The Ides of August 2025

Greetings Picklesversians!

It’s the 13th of August, so the Ides are upon us, and it’s time for my monthly message. Here’s what I’ve got for you today:

🗓️ Launch timeline for Time Hack

👩‍💻 Behind the scenes

⏳ Making time

Let’s dive in!

🗓️ Launch timeline

The current draft of Time Hack is now safely in the hands of an intrepid band of bravo readers. (Thanks again to everyone who’s reading it / read it!) This means there are only a few steps left in the process, and the book is getting ever closer to being finished.The estimated launch timeline currently looks like this:

📚 October release for ebook and print 

🎧 TBC for the audiobook, but I’d estimate late December or early January

(But if these dates need to change for any reason, you’ll be the first to hear about it.)

It’s a shame the audiobook has to be later than everything else, but it’s unavoidable (sort of). If, like Ben, you’re wondering why, here’s the reason:

The audiobook production process can’t start until the manuscript is finalised. The producers read the finished book and note any directions for the actor. The actor then needs time to get familiar with the script, and recording takes a few days. There are several weeks of editing and checking before the audio files are signed off. After that, the files get uploaded to the various platforms, and they can take up to three weeks to go live.

So the only way to make the audiobook come out at the same time as the other formats would be to delay the launch of the ebook and print editions.

👩‍💻 Behind the scenes

With Time Hack in the hands of the bravo readers, I’m taking a break from the manuscript and focusing on other things. For one, I’ve been on holiday from my day job for the past couple of weeks (first day back today), so David and I have been enjoying some time off together. We took a trip to the beach (which involved walking an eighty-four mile trail*), and cleared out our garage (less exciting, but necessary). We depleted England’s ice cream supplies (apple sorbet was a particularly good find), we had a lovely day at some gardens with my parents, and we’ve been hanging out with our elderly cat (here she is, doing her best impression of one of those cat-shaped clocks).I’m looking forward to adding the finishing touches to Time Hack following the feedback.

* We only actually walked the first two miles of the eighty-four mile trail, but I’m considering turning the experience into a memoir nevertheless… 

⏳ Making time

With Time Hack coming out so soon, I wanted to ask you a question:

What would you do if you had more hours in the day?

Time interests me because it’s the most important currency in our lives. We often try to spend it wisely because we only get so much of it. But what does spending time wisely actually mean? The answer’s going to be different for different people.

A few years ago, I read an excellent book called Four Thousand Weeks by Oliver Burkeman. The title refers to the average human lifespan. It might sound like a depressing topic: dwelling on our mortality. But the book was actually hugely uplifting. The author says that having limited time means we have to choose what to do with it, and by choosing to spend time on something, we fill it with significance. It’s an attitude that prioritises appreciation for what we’re doing rather than fear of missing out on what we’re not doing, and I find that very wise.

Burkeman was previously a productivity journalist. He used to write a newspaper column about all the different time management hacks that can help us to get more done, like the Pomodoro method (where we do everything in twenty-five minute chunks) or Inbox Zero (where we implement an efficient system for processing our emails [yawn]). There’s nothing wrong with those methods, and they can be useful under the right circumstances, but Burkeman eventually got tired of constantly trying to optimise himself, which inspired him to write the book. I found it hugely insightful and I highly recommend it.

From my own experience, I remember feeling guilty in my mid-twenties whenever I spent time on frivolous, fun activities (like writing or knitting or playing video games) instead of serious, useful ones (like professional development – I was a teacher at the time and there was always more to learn). I’m glad I got over it. 

I got over it by identifying six categories of things that are important to me. As long as what I’m doing fits into one of those categories, I know there’s nothing to feel guilty about. (Scrolling on my phone is the main thing I try to avoid – it’s just a black hole for my attention.)

In Time Hack, Charlotte learns about a new technology that lets people add more hours into their days. It forces her to consider what she’d do with the extra time. 

What would you spend more time on if you could?

(Me? I’d finish Book 3, of course. 👩‍💻)

That’s all from me this month.

I hope all’s well in your own personal universes.

Walk in the sun,
Marianne