anticipation · one minute · the departures board
Van Boven and Ashworth asked people to think about an event either in the future or the same event in the past. The future version felt stronger — more excitement before a trip than after. Kumar, Killingsworth and Gilovich then found that the waiting itself is nicer when what you’re waiting for is an experience rather than a thing. Anticipation is a mood you can schedule.
Having a concrete good thing on the calendar changes how the days before it feel. It’s the cheapest way to lift a week: put one small, specific pleasure within seven days and let the waiting do the work.
Small, specific, and soon beats big and far. If the thing falls through, anticipation can turn into disappointment; the page asks for things that are easy to keep.
Flip the flaps to a thing and a night within the week. The last train's headlight sits down the line at that distance and comes closer each night — anticipation as something you can see approach.
Try it in the city →from Attuned Work Design
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