A/B Test Your Life Through Travel
Yuli Azarch | January 8, 2018 | Comments Off on A/B Test Your Life Through Travel
In a nutshell, an A / B Test requires comparing and contrasting two different things to see which one works best.
Simple enough, right?
Well, you can do it with your life, too.
I’ve been traveling for three years now, and I realized that in digital business, as in life, you need to test everything. In life, like in a business, there are no certainties, and you need to test everything to see what works.
Being data-driven means, changing your perceptions for hard facts and realize that maybe changing the way you do something might bring amazing benefits.
In your business you could change your website’s titles, your headlines, and the way you place your products; you can change everything and just compare it. And you can do the same with your life.
In today’s podcast, I’ll talk about A/B testing your life through travel.
How?
Lessons from this episode:
1. Why Not A/B Test Your Life? (01:21 – 04:31)
2. Areas in your Life That you Can A/B Test (04:31 – 08:11)
3. Benefits of A/B Testing (08:11 – 09:23)
4. Ways to analyze your life. (09:23 – 10:27)
Over the last three years, I’ve come up with two main ways you can start A/B testing your life. I have also found many places where I could run A/B tests to find out what is best for me. They might seem rather obvious at first, but I believe that the easier we can see things, the faster we can start applying them in our life.
Tune in and find out how A/B tests can also help your life.
A/B Test your Life Through Travel
1. Why Not A/B Test Your Life? (01:21 – 04:31)
During the course of my own exploration, I’ve found two ways to start the A/B testing path.
- Change your VariablesIn my case, traveling has a great potential to help think outside the box and test my life. I believe that traveling allows you to A/B test your life because it allows you to change your variables quickly and lets you compare and contrast what converts you. Me, I lived in Israel my whole life. Sleeping in the same apartment, eating the same food, hanging out with the same friends. Nothing ever changed.But, when I started traveling, my life did a 180º turn.All the sudden, I realized, “wait, there are things I thought I didn’t like but I do now that I tried them.” It was a matter of experiencing them. If you can’t travel, change your variables slowly. Switch things step by step and see how you feel about the new variables in your life.
- Start HypothesizingTake a data-driven approach and start trying new things. A/B test them. Think of new ways of doing things and create patterns based on the unknown to see what works. One of the things I realized when traveling is that every place is different. One place can make me feel amazing, and the new one might not be as good and made me feel bummed.I’m not saying you should commit to a long-term thing. Just try new things. Go on for a week and try something new for a while and then compare your findings. That’s the core of A/B testing.
After your first hypotheses you, like me, will realize that by comparing and contrasting elements in your life you get to know what makes you feel whole and what doesn’t.
2. Areas in your Life That you Can A/B Test (04:31 – 08:11)
Also, I found out that there are four main areas you can point your A/B tests to and start seeing results.
- PeopleWhen you get to be around lots of different people, you can A/B test them. Start simple, nice vs. not nice. I believe there are at least five people you spend the most time with. Also, looking at others and their attitudes shows me what I like and what I dislike, and I can work on it to become a better person.
- FoodI get to see food in different countries. In some, I feel the food is pristine; in some, I feel the food is bad. Like I said before, you need to try things before you know you don’t like them. Don’t stick to what you know. Try new diets at least for a week, who knows what could happen.
- CountriesThere are many countries in the world. I’ve been to thirty, and I realized that some people are happy and others not so much. See which countries match your personality and make informed choices about where you’d want to stay.
- RelationshipsDon’t commit so quickly. A/B test your relations. See how you feel and don’t jump off after, literally, knowing someone for just two months. Try and date for a while and see if you’re both compatible and go well together.Dates are a way to A/B Test relations because you can slowly incorporate people into your life without making rash decisions.
3. Benefits of A/B Testing (08:11 – 09:23)
I’m not saying our lives are entirely like a software product, but A/B testing can actually give you tons of benefits.
- EngagementIf you’re in the digital business, you probably know this metric. Surprisingly, it can also lead to your life. By looking at the options, you can choose what works best for you and live a happier life doing what you love instead of doing what you should.
- InsightsThere’s an old saying that says “Know yourself.” That is something A/B testing can give you. As soon as you start testing you will gain actionable data about yourself. Make sure you use it to improve.
4. Ways to analyze your life. (09:23 – 10:27)
I think it’s important to keep a clear view of everything you A/B test. That way you can see your experiences really quickly and see what work vs. what didn’t.
- SpreadsheetsCreate a spreadsheet and literally dump every experience there and separate them. What’s good and what’s bad so you can compare at a glance.
- ListsThis is a quick, simple way to A/B test. Take a notebook with you and list everything. You can even create Top 10 lists or something similar to help you sort your thoughts.
- JournalsA journal is an age-old technique to A/B test your life that goes well when traveling. Document your experiences to the tiniest detail and read what you wrote to capture the essence of the moment to make sure you don’t fall in the same holes twice; or, on the contrary, do it, so you get to repeat things you loved.
Last Words and Key Takeaways
Every experience, every moment, and every second of your life brings you great data you can analyze.
- By taking a look at all those insights from your life, you will gain a better perspective of yourself and how to live the lifestyle you’ve always wanted.
- Travel takes you from your comfort zone and puts you in a situation where everything is new, and variables change.
- Instead of clinging to what you know, start A/B testing your life.
- Make a trip. Test a new apartment. Meet new people. Whatever. Just make sure you analyze your experiences.
I hope something I said was helpful for you. I hope you end up doing some tests in your life; at least one (relationships, people, countries, food). Alternatively, maybe just try something different and compare the results.
If you have any feedback, what can I improve, what can I do, or how can I bring more value to you, connect with me and tell me your thoughts.
All the best until next episode,
Yuli
