“When” written by Daniel Pink
I’ve been really lucky my whole life. It just seems that I have always been in the right place at the right time. Great timing? Luck?
Best-selling author Daniel Pink’s latest book “When” looks at the “science” of timing. Pink pulls together an enormous amount of research from psychology, biology, neuroscience, and economics to help the reader understand how to make the best use of timing.
Here are just a couple of my favorite takeaways from the book:
- Every human being has a biological clock. We have certain times of the day when we are most productive. For me, it’s early morning. However, we are typically most creative and innovative at the time of the day when we are least productive work wise. That would be mid-afternoon and evenings for me.
- What about when to exercise? Science tells us that exercising in the morning is best for losing weight, building strength, and boosting mood. Afternoon exercise is best for avoiding injury, performing at the highest level, and enjoying the workout better.
- Afternoons are not good for doctor’s visits (more likely to prescribe meds), surgery (more mistakes), and driving (fatigue).
- Workers least productive moment of the workday is 2:55 p.m. They are also more dishonest in the afternoon than any other time of the day.
- Judges are more likely to issue a favorable ruling in the morning than the afternoon.
This is just a quick sampling of the findings from Pink’s research. There is much more to be found throughout his new book.
I enjoyed reading “When” and highly recommend it to all small business operators.