The afternoon heat changes what a reasonable pace should look like.

Standards for effort are usually set as though conditions were constant. In real heat, the body works harder to do less, and the same task genuinely costs more, so a slower afternoon is accuracy rather than laziness. Places that live with hot summers built this into their day long ago, and treated the pause as sense rather than indulgence.

When the weather is against you, move the demanding work to the cooler hours and let the middle of the day be lighter. Drink more than you think you need. Judging yourself by a temperate day’s output on a difficult one measures the wrong thing.