In a way, I agree with you. My problem lies less with the word "hack" than with its overuse.

Too many people aren't using "hack" in the sense you mention, for a clever shortcut, but for any kind of tip. Let's say: They might call "write every day" a "productivity hack" when that's less a hack than what you need to do to survive as a writer. Thanks for giving me an opening to clarify that.