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Keep A Half-Day Up Your Sleeve At All Times

Every new context teaches a lesson

In the UK, we’re in the stage of lockdown lifting where a sunny day makes more social activities possible. Being outside gives you some of your old flexibility back, but it comes with a big drawback — in the UK, it’s not sunny every day.

Golf, BBQs, drinks with more than one other friend — great fun but hard to plan. You carve out the time in your diary, get excited… then it rains all day.

Necessity is the mother of invention. I now try to keep myself a half-day ahead of my work schedule so if it’s sunny, I can drop everything and seize the day. I’m encouraging my mates to do the same.

A new productivity technique (“The Half-Day Hack”) is spreading — one that prioritises joy and connection over deadlines.