Term. Graceful degradation — smoothly shedding functions instead of a full failure.
Case. One partner is an early bird, the other a night owl. Overlapping waking time is scarce and both feel a lack of closeness.
Model. You can’t force a system to run at 100% in an uncomfortable mode. Instead of conflict — graceful degradation: not “everything together always”, but deliberate shared windows.
What helped. They protected shared slots (breakfast, a short evening) instead of fighting over the “right” schedule.
Lesson. Compatibility isn’t sameness but the ability to dock different schedules.
See Glossary.