days you need to softmax and take care of your body, or chillmax so you don’t burn yourself into the ground. Grassmaxxing reminds you there’s a world outside your screen, and timemaxxing makes sure your days don’t just disappear on you.

Think of them like a Swiss Army knife for self-improvement, small, practical, and meant to be used in combination. They say there are two wolves inside of us, but I think there are hundreds. You just have to figure out which wolves howl the loudest.

And lastly, here it is, my biggest secret to becoming the best version of you, all rolled up into one image…

Obviously, this week’s newsletter feels a little different from the rest, but I wrote it to bring attention to the Articles feature on X that just became available to all premium members. I think X is going to be pushing this feature pretty heavily, especially since this week the $1 million contest to see who can write the best article on X comes to an end.

As you might have guessed from reading the above, I’m throwing my hat in the ring. I do think that articles are going to be big for X, and after clicking on one of them, it’s now my entire feed. Expect this trend to continue this year. It’s going to be interesting to see if people on X continue to use this feature or if it becomes something we just scroll past.

Shortform Comes to Netflix
Everyone is going to have swipe content in 2026.

First NBA Player Signs With YoungLA
You don’t have to actually be young and in LA to sign.

NCAA Approves Uniform Patches
Two patches of no more than 4 square inches on uniforms.