Two-Rule Life Simplifier
Short Definition
A compact Adams framework for happiness and life design: maximize personal freedom and maximize health/energy.
Expanded Description
The Two-Rule Life Simplifier is a distilled version of Adams' broader self-improvement model. Instead of tracking many variables, he reduces decision-making to two high-leverage priorities: build a life with more autonomy over your time, and maintain the physical energy needed to use that autonomy well.
In practice, this means treating schedule flexibility as a strategic asset and treating health habits (sleep, diet, movement, recovery) as core infrastructure rather than optional lifestyle add-ons. The simplifier framing is that many downstream goals improve when these two foundations are strong.
Two Rules
- Maximize personal freedom: move toward work and life arrangements with less external control over your schedule and choices.
- Maximize health and energy: protect sleep, diet, fitness, and recovery so mood, focus, resilience, and output stay high.
Examples in Adams' Work
- Forbes interview (2013): Adams explicitly describes happiness as a function of health and freedom, and discusses designing his life around flexibility and fitness: forbes.com/sites/danschawbel/2013/10/22/scott-adams-what-he-learned-from-building-his-dilbert-empire
- Lifehacker summary (2013): Presents this as Adams' "two rules for happiness," aligning with the freedom + health framing: lifehacker.com/dilbert-creator-scott-adams-two-rules-for-happiness-1484197934
- Book context (2013): How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big expands related ideas (especially energy management and flexible scheduling), while interview formats present the clean two-rule version most directly.
Representative Quotes
- Paraphrase from Forbes interview: Adams describes happiness as primarily a function of health plus freedom. Source: Forbes (2013)
- Lifehacker's framing of the same interview as Adams' two-rule happiness model (freedom + health). Source: Lifehacker (2013)
Key Source Links
- 2013-10-22: Forbes interview covering happiness as health + freedom and schedule/fitness emphasis. forbes.com/sites/danschawbel/2013/10/22/scott-adams-what-he-learned-from-building-his-dilbert-empire
- 2013-12-16: Lifehacker recap explicitly naming Adams' "two rules for happiness." lifehacker.com/dilbert-creator-scott-adams-two-rules-for-happiness-1484197934
- 2013: Book page for related extended model context. How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big
Related Concepts
Source Note
This entry is based on direct 2013 interview-era sources for the concise two-rule formulation, with the 2013 book included as contextual support for the broader energy-and-schedule model.