The Friday Effect: A Simple Life Hack for 27% More Happiness

Want a little life hack to convince more people, sell better, make your tedious job bearable, and have more fun in general?

Apply what I call the ‘FRIDAY EFFECT’.

Are you often in a pretty good mood on Fridays?

It’s because of this one thing.



👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇
👉 ANTICIPATION👈

∙ Anticipation is why getting ready for a date is often more thrilling than the actual date itself.
∙ Why buying books can be more fun than reading them (wave if you have a massive ’to-read’ pile).
∙ Why the airport air crackles with delicious excitement, and the flight is just trapped farts and the arrival a limping sense of disappointment.

Anticipation is powerful.

So much so that sometimes, the tantalising promise, the anticipation, the imagining, is more delicious than the actual consumption.

Anticipation is a source of free happiness.

Research shows that people can reap substantial enjoyment from anticipating an upcoming event even if the event itself is not entirely enjoyable. People who simply thought about watching their favourite movie actually raised their endorphin levels by 27%. People who devote time to anticipating enjoyable experiences report being happier in general.

It’s why we love Fridays. The promise of the weekend.

Buy a cookie and eat it right away: you may get X units of pleasure 🍪
Save the cookie until later: you get X units of pleasure plus all the additional pleasure of looking forward to it 🍪🍪🍪

Think about how happy you are when you’re looking forward to a holiday or a night out with friends.

Can’t take the time for it right now? Put something on the calendar. Then whenever you need a boost of happiness, remind yourself about it.

Have a trip booked in already? Savour it ACTIVELY. Build up excitement. Tell your friends about it. Make a Spotify playlist. Get on Duolingo. Watch movies about the destination. Go ahead and imagine how wonderful it will be.

Business is similar.

If waiting has to be a part of the service, can you think about how you can make it more enjoyable for the customers?

If there is no waiting involved, well, can you add some?

The best marketers sell anticipation, not just products.

👉 Messaging? Sell the future state of customers enjoying the benefits of your products.
👉 Product launch? Teasers, influencers, hints, sneak peeks, waiting list, pre-sale,...
👉 Shipping? Those 5,000 SMS updates from UberEats pave a path for rising anticipation.

Anticipation is POWERFUL.

Try it.

How can you inject anticipation into what you’re doing?

Let me know.

I’ll be here, patiently waiting :)