When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing

I appreciated the practicality of the information. Anyone can use it for their personal schedule but the information can be used in a much broader context, on the company or even societal level, to help us to be happier and more productive people.

Very enlightening, entertaining and informative. Daniel provides insight into understanding what you can do to optimize you day, work, life, etc. based one timing. Seems trivial but is far from it. Another must have book by Daniel Pink

Great book with great insights, and I did recommend it to others before I finished the book Once I finished it I felt it lacked a smooth conclusion, it was more of a "this is all I got and time to publish the book" ending.

Highly recommend this book - it is a page turner of fascinating research. At the end of each section is summary on how you can incorporate the secrets to perfect timing. It gave me permission to take a daily nap! :)

I enjoyed reading this book. It brings together the results of several academic papers in a coherent way. The facts underlined in the book are easily applicable in our daily lives. And as nicely put in the final page, the author achieves to create positive difference in reader's live. But I disagree with the author that the difference is small. It's actually a big one.

I have learned many things from this book, Daniel Pink is a great author. I am in my way to 40 and this book explained why I am like in the middle of 9ers crisis. I am a psychiatrist and this book helped me a lot about understanding the perfect timing for my daily life

Fantastic book for anyone to enjoy. It really gets you thinking about things in a different way, and makes you wonder if the powers that be are aware of these “timing” strategies. This book may also help you understand yourself a little better! I suggest this to anyone who just enjoys learning new things.

This book is a phenomenal resource. I believe it is a book to absorb quickly, and then again more slowly a second time. My first pass provided me the big picture in seeing what Dan and his team had unearthed. Think of a map. You only get excited about your journey if you know where you are going. I’m so glad I did the quick scan first of his book, because then I had a greater interest in the details. — I knew the destination! Now the book serves as functional resource in my own journey. I am digesting the insights; revisiting elements that I can apply to my life and insights I can share with others!

Daniel Pink is a renowned researcher and it shows in this book. It’s not a collection of his thoughts on timing. When is a look at what the research says about when we should do things and why timing matters.

It’s a coherent look at it with actionable things for readers.

My only beef with it is that the final section on synching and thinking seems out of place in the book. It has much to learn, but I’m not sure exactly how it fits in the greater scheme of what Pink is trying to get at in When.

In fact, I think that it could stand alone as a book. It’ feels a bit “grafted in” when it comes to the originally stated purpose of the book as described by Pink at the beginning of the book.

But, yes you should read it anyway. In fact, I think it’s a must read book.

I'm a big fan of Dan Pink and his books. I devoured "Drive" and "To Sell is Human." Unfortunately, his most-recent book, "When" completely missed the mark with me. The entire 3rd part of the book (Synching and Thinking) didn't even seem to belong in a book about timing. If you're looking for a fascinating book about the optimal time to perform daily, weekly and/or monthly tasks, I strongly recommend "The Power of When."

Fascinating read! Dan Pink has done it again; infusing science into - at first blush - a seemingly insignificant topic and compelling us to re-evaluate how we make our day-to-day and long-term decisions. From hospital appointments to standardized test takers, from larks to owls and third birds, and to wonder what to lead with first: good news or bad news, you will learn how timing is -(and if it is not) should be - the driver of all of our decision-making. Make the decision right now to dip into this book!

Imagine for a moment that you knew the perfect time to do everything.
The perfect time to make decisions, the perfect decision to make regarding timing. When to accept a job offer, and when to leave a job. When to present to a client, and when to take on a new action that needs to become a habit.
And the list goes on.
Author Daniel Pink has collected a startling array of findings from a wide variety of credible sources. All shed light on one of life’s most vexing problems: when is the right time?
It was Miles Davis who said that timing isn’t the main thing, it’s the only thing!
Consider just some of the observations and insights Pink shares.
In an article in the respected magazine, Science, researchers reported on their findings across 500 million tweets sent by 2.4 million users in 84 countries posted over two years. They found that positive emotions such as feeling engaged and hopeful, were generally higher in the morning, plummeted in the afternoon, and climbed up again in the early evening. Neither the day of the week, nor the weekend made any difference.
Across continents and time zones, the same daily patterns occur: a peak, a trough, and a rebound. It also appears that nearly all living things have biological clocks that affect their moods and energy.
This field of study, called chronobiology, shouldn’t be only of interest to some, because timing can even affect the share price of a company.
A study of over 26k earnings reports from more than 2,100 public companies over 6 1/2 years, revealed price-altering results. Reports presented first thing in the morning were perceived as more generally upbeat and positive. In the afternoon when negativity deepened again, responses to reports “were more negative, irritable, and combative” than reports in the morning.
So aside from shareholder’s meetings, should business people tackle their most important work in the morning? The answer is yes, and no. Here’s why.
Our cognitive abilities are not constant over the course of a day. But, not only do they fluctuate, they are dependent on the nature of the task.
Generally, our mental alertness and energy levels climb in the morning, reaching their peak about midday, then plummet during the afternoons, and recover in the late afternoon. Again, that is not true for all people.

Each of us has a “chronotype”—a personal pattern of circadian rhythms that influence our physiology and psychology.
In the past we have divided people into two broad classes – larks (an early morning bird,) and owls (a night bird.) However, there is a third bird, according to the Munich Chronotype Questionnaire. While the number of extreme owls outnumbers the extreme larks, 60-80% of us are the “third bird”, not too owlish and not too larkish.
Why does it matter? Consider being more of an owl and writing your matric math exam in the morning. You will do worse than you would have done later in the day. Not because you know less, but because mornings are not when you best show how much you know.
I mention math particularly because not all brain work is the same. Some problems require analytical prowess, while others require insight. The insight problems are more likely to be solved when birds are not at their peak – mornings for owls and late afternoons for larks.
The “Big Five” psychological traits – (openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism,) are also differently affected for larks, the third bird, and owls.
While there sound tests to assess your chronotype quite easily, Pink offers a simple test and a variety of tips throughout the book in chapters titled “Time Hacker’s Handbook.”
A ‘quick and dirty’ way to find your avian type is to do the following computation for your sleep pattern. On “free days” when you don’t have to be awake at specific times, take your bed-time and your wake-up time, and find the mid-point. Those of us whose mid-point is before 3 a.m. are larks, midpoints after 6 a.m. are owls, and everyone between are “third birds”.
Everyone experiences the day in three stages, peak, trough, and rebound, but one in four people, the owls, experience the day in reverse order.
As a manager you are best served by holding a brainstorming meeting in the late afternoon which will suit most people, and an analytical meeting in the morning.
The best performing business people need to be aware of their chronotype just as do the best performing athletes. And work around it as much as possible.
Based on good science, we know more about what is required for peak performance today, than we did in the past. For example, we now know lunch is the most important meal of the day, not breakfast. We know that taking an afternoon nap is not a sign of shameful indolence, or best reserved for 5-year olds, but a very smart practice for corporate athletes.
If afternoons are the ‘Bermuda Triangles’ of our days, it would be wise to encourage taking a “perfect nap” if it will boost your individual productivity and corporate performance. In the UK, sleep-related car accidents peak twice every day 2 p.m. and 6 a.m. So, we may assume do poor decisions.
There are many types of “restorative breaks”, not completely dissimilar to the afternoon nap. Some only take minutes, but have dropped death rates in hospitals by 18%. They include physically taking a step back from the work you are doing, and refocusing on the task to be accomplished.
‘When’ does matter. Studies have shown that “if you happen to appear before a parole board just before a break rather than just after one, you’ll likely spend a few more years in jail—not because of the facts of the case but because of the time of day,” Pink reports.
There is no single answer to what breaks look like, but science does offer five guiding principles.
1. Something beats nothing
2. Moving beats stationary
3. Social beats solo
4. Outside beats inside
5. Fully detached beats semi-detached
So, the cinematic supervillain Gordon Gekko was wrong on many counts when he said, “Lunch is for wimps.” About 62% of American office workers eat lunch at their desks, alone each day. This is simply a recipe for poor performance, not a sign of commitment or a great work ethic.
And the perfect nap? It’s a coffee followed by a 20-minute sleep, because caffeine takes 25 minutes to kick in, and you will wake refreshed. Pink calls this the ‘napacinno’.
There are so many more insights into how the time of day, week or year affects our working prowess, that it is not surprising that this book has become a best-seller.
Readability Light ---+- Serious
Insights High +---- Low
Practical High -+--- Low
*Ian Mann of Gateways consults internationally on leadership and strategy and is the author of the recently released ‘Executive Update.

So is good timing a matter of luck or a science? This book focuses on science, and it's full of information to make you reconsider everything from when to change jobs to when to go the the hospital (not in the afternoon). Lots of charts and self-tests.

When: the Scientific secrets of perfect timing is very cogent for all readers. Daniel pink is an excellent author He gathers many elements of time in our lives and explains some of our actions and sources of pleasure in the world.

This was an interesting read and fascinating perspective on something as quotidian, yet abstract as time. I enjoyed the right mix of anecdotes and science and learned a few practical things to take with me throughout my day.

After two promising chapters on productivity patterns, which are nicely correlated with brain function, this book becomes silly and trivial. Like the three time rules about when to get married: old enough, finished school, emotionally mature. He had to put in a lot of banal filler to get 225 pages.

Seriously, this is book had me thinking and reevaluating the way I think and lead. I have reorganized the way I work, rest and recover! What Daniel has written here has application to every kind of work. Read this book!

I have to admit it isn't my favorite Daniel Pink book, but it has some really good information. His writing just didn't seem as engaging on this one, but I am still a huge fan (and will continue to buy what he writes!)

The book contains many interesting facts. It also takes much more time than needed to present them.
In terms of its organization, the book is more a grab-bag than a coherent study of timing.
The writing style manages to be both breathless and pedestrian.

Tying together anecdotes, evidence and theories, Dan Pink shares his thoughts on time, something we all have the same amount of. Excellent reading, I look forward to part 2, perhaps we investigate time on Mars or the Moon, hibernation or time spent eating vs health...? enjoyed the read indeed

It's a short book, and that's a good thing, though it could have been even shorter. Many authors feel the needs to drag things out...as if a longer book is automatically a better book. As one other reviewer noted, part 3 of the book doesn't seem to fit at all, and was probably included to make it long enough to be a short book. Additionally, Pink seems to have fallen prey to what appears to be an epidemic among authors lately: the idea that they need to read a bunch of psychology studies and regurgitate them in book form.

There are some interesting observations in the book, but if you do a lot of scientific/psychology reading, you're probably already familiar with most of the material that Pink summarizes in When.

One thing that bothered me throughout the book was Pink's seeming lack of critical questioning of some of the studies or topics he covered. For example, he cited a claim that food delivery folks in India have an error rate of 1 in 16,000,000. Although Pink admitted that the statistic is unverified, it's so absurd that I can't believe he even repeated it. He also frequently cites study results with little to no additional details about the study beyond his interpretation of what the results mean.

Didn’t care much for the book, and I couldn’t return it so I was forced to listen to it. Seems like useless you take care of tasks early in the morning you are doomed. The book was like a readers digest of several magazine articles.

"When" is that rare book that draws on the complicated and fascinating world of social science - with its data points, surveys, and theories - and applies it to the most unscientific thing of all: life. This book really makes you think about what you do, why you do it, and - most important - when you do it. Life may seem random even at the best of times, but Dan Pink suggests that patterns exist in what decisions we make and when we make them. More important (at least for me), the author has specific recommendations on how and when we can make better decisions to have better outcomes in our professional and personal lives. Pink made me think.

Duke Ellington, the American composer, bandleader, and pianist whose astounding productivity was exceeded only by his prodigious talent, once said, “I don’t need time. What I need is a deadline.” Daniel H. Pink gives us plenty of reasons to believe in that wisdom. The author of the excellent, best-selling "A Whole New Mind" posits in his latest book that we begin most things with a bang and end them with an explosion, but somewhere in that interminable middle is a monotonous muddle. That midpoint of our day, week, month, year, education, project, job, romantic relationship, or lifetime constitutes an inevitable ennui, a time when we should take care not to assume we are operating at our greatest gusto, fullest faculties, or peak performance.

Pink notes early in "When" that this is a book about timing. He infers from numerous studies that our optimal time of enjoyment, alertness, and accomplishment is most likely to be anytime but at halftime, when a break would serve us better than anything else. He then suggests practices for everyday life to heighten awareness, mitigate malaise, and reverse bad habits. If you like the structure of Pink’s books—as I do—you will find When a quick read full of interesting curiosities and useful tips that may improve your approach to work and maximize your output.

We're deluged with "How To" books but there's a drought of "When To" wisdom. After reading this book, I'm convinced that, more frequently than we realize, the answers to our challenges lurk in the realm of "when" instead of just "how" and "what". In practice, we don't take issues of when as seriously as we should.

In typical Daniel Pink fashion, this is a fun-to-read, evidence-based book that shares practical insights on the topic of timing. The "Time Hacker's Handbook" advice at the end of every chapter is worth the price of the entire book. You can apply the learning for yourself and there's great timing advice for teams as well.

I'm wholeheartedly recommending WHEN to our global podcast audience of project managers and leaders.

Notes from a Reading Journal: “When,” by Daniel Pink. Wow, timing really is everything! Thanks to this book, I will aim to NEVER make an important decision in the afternoon again! I will also stay away from doctor's appointments in the afternoon. 

Some of my best personal gains from this book came from Pink's tips on how to structure your workday based on your chronotype (I am a lark), and when and how to schedule more frequent restorative vigilance breaks and naps. Not surprising, nature breaks and tech-free breaks replenish us the most!

Pink suggests starting by scheduling three breaks per day, and listing when you will take the breaks; how long they're going to last; and what you are going to do during the breaks.  

Quotes I Collected in my Reading Journal:

·      Page 54: “Whatever you do, do not let mundane tasks creep into your peak period.” 

·      Page 80: "Regardless of our chronotype, the afternoon can impair our professional and ethical judgment... Inserting regular mandatory vigilance breaks into tasks helps us regain the focus needed to proceed with challenging work that must be done in the afternoon." 

·      Page 88: "High performers work for fifty-two minutes and then break for seventeen minutes."

·     "Pause Like a Pro: Most expert musicians and athletes begin practicing in earnest around nine o'clock in the morning, hit their peak during the late morning, break in the afternoon, and then practice for a few more hours in the evening." 

Deeper still, is the note about Warren Buffet's conversation with his private pilot on achieving things in life. Buffet told his pilot to start by writing down his top twenty-five goals for the rest of his life, and then to pick his top five goals from the larger list. Those five goals would be the focus of his energy and priorities, and he would have to let the other twenty go until he had first achieved his top five. 

The Buffet exercise has my head spinning right now. I have my top 5 picked out, but I consider them to be ongoing projects. Personal things that require maintenance and work constantly. Relationships, health, operating businesses. The big parts of my life. Sure, I can rattle off 20 other "that would be cool to do" types of things, but as far as goals, I think staying healthy and happy and maintaining relationships will always be top 3. I'm not sure if I don't care about enough things, or if my reaction to this exercise proves that I already had my focus on the right things. 

I'm thinking the Top 25 exercise is for people who are lost and haven't done a lot in their lives, maybe, and they approach middle age with panic because they just haven't done anything. My mind continues to reel, but I am not lost. I am not operating in the dark about defining goals. Maybe it is time to flex and dream a bigger dream. 

We tend to think of our day as a contiguous and equal chunk of time within which tasks can be shuffled to get the most done — we pack them with back-to-back meetings, errands, and todos. Can't keep up? Have another coffee and power through it all — sounds familiar?

In this book Daniel Pink makes the case that we're overlooking an important factor: we all have a biological clock (a chronotype) that cycles between peak performance, a trough, and a recovery phase multiples times a day; when matters just as much as what you're doing. For example, you may be more effective at creative tasks in the afternoon, and more detail oriented in the mornings. Gearing up for a high-stakes sports competition? Afternoons are your friend.

More alarming, the same effects but in reverse have shown to have a significant impact on the number of accidents in the operating rooms, harsher judicial sentences in the afternoon, and significant effects on test scores both for adults and school children.

In short, when you do what you need to do, matters. This book provides an excellent overview of existing scientific literature (in an easy to read and approachable form), and hands-on tips on how to make the best of your day.

Daniel Pink is a catalyst for making readers aware of deeper thinking and consideration about how essential it is to understand our When. In WHEN, he has shared research and intertwined stories to present how mindful we could be about improving our timing. He introduces several stages of time we spend during the day, when we can be more or less productive and engaged. Throughout the book, his insights give the reader choices and an invitation to be much more deliberate and intentional in scheduling our individual and team work. WHEN we work and engage our energy is a powerful fresh concept that can add more value to how we show up and participate in Life. Thank you, Daniel for sharing your scientific secrets of perfect timing and for another stellar contribution to leadership thinking.

Pink and his team have researched how we function on different tasks at different times of the day. The results of his research can help us work a little smarter and live a little better. He goes into a number of areas where choosing to work on certain types of projects at certain times of the day may give better results.

He defines three types of people. Larks are generally introverted, good at planning and getting things done. They tend to do their best work in the morning. Owls tend to be more open and extroverted with some darker tendencies, usually do better work later in the day or evening. Most people have traits somewhere between and are called third birds.

It is simple to use a graph he provides to decide which you are. Getting more information on how this affects what part of the day might be best to do different things is spread out over the whole book. What is the best time to see a doctor, especially for an operation-pretty much in the morning earlier probably better. Changes can improve a doctors work in the afternoon when it generally falls off- they can use checklists to cut down on mistakes.

Pink was originally against taking naps during the day since his naps generally left him feeling very lethargic. Research showed however that most people benefit from a short afternoon nap of 10 to 20 minutes. Naps shorter than five minutes have little effect, while naps longer than 20 minutes are actually detrimental. He suggests setting aside about 25 minutes mid-afternoon since it takes most people about seven minutes to get to sleep. To be really effective he suggests having a cup of coffee just before trying to nap, the caffeine takes 25 minutes or so to have an effect so it will begin to have that effect when the nap is over and will increase the positive effect of the nap, or so he says.

His research indicates that workers and students do better when they have frequent breaks from work. This is taken care of automatically at most colleges and universities that have a10 to 15 minute break between classes to allow students to get to the next class. This is not usually true in grade school and high school.

Missing for most of his claims are the percent increases in performance that are actually achieved when you change a behavoir. Personally I'm much more interested changing a behavior that gives a 30% benefit increase than one that gives a 5% increase. I am much more likely to try something with a higher reward.

He notes a number of amusing trends. No matter how much time is allotted to do a project whether by individuals or committees, they rarely get much done until half the time is gone. This halfway point can be effectively used to really get the problem solved, since people are aware of how little has been done. It is also found where persons age ends in nine 29, 39, 49, etc., they are much more likely to take on big challenges, and reevaluate what they're doing. Several examples are given to show the deep satisfaction people can get as well as health benefits when they are involved in groups.

He used to believe that timing was everything. Now he believes that everything is timing.

My review title says it all. In short, recommended!

p.s. Below please find some favourite passages of mine for your reference.
Time isn’t the main thing. It’s the only thing. – Miles Davis pg1
Positive mood rises in the morning, dips the afternoon, and climbed back up again in the early evening. Pg10
Your Daily When Chart: Analytic tasks: Early to midmorning. Insight tasks: Late afternoon/early evening. Making an impression: Morning. Making a decision: Early to midmorning. Pg40
Exercise in the morning to lose weight, boost mood, keep to your routine, build strength. Exercise in the late afternoon or evening to avoid injury, perform your best, enjoy the workout a bit more. Pg45
The moment we awaken, our bodies begin producing cortisol, a stress hormone that kick starts our groggy souls. But it turns out that caffeine interferes with the production of cortisol…early morning coffee increases our tolerance for caffeine, which means we must gulp every more to obtain its benefits. The better approach is to drink that first cup an hour or 90 minutes after waking up, once our cortisol production has peaked and the caffeine can do its magic. Pg46
One well known NASA study found that pilots who napped for up to 40 minutes subsequently showed a 34% improvement in reaction time and a twofold increase in alertness. Pg66
The journal Sleep found that five minute naps did little to reduce fatigue, increase vigour, or sharpen thinking. But ten minutes naps had positive effects that lasted nearly three hours. Slightly longer naps were also effective. But once the nap lasted beyond the twenty minute mark, our body and brain began to pay a price known as sleep inertia. Pg68
Avoid a false start with a premortem, assume it’s 18 months from now and our project is a complete disaster. You say to your team “what went wrong?” The team, using the power of prospective hindsight, offers some answers….By imagining failure in advance – by thinking through what might cause a false start – you can anticipate some of the potential problems and avoid them once the actual project begins. Pg107
Four situations when you should go first:-
1. If you ‘re on a ballot
2. If you’re not the default choice
3. If there are relatively few competitors (five or fewer)
4. if you’re interviewing for a job and you’re up against several strong candidates
Four situations when you should not go first:-
1. If you are the default choice
2. If there are many competitors (not necessarily strong ones)
3. if you’re operating in an uncertain environment
4. If the competition is meagre pg111
Given a choice, human beings prefer endings that elevate….what seems to be an innate preference for happy endings. Pg161
People prefer a chocolate the most when they know it’s the last one. Pg163
Divorce filings spike in March and August. Pg171
Making progress is the single largest day to day motivator on the job. But without tracking our “dones”, we often don’t know whether we’re progressing. Pg172

First, let me define what makes a 5 start book in my opinion. The most important thing is whether or not you enjoy reading it. Enjoy can mean learn a lot or it is well written or just makes you happy. I have found, half-way through - the bottom of Dr. Pink's "U-effect" that this is one of those books that I enjoy reading and it makes me happy. That said, it is also well-written (language-wise), and well-researched. It offers a refreshing way to think about your productivity and to-do list, especially when it comes to larger projects. The importance of setting short-term and long-term goals and being aware of the "middle" slump we all run into is something we all instinctively now but it is important to see presented so clearly. Reading this book motivates me and these days that is more than enough for a 5-star rating. I highly recommend this book and look forward to getting past the mid-point and sailing to the conclusion all in good "time"!

“When” is an informative and entertaining book. It could be particularly useful for people who are looking for ways to make their daily routines work better for them. But even if not looking to make such changes, it is very useful to understand the people in your life or just what’s happening in the world. This book is incredibly well researched and presented with great color. Pink is a great story teller. I read a lot of self help material and this book is unique in how it gives very practical steps as to how the information can be incorporated to make positive change. For example, the guidance on naps is very specific, when to take them, how long, the use of caffeine with naps, etc. Very, very practical! Pink’s books tend to jump around a lot, moving from subject to subject, sub topic to sub topic, very quickly. Personally I like this as I find it more entertaining. Also, Pink can get away (whereas others cannot) because he is a great writer and his subject is so well researched. Other readers however may not like this style. Lastly, I have to comment on Pink’s great skill in weaving in stories / examples from so many different areas, from basketball scores to lunch delivery men in India. I find this really adds to the work and may resonate with fans of Malcolm Gladwell and the Freakonomics series. I highly recommend this book.

This book is absolutely phenomenal. On the forefront of a new wave of science, showing us how we can work with nature instead of against it so that we can not only work to our fullest, but to our happiest.

Would I recommend it? I'd be doing a disservice if I didn't.

Pink had done it again. He may have surpassed himself, in fact. I've read bookshelves of popular business books over the past decade or two. Most of them dealt with how to do something. Although most had a chapter or two on why to do something, a handful were focused on why exclusively. Some emphasized what needed to be done. All had value.

None ever focused on when. Not one. Yet as Pink points out, the timing of things is as essential to all other elements in planing for success. Want a successful operation? Pink tells you when to do it, and supports it pages of footnotes on the research behind it. What to improve children's academic performance or artistic output? Again, he tells us and shows us the research.

Even though he draws upon such voluminous research, his prose remains highly readable and understandable.

As an added benefit Pink even explains how individuals can determine their own chronological type, and how to schedule your work to take best advantage of it. Again, all backed by research.

It's not too much to say that this book can be a life changer. I am very glad I read it, I recommend it to everyone.

Another thought-provoking work by Dan Pink (author of one of my favorite business books, “Drive”), this time on why WHEN we do things is as important as what we do and where, how, and why we do it.

As always, Pink’s in-depth research, eye-opening insights, and impactful storytelling captures and holds our attention as he leads a fascinating discussion around how time and timing factor into…well…everything.

An extreme Night Owl myself, I found especially interesting Pink’s exploration of “chronotypes” and the important differences between morning people, night people, and everyone else. And his discussion around "beginnings, middles, and endings" was equally fascinating and useful, as was the section on how cultural languages shape and influence how we view and act relative to the past, present, and future.

Peter Drucker famously stated that “Time is the scarcest resource. If it is not managed, nothing else can be.” In “When,” Pink explains a variety of ways in which we can make the most, and the best, out of our limited and valuable time so as to increase our chances for success.

No doubt, many of us share experiences of mood swings over the course of a day, week, even longer time frames such as projects at work or home. In fact, I can recall a while ago the popularity of “biorhythm” charts and explanations, which still seem to be thriving on the Internet.

Are these just random episodes or cyclic patterns that have more to offer us about managing our lives?

Daniel H. Pink, author and media producer of various studies chronicling human behavior, takes a closer at this area in his 2018 book, “When; The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing”. He pulls together various scientific research studies and commentary to investigate the current thinking about the importance of timing to activities in our lives.

Combining anecdotes with quantitative studies in a conversational writing style, the author lets his curiosity lead readers into an exploration of when our energy levels rise and fall and subsequent impact on our behavior.

To launch the journey, Pink uses the situation of William Turner, captain of the ill-fated 1915 Lusitania steamship voyage, to dramatize the probable impact of personal cycles on decision-making (for more details here’s the link to my the store review of Erik Larson’s excellent 2015 book, “Dead Wake”: https://www.the store.com/gp/review/R3FKQFWL3UUZZ2?ref_=glimp_1rv_cl)

The seven chapters of the “When” are divided into three sections:

• “The Day”: an examination of the subtle but tangible waking hour patterns of positive feelings, peaking, then, retreating before rising a second time and strategies to cope with these changes
• “Beginnings, Endings and In-Between”: a more detailed breakdown of the phases of the daily cycle and examples of how people and organizations have discovered ways to deal with impact of the subtle behavior shifts and their potential harmful results, if not recognized
• “Synching and Thinking”: stepping back from the daily patterns to look at the larger picture of how an individual works with and benefits from being part of a group as well as the emotional importance of giving one’s life a sense of value over the longer cycle of experience

At the end of the first six chapters are practical suggestions for using the information under the heading “Time Hacker’s Handbook.” While enhancing insights, these sections are a matter of personal preference and action.

Pink references some interesting sources such as the work of Daniel Kahneman, an Israeli psychologist whose work with his partner, Amos Tversky, lays the foundation for grouping people as “larks”, “owls” and “third birds” in terms of daily behavior cycles. These two are fascinating personalities whose challenging thinking are captured in Michael Lewis’ 2017 book, “The Undoing Project” (here’s the link to my the store review: https://www.the store.com/gp/review/R2U6C8BXTR899P?ref_=glimp_1rv_cl)

Additionally, the author ties in colorful anecdotes such as the significance of the “uh-oh” mid-point moment with the classic 1982 NCAA basketball championship game between Georgetown and North Carolina with a game winning shot by an unknown freshman, Michael Jordan.

By far and away, my favorite section is the example of group timing and coordination brilliantly captured in the daily planning, unspoken coordination and cohesion of the “dabbawalas”, bicycle delivering men, picking up and dropping off thousands of lunches to Mumbai office workers – without electronic devices and with a track record surpassing multinational corporations.

For a quick spin through the world of chronobiology you might find entertaining, if not lasting, results with Daniel Pink’s “When.”

I want to give Mr. Pink credit for the work he puts in, not only for the research, but also in his ability to take one study (by someone else) and turn it into a whole chapter that has a much bigger feeling of significance than it actually should.

With that said, this is another one of those books that is DEFINITELY a blog post or two expanded into a book. There are about 3 chapters at the beginning that are the core, and the rest is filler. In fact, one chapter later on devotes a whole chapter to the notion that people tend to try new challenges when their birthday ends with a 9. Wow - mind-blowing. As long as this comes from a study - then there's a whole chapter about it, to help fill it out into a book. He had his core concept - the quality of a person's mental ability changes throughout the day - and then backfilled the rest of the book with other "timing-related" concepts about people that are otherwise pretty inconsequential to make it a full book. He gets the business model of such a book, but I ended up skimming through the last half very quickly because it was otherwise a waste of my time.

Frankly, I don't know how anyone can afford to ignore this book. There are so many important tips here that can improve one's life and in some cases, even save us from dire consequences due to ill-timing. A few examples, The July Effect in teaching hospitals (don't schedule elective surgery in July!); Four tips for a better morning (my husband and I have been practicing this and it works!); Four situations when you should go first (when being first gives you an edge and the opposite when not to go first).

The background research itself is also interesting to read. It's written in Dan Pink's inimitable style: clear, direct, informative, and entertaining, e.g. the Hanukkah candle lighting experiment. There is also a good list for further reading.

The book is organized in an easy to read format for those who are time-strapped: Every chapter has a "Time-Hacker's Handbook" listing quick tips. It's like two books in one.

This is easily the best book I've read this year (about 30 books so far). I've read at least four of Dan's books and there isn't a "stinker" in the bunch.

His level of research and study (years in most cases) pays off considerably for the reader. I literally took 24 pages of handwritten notes and was thrilled to interview Dan for my podcast (Read to Lead).

I highly recommend this book to anyone looking to go beyond the art of timing, to the science behind how to ultimately make time your ally rather than your enemy.

I'll default to the other high ratings on the book/content itself, which I'd give a 4.5 to 5 star. This is the third book by Pink I've read, though the first I've listened. The author does the reading himself which is quite nice as he gets the inflections right on key points. He also has a podcast so has the timing/speed down as well. Often I can listen at 1.25 or 1.5 speed, but his cadence maintains at a steady clip with strong enunciation. Rarely had to reverse30 to catch a missed point. The only reason to give the audiobook a 4 instead of a 5 is due to some referenced material only available on the pdf, some charts and worksheets, that make it a tad difficult to follow at times. Otherwise, highly rec..

I was fully expecting this book to be a little bit of a gimmick. How could there possibly be that much to say about "timing" and how interesting could it really be? It turns out quite a lot.

A few reasons to read this book:

First, there are some very practical bits of advice that are backed up by scientific research. Pink starts there to offer us something we can use -- like what times to do hard mental work and when we're likely to be creative.

Second, there are some simple changes with potentially large benefits that could help us at school and work.
Based on most young peoples' chronobiology, we should start school later and most of us need some mental and physical breaks around 7 hours after waking to recharge. Yet we're starting earlier and cramming more into each day -- the exact opposite of what we should do! Or ensuring workers can take breaks, walk, and socialize rather than being attached to their desks. All of these would cost little, but potentially boost scores, creativity, and help our society! Wouldn't it be great to try as an experiment?

Third, Pink puts much of what we observe about ourselves and helps us make sense and manage it. Why do office workers need a coffee break around 2? Because our cognitive ability degrades as the day wears on. Sure you could work 11 hours straight and skip lunch, but you'd be better off taking a 20 minute nap and a little espresso to recharge.

There's so much more in here that's really interesting -- insights about the timing of groups, mid-life slumps, projects, and the impact of endings -- so it's worth reading (and re-reading).

Finally, I was struck at the end how remarkably well-written, interesting, and useful this book ended up being. It's just impressive given the breadth of research and topics distilled into a 218 page book. First book I've read by Daniel Pink, but won't be the last.

If you read a newspaper regularly or listen to the news you will find nothing new in the book. It is nothing more than a rehash of studies we hear about all the time. I can tell you everything in the book in a few sentences. Do the hardest tasks early in the day. Make sure you schedule any operation in the morning etc. It’s nothing more than that with a ton of filler. Sorry I bought this one.

This is an excellent, well-researched book. Pink has reviewed hundreds of studies from a variety of fields -- economics to anesthesiology -- and used the findings to draw conclusions about everything from when to get married and have surgery to when to do your most taxing work and when to quit a job. Some of the advice is intuitive, but the statistical information gives it substance and clear direction. This is the best business book I read this year!

I have the same thought with every new book by Daniel H. Pink: what new and interesting insights is he sharing this time? In his latest book titled, When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing, Pink has scoured scientific journals to uncover stimulating information that could change one’s beliefs. The big theme in this book is that timing really is everything. Using lots of examples, Pink reinforces this in multiple ways. My favorite was about naps. Like me, Pink was not a napper. Based on research, Pink now believes in the value of the short nap taken at the right time for the right period of time, following a cup of coffee. Any reader open to changing beliefs based on new scientific evidence will find much to enjoy in this book.

Rating: Four-star (I like it)

In a perfect world, I'd have Dan Pink in my ear every day helping me make the right decision--and not just the "what," but the "when." This latest deep dive into the research about timing has given me several great, tangible actions to apply to work and life, especially about making the most of beginnings, not getting lost in the middles, and boosting up my endings. Plus, I listened to this first on audio while traveling, and Dan's delivery is funny, wry, and real. (So, I guess he really was in my ear!) Thanks to Dan and his research team for this detailed yet very entertaining book.

Great ideas from Dan Pink, but somewhat overwhelming analysis for me, I am trying to digest it slowly for simple steps I can take in my own life. I wish Pink had placed himself in to studies, more. It seems too abstract for me to follow and adapt, most of his suggestions.

Let me suggest that we focus, first on one very simple task and ask ourselves, when. For example, I am asking myself, when should I write this review. By asking, when, I think I am motivating myself to do it, more or less.

I am reminded of a famous Jewish saying: " If I am not for myself, who will be for me? If I am only for myself, what am I? If not now, when?

Thank you, Dan Pink, but please consider simpler, more personal perspectives.
==========================================================

Is there a good way to overcome your afternoon attention and motivation slump?
Is a particular time of day better than others to undergo a medical procedure?
What does the research tell us about taking periodic breaks?
What is the best time of day to schedule an important board or committee meeting decision?
Can one predict (and plan) for the most productive group work on a project?

If you have wondered about these things, then I believe that you’ll find Daniel Pink’s new (2018) book to be a fun and informative read.
I believe that I'll include this research-based book as a resource in one of my Administration & Leadership courses.

Daniel Pink’s new book “When” is an insightful look into timing. It is a quick read. Some of it is common sense with quantification, some of it is eye opening insights. I found the sections on midpoints, endings and synchronicity extremely useful. Recommended read.

Fortunately, a good friend of mine who is a recent MBA grad of TCU recommended for me to read "When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing.", by Daniel Pink. This is my first "Daniel Pink" book and now I will also explore his other compositions.

Daniel Pink (Yale Law graduate) completed his undergraduate degree at Northwestern University and he may also have a relationship with some of the leadership at the TCU business school, which brought up the topic when my friend recommended "When". His research in the book is very thoughtful and recent.

I did not have any prior knowledge about "chronotypes" as it may be able to enhance both career and personal relationships based on navigating your communication around these timeframes. This was a very enjoyable part of the book to learn more about chronotypes.

I enjoyed Daniel Pink's assembly of several case studies, ranging from hospital performance to the research on language tenses by Keith Chen, to my favorite case study on "The Dabbawalas" in Mumbai.

"When" is a great book which may help you to optimize relationships with close people like your boss or a historically tough family member at the same time, by gaining a better understanding of their chronotypes for effective communication.

The sections on the book about "midpoints" and "synchrony" are especially interesting and so long as you are open to new ideas, there will be many positive takeaways from this book that will apply to everyday life.

We are in a heyday of the Information Age, where there is so much good research and information that is available to us regular people.

We can find great compositions such as "When", gain knowledge, and strive towards superhuman performance.

This book will open your eyes to subtle things about timing that govern the universe. Grounded on solid research, and sprinkled with his characteristic wit and humor, he takes you through the journey to discover fascinating hidden laws of nature on timing that affect you on a daily basis and how you can benefit from using those principles. Highly recommend it!

For a very long time I had been thinking that people taking breaks during work were lacking commitment; I also didn't realize that mid-points and endings were that significant. The book has changed all that, and for that I feel grateful and heartily recommend this book to everyone.

I listened to the Google Play audio sample and the the store sample. The narrator is the author, and his delivery is off-putting. I feel like he is shouting unemotionally at me, not speaking to me as if he believed deeply in his words. I was told the book had great insights in it, but without the time to read, and with the delivery so poor, I'll have to remain in the dark.

The format of this book is compelling. Each chapter contains a kind of op ed but the author, followed by rigorously cited overviews of scientific research, and end with a specific and actionable recommendations. I enjoyed the author’s subtle use of humor. I learned when in the day I should plan to accomplish different types of tasks. I thought the chapter on teamwork was masterfully written and incorporated a good mix of data and anecdote. The research studies cited were occasionally over-the-top and only included to be funny, or perhaps to help the author illustrate the point about how vastly researched some of these subjects are (e.g., the sentence about the Oedipus complex was too much. Suggesting causal relationships between teamwork and blood pressure is not respectable). Overall enjoyed it.

. A concise but wide ranging book.  The author is applying his guru skills to the impact of time on our lives.   From when to make better analytical decisions ( Most of us in the am) through to test scores, how naps work, and more  Pink does a great job in enlightening us to this topic.  We all have better times to start things, needed times for recess , and expected times that we will slump.  He wraps it up by demonstrating how difficult it is to teach an Ai about time. Good read - useful for a short air flight. 

"When" is a relatively quick read full of great information. Daniel Pink answers a number of different "when" questions, all based on scientific research. You'll learn the best time to take a nap, drink coffee, solve hard problems, get married, and much more. While likely not intended as a self-help book the subjects are so relevant to everyday life that you will undoubtedly come away with something that helps you make changes in your life for the better. Many similar books seem to drone on forever but this one is concise and actually useful.

In When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing, Daniel Pink stresses the importance of timing in all areas of life, from beginnings and endings, to the best time to drink coffee, to the interesting work lives of dabbawalas, to the best time to take a nap (my personal favorite).

This book contains lots of useful tips and interesting anecdotes. It's fun and easy to read and can be greatly beneficial to our daily lives. I learned that simply being aware of how timing impacts our lives can put us at an advantage.

Just finished Daniel Pink's latest book When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing. It was the perfect time for me to read this book, packed with great stories and usable tips about the when of action and decision-making, from timing coffee to the importance of naps to building great endings. Highly recommended.

Well written and engaging book. I would not say anything was totally earth-shattering here - except maybe that breakfast was not the most important meal after all - that changes my world. A lot of good ideas about how to manage time and energy for higher productivity. Also - based on the midpoint effect - I will now only start on my projects at the midpoint. Everything else is a waste. I just got half of my time back. Hmmm - maybe that is a game changer.

A book I didn't read at night because it was so interesting it kept me up. I opened my eyes to some new ideas - some I'll even try out, such as the reccomdation: “Assume it’s eighteen months from now and our project is a complete disaster,” you say to your team. “What went wrong?” The team, using the power of prospective hindsight, offers some answers."

I've been a fan of Daniel Pink for quite some time. I guarantee you'll walk away from this book with a few tips and tricks that'll change your whole life. For me personally, I've rearranged when I do certain types of tasks depending on the time of day, and also I've been taking 15 minute naps when possible and I feel revived. The first half of the book I loved, but I noticed I was getting a little antsy towards the end, hoping the book would be over with. I could have easily read this book in a few sittings but I wanted to let everything soak in so I read it in 4 days. It's a really quick and fun read and if you use any of the tricks he talks about in this book, then it'll be worth the price of this book.

Pink writes in a conversational tone about heady stuff. When is the right time to start end or restart a particular activity. What synchronous activities are good for you, you’re heart(spoiler alert it’s singing in a choir), and you’re psychological well being. Some of his conclusions seem obvious- some don’t. But it’s all interesting and not scientifically ponderous to read.

When was a very interesting book that has a great number of very useful tips. Daniel Pink did a lot of research for this book and it really shows in the quality of his work. When is an easy read and really keeps the reader interested. I most highly recommend When it was very enjoyable.

Very quick read, excellent information. The "Time Hacker's Handbook" section after each chapter is fantastic for applying the knowledge to your own life. The chapter on Endings was particularly useful for my own station in life. We have kids about to graduate from High School in another year or so. We have aging parents. Understanding how endings encode, I took it a step further and used the information in the book to "re"-encode some of my own endings by associating them with different (and in some cases less negative) thoughts. Kind of like Option B teaches.

Highly recommended, will have copies on had to distribute for graduation gifts this year and beyond!

If you have wondered why things seem to get tone better at different times of the day or why different inputs can affect your output then you need to read (or in my case listen to) this book. Dan Pink's research will open your eyes to how time can affect you and your relationships as well as your ability to get things done. Highly recommended!

Dan Pink explains the science behind our circadian rhythms, how to benefit by working with them and how to decrease risk by avoiding time danger zones and taking restorative breaks. He includes Time Hacker Handbooks at the end of each section which help you apply the science to your life, with helpful tips like when to go first in the interview queue for a job and when to hang back. I found When to be a well-written, engaging read with applicable insights. It has made a positive difference in my life.

’ve shared more information with teachers about timing and learning than I’ve ever shared before from a book. I wish the book had been available before I retired. There is lots of good information for people in any career.

Great read and I couldn't put it down! Pink reawakened my brain on the subject of time and TIMING. I love that he addresses what we do and and when we do it matters. I will definitely be going back to this book for reminders, suggestions and ideas. I would highly recommend reading this as it applies to all of us and there are so many stories that we can relate to. I love that he also gives suggestions on how to apply the knowledge in your everyday life.

Another fantastic book by Daniel Pink. I have become a fan years ago and can't wait for each book he puts out. Daniel has a great way of explaining things and showing light to everyday nuances. When - really breaks down perfect timing and ways you can be more cognizant of timing and how it might affect you. Love the tips he provides at the end of every chapter to better work on these things.

I expected this book to be more philosophical than it was - suprising, I know, considering the title says "scientific." Nonetheless, once I adjusted to the headiness of the many studies mentioned in the first couple chapters, I adjusted to the way the book was written enough to fully enjoy it. I found many great takaways here - especially in regards to work and productivity. I will be taking more breaks - preferably outside and with people - from now on!

Great book, new insights about an important area that has been ignored. I loved all the research documentation—no real speculation. The result was information that is useful and well as fascinating. Good to know about having surgery in the afternoon or understanding when to tackle an analytics as opposed to an insightful problem. Great use of stories from the first line to all through the book. (I am sensitive to stories since my new book Creating Signature Stories out if a few weeks is about using stories).

This book was educational, enlightening and provided insights which i started implementing immediately in my work and personal life. I am a very disciplined person but this book gave me great insights into timing that will not only increase my productivity but keep me motivated for some very large scale projects.

I am a big fan of Dan Pink!
As in previous books, he has taken a great deal of research and made it fun to read and easily applicable...with tremendous benefits to the reader!
Congratulations, Dan. Another winner!

Will update if author/publisher clarifies where to find the supplemental material with audiobook version. Author mentions it, but never provides URLs (except for one page). No other publisher makes you hunt for this stuff. They give one URL with links to download all supplemental material from that one master page. This is ridiculous. I'm 1/3 way through book, liking it so far, but I'm in the chapters that could benefit from the supplemental materials and it's impossible to find them.

I really enjoyed this book. Daniel Pink challenges some of the everyday things that we decided are the right thing to do or right time to do it and brings interesting arguements how we can improve and better ourselves. Great writing. Great subject. Great book.

This is an amazing book. It has changed the way I look at events and the importance of timing that impacts the outcomes. This book has impacted my life. In terms of value, you cannot place a price tag on this book! This is very much a must read! Thank you Daniel Pink for this!

This is a well written book with some interesting findings. But little of this material will be new, if you have been exposed to the pop psychology (and management) literature the last few years. Most of the book deals with personal issues, such as when you should exercise or make a decision. With a couple of exceptions (such as Connie Gersick's research on team processes), Pink ignores the many issues about temporal aspects of organizing and leadership, such as: What is the best time to communicate bad news? When should you initiate a re-organization? When should you be forward looking and visionary, and when should you focus on fixing problems? In what sequence should you carry out a change process? This is what I think would have been more interesting.

very clear and precise method how to ultize your time every day. Well researched and practical readings on how to apply techniques with workbook applications at the end of each chapter. One of the best books I have read in a long time. Applies to business, personal growth and to family needs.