She was too tired to live the lifestyle she had ordered anyway
Sandwiched in a metro train stuffed with the morning crowd, she is fine-tuning data viz animations for a client. Human density at maximum capacity, yet she remains fully focused in her bubble. Her favourite music mixed with random movements of the train always made her extra productive. It could have something to do with spatial imagination.
Valentine's Day or not, her social calendar had been empty for months.
Over-frickin-ride. What’s the worst thing that can happen?
She was too tired to live the lifestyle she had ordered anyway.
LifeSync is all the rage, and their pitch was irresistible.
Live the life you want. On autopilot.
Everyone she knew swapped configurations like changing clothes.
At the end of summer, she feeds her crypTotem with data. Locations, purchase logs, transaction histories, socials, medical, platform IDs, you name it. Her human life, in numbers, gets crunched and digested by cutting-edge algos. LifeSync profiles the data further through an interview that feels more like a weird therapy session than onboarding. It took a while, but my God, it worked like a charm.
Maxing out on networking felt like the right choice for someone new to the city. The Hustle Punk was a grind-tier package, but it helped her meet tons of people, win new work, and make her profiles shine in a few months.
As she stares at the confirmation with last-step hesitation, the train stops, sending a wave of movement through the crowd.
Switching her life to a Social Animal lifestyle takes ten long seconds, each one making it feel like a real life-changing decision.
The world shifts from muted functionality to vibrant possibility. She hears a slight change in her audio, and the surrounding colours get more saturated. Her presets recalibrate from focused productivity to social receptivity.
Exiting the train, her peripheral vision catches a shimmer. One person outlined in a soft glow pulses slightly with each beat of her heart. LifeSync's compatibility algorithms already at work.
She slowly turns, looking at a black backpack on broad shoulders topped by dark curls with exactly the right amount of chaos.
A concert appears on the calendar.
The door closes with a hiss.
Full date insurance.
The crowd’s flow takes her up the escalator.
Suddenly, she feels happier about the weekend.
[+ToDo] Check portfolio compatibility for LSYNC stock.
If she is living it, she might as well invest in it.
Hello Practical Futurists,
Welcome back from the future where lifestyles are packaged and ready to live in.
This is Practical Futures, where we help professionals build a future-ready mindset for the age of AI not through vague trends or speculative stats but through relatable products and services we might be using in the next few years.
Hit the "Like" button at the top or bottom of this page to help other change-makers build a future-ready mindset.Great leaders practice experiencing the future, not just thinking about it.
Like athletes visualising their performance, they build vivid mental pictures of tomorrow to make better decisions today.
Our weekly workouts use futures thinking and practical sci-fi to help you create a library of future memories - turning abstract possibilities into reference points that can inform your choices.
To spark your imagination, here's a thought to start with:
Let's make this future personal.
We'll start by connecting this story to your life, transforming abstract possibilities into memories you can use to navigate tomorrow's challenges.
Personal life reflection prompts
1. Would videos from your last holiday look more interesting if enriched with CCTV footage sourced and secured by your insurance provider?2. Imagine living with a LifeSync system that switches your lifestyle presets between "Focused Creator" and "Social Explorer" based on your vitals: - How would your weekends differ from your current routines? - What unexpected benefits or challenges might emerge from this automated lifestyle switching? - Which preset would you find hardest to switch out of when needed?
3. Would you prefer to sync your data on a digital crypTotem or pick a physical one?4. Name a Lifestyle Preset that you would be ready to upgrade to today.5. Picture yourself explaining your digital lifestyle package to someone who grew up without algorithmic lifestyle management: - What aspects would they find most surprising? - What would you miss most if you had to return to a fully manual life? - Which manual choices would you still insist on keeping?
6. Name one thing that would worry you about Lifestyle Presets and one that could convince you to give it a try.Nice work!
Your future memory library now has some valuable personal references. Let's fire up your thinking to add some professional leadership moments.
How will you help others navigate this future? It's time to create those memories.
Professional life reflection prompts
1. What 3 aspects of your professional life would you be interested in putting on autopilot?2. Would your current organisation ban, regulate, or encourage using lifestyle presets?3. As a leader, which improved metrics would convince you to reconsider your previous answer?4. Think about the first quarter your company integrated lifestyle optimisation with work performance: - Which departments showed the most significant improvements? - What unexpected challenges emerged during implementation? - How did leadership address privacy concerns while demonstrating value?
5. How might algorithmic networking change talent acquisition, team composition, or client matching in your industry?6. If you were tasked with creating an internal team to build the integration with LifeSync, who would you ask to lead it?7. Try to recall your first time implementing workplace compatibility algorithms that suggested optimal team formations: - What initial resistance did you encounter? - Which surprising collaborations emerged that wouldn't have happened organically? - How did you balance algorithmic suggestions with human judgment?
8. What 3 products could your current organisation improve or introduce to leverage the adoption of LifestylePresets?You did amazing! Excellent work!
Today's memories are added to your growing library of future experiences.
Thank you for expanding your imagination with us. Leaders with bold ideas move our world forward.
Think bright, and see you soon.
Pawel Halicki
Do you want practical sci-fi in your inbox?
Join strategic imagination workouts that inspire change-makers in market-leading organisations, including Visa, Deloitte, Barclays, UEFA, Nielsen, Morgan Stanley, and many more.