Have you ever tried to get a dinner reservation on a Friday night, go skiing on a Saturday, book a campground on a weekend, or get a flight on a holiday weekend? Or even go to the gym or grocery store after work?
If you have, you might be inclined to think that your city is too congested—there are just too many people!—but really, the problem is that we’re all working and recreating at the exact same time.
Dinner reservations are usually freely available on a Tuesday, the ski slopes are empty on a Thursday, campgrounds and national parks have open availability mid-week, and the streets are clear in the middle of the day. The gym and grocery stores are usually empty mid-day.
If even a quarter of the white-collar world adopted an asynchronous schedule, we could benefit local businesses, traffic congestion, even air quality.
The question isn’t whether we will do it or even when—it’s which companies are going to be the first?
