2 things I hate:
1. Standing in lines that exceed 3 minutes
2. Wasting time

Yesterday, I was asked to see an opening day movie (Harry Potter) with a group of friends.  I was indifferent to seeing the movie and would normally not have gone if it wasn't for friends going.  As you may guess, the lines at the Harry Potter movies are long and filled with tons of dedicated fans.  I have nothing against people dressing up as wizards, movie characters, etc., but its not my cup of tea so if I can prevent myself from spending several hours waiting in line I'll do it.

(9 p.m. + opening night of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince) I needed to fill up my tank of gas.  Show starts at 12:01 a.m. My friends will be getting to the theater around 11:15 p.m. to get tickets for the showing (while waiting almost an hour in a line filled with thousands of people).  I was not entirely sure that they would be able to get tickets at this point as this is a highly anticipated movie with tons of fans: the movie can easily sell out if you aren't in line earlier enough.  At this point, I recalled that I used Fandango in the past when I was in New York City to see the recent Batman movie.  I loaded the Fandango app on my iPhone, purchased a ticket for the movie, and received the email confirmation. 
(9:30 p.m.) I swing by the theater and to my surprise the line for the Harry Potter movie had already started and was outside the theater!  I walked in the regular entrance, grabbed my midnight showing ticket at the Fandango counter and drove back to my apartment.
(11:45 p.m.) I call my friend to find out that they are in line for tickets and they'll get in to see the show tonight.  They mention that I need to hurry up if I want to get tickets.  I left my apartment.
(11:57 p.m.) I arrived at the theater, casually walked in past a few thousand people inline to get tickets, and comfortably got my seat.  At this point, my friends are still in line trying to get tickets, worrying that the show my start without them, and potentially missing the movie.
(12:01 a.m.) Typical movie start
(12:15 a.m.) Moved to where my friends were sitting, watched movie, enjoyed time with friends, etc.

The reason I bring up this story is that so much uncertainty surrounded this event. 
1. If I get there at this time, will the show be sold out?
2. If it isn't sold out, will I miss part of the movie because the line is too long/slow?
3. How early should I get there to get a good seat?

I had made the decision that I will stay at my apartment as long as I could to optimize my utility (getting things done, knocking out email, relaxing, etc.).  I'll go ahead and buy the Fandango tickets not knowing if my friends will get tickets (if the show sold out) and simply wait until either:
a). My friends get in the ticket line about an hour early and do in fact get tickets.  I will drive over to join them.
b). My friends didn't get tickets because the line was too long and now I don't have to waste my time in line but loose the cost of the Fandango tickets.

These decisions are seemingly reminiscent of financial stock options at expiration.  After retrieving the tickets, I had socially hedged my night for either outcome: I am guaranteed to come out ahead or at least protect myself from downside risk (of not knowing what to do or to do nothing).  I try to keep up with the standard life hacking and productivity news, but I feel that combining the right tactics and planning with a mixture of life hacking can be highly effective. 

I'm going to experiment with other strategies as they present themselves as I don't think this is an isolated event.  If you have any other social hedging or life hacking ideas, let me know.