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I was at home in Montreal, packing my bag and preparing for a cottage weekend with my friends in early July, when I came across an Instagram video of Carmen Vicente, a tech social-media strategist and cultural trend forecaster from Toronto, proclaiming that the theme of summer 2026 would be “unoptimized.”
Based on her own “unscientific research,” Vicente posited that many people were growing tired of the collective obsession with self-tracking, personal KPIs and biohacks. Instead, she said an unoptimized summer would be “a little hedonistic, a little realistic” and involve behaviours like not shaving or wearing a bra, going analogue, ditching Oura rings, smoking and, perhaps most importantly, being together with other people in real life.
I felt a particular sense of validation. After several years of following a somewhat rigid routine that included getting at least eight hours of sleep, plenty of meal prepping and healthy eating, regular workouts and little to no alcohol, an unoptimized summer was exactly what I was craving. I quickly sent the video to my friends and declared that we should channel this energy into our upcoming getaway. They wholeheartedly agreed.
What followed was a weekend filled with laughs, good food, a few drinks and very little sleep. One night, the four of us stayed up talking and giggling until 3 a.m. Despite being 29, it felt like we were 15 again. I went home tired, covered in bug bites and with a very full cup.
The harms of over-optimizing
Self-optimization – which refers to the unending pursuit of improvement in our physical health, mental well-being and cognitive performance, often using wearable health monitoring devices – has become a prominent socio-cultural trend in recent years. But it may be keeping us isolated and lonely, acting as a perpetual excuse to stay home and turn down opportunities for connection.
A 2021 study from the Journal of Medical Internet Research shows that there may be a “dark side of self-tracking,” including potential adverse psychosocial consequences such as stress, addiction, work overload and misuse. Mental health experts have meanwhile seen the impacts firsthand.
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“I’m definitely seeing a trend of people feeling less connected with friends,” said Beverly Reed, a registered psychologist and the founder of Be Well Psychology in Calgary. “It can be harder to say ‘yes’ to things when you are so dead set on your own individual goals.”
Over the phone, Vicente told me her skepticism of self-optimization wasn’t new – she’d always tried to reject it in her own life. But for the first time, she sensed that more people might be starting to question whether tracking their every move with a device was really leading to a better life. She was clearly onto something: Her video about unoptimization was one of her most popular to date, garnering nearly 500,000 views.
Embracing an unoptimized life
Brittany Smith, a 41-year-old digital strategist from Toronto, told me she spent her “unoptimized summer” travelling spontaneously, including a very last-minute trip to Temagami, Ont., with a close friend that ended up being a particularly special bonding experience.
“Part of unoptimized fun is letting yourself be open to saying ‘yes’ when things happen and not planning everything to a tee,” she said. “When you leave space for that unknown, you might meet someone who gives you a recommendation that’s a highlight of your trip or you might meet someone and fall in love.”
Laya Polowin, a 31-year-old living in Toronto, has been working to unoptimize her life since she left her job at a recruiting company just over a year ago. At the time, she was working hard, working out, wearing an Ultrahuman smart ring to track her sleep and following a strict routine.
“My physical health had never been better but my mental health was in the dumps,” she said. “I’d be so tired after work and I wouldn’t spend time with friends – I was just so apathetic.”
Since resigning, Polowin has been putting her relationships first while doing a variety of jobs, from working on commercial film sets to helping put on brand activations. She discovered that she loves hosting events and started a series of adult spelling bees at Toronto bars. She’s not particularly passionate about spelling, but she is passionate about gathering people together in “a warm room” and helping to create a sense of community.
“Human connection is so much more important to me than having a six-pack or making the most amount of money possible,” she said.
Laya Polowin started a series of spelling bee events hosted at Toronto bars.Matthew Reid Chin/Supplied
Socialization and connection should be seen as a fundamental part of well-being, not something expendable or worth sacrificing in the name of physical health, Reed said.
“Health is only one bucket of what leads to joy and happiness,” she said. “If we focus too much on one bucket, you can definitely find yourself missing out on the social piece.”
Plus, a 2026 study from Stress and Health journal shows we’re more likely to achieve our goals when we approach them with flexibility. Allowing yourself to occasionally deviate from your routine will make you more successful in the long run, Reed said, especially if you’re also boosting your well-being by filling your life with social connection.
As the sunny season carried on, so too did my own somewhat unoptimized habits. I let go of my routine whenever an opportunity for fun and connection arose, and I had a summer filled with more late nights, glasses of wine, bar hangs, conversations with new people and deep talks with old friends than I’d had in a long time.
I don’t plan on changing my approach as the cooler weather sets in. I’ll still go to the gym and cook healthy meals and try to sleep well, but a spontaneous, joyful night with the people I love will always sit at the top of my priority list, no matter how many hours of sleep I may lose.