Bookworm: When

Timing matters – and we can harness it to our advantage, argues Daniel H Pink.

So, what's the main premise of When?

Timing is a science, not an art. And the more we understand this, the greater our potential to live richer and more engaged lives.

In When, author Daniel Pink (a former speechwriter for Al Gore during his US vice-presidency) takes us on a whistlestop tour through economics, anthropology, social psychology and other fields. He unpacks the ‘whys’ – and more significantly, the ‘whens’ – of effective decision-making. 

Is timing really that important?

Aside from the daily routines we impose for ourselves, there is another far more subtle pattern that underpins our daily lives, typically known as the morning peak, afternoon trough and evening rebound.

Researchers at Cornell University, who examined 500 million tweets from over a two-year period, saw a very clear pattern of positivity that peaks during the morning, drops swiftly in the afternoon and then climbs back up in the evening. And behavioural scientists, using the day reconstruction method (DRM), found exactly the same pattern.

Significantly, this cycle has a very direct impact on the work we do – and how well we do it.

Can you give me an example of why this matters?

Hospitals have noticed that both the standards of care and the focus of staff drop as the day progresses. In fact, studies show that at 9am, there is only a 1% chance of slip-ups but by 4pm, this quadruples to 4.2%. And in a hospital setting, this can literally be a matter of life and death.

The best solution for making fewer mistakes is to take a break. For example, the introduction of ‘vigilance breaks’ at the University of Michigan Medical Center resulted in improved care statistics and fewer complaints. And in other settings too, breaks and naps can also be a useful refresher.

While naps of 10–20 minutes are typically shown to be the most beneficial, even a five-minute break every hour or so can reduce fatigue and boost motivation, creativity and mood, especially if we can take that time to get outdoors.

What about night owls?

While most of us follow the same pattern of morning peak, afternoon trough and evening rebound, not everyone’s pattern – or chronotype – is the same. Two groups in particular break this pattern: ‘night owls’ and ‘larks’.

Research suggests that night owls typically peak around 9pm and experience their positive rebound in the morning. Larks, on the other hand, simply experience the peak, trough and rebound pattern a few hours earlier than the rest of us.

For the majority, the best time to handle analytical tasks is during the morning peak when our minds are more focused and disciplined, while tasks that require more abstract ‘outside the box’ thinking are more suited to the rebound of late afternoon and early evening. However, as owls peak at night, they should reverse this advice because they will be able to think more analytically later in the day and more creatively in the morning.

Can I take some good lessons from this book?

Yes, that by identifying our chronotype, we can ensure that different types of tasks are handled at the optimum time of day.

And we can improve both performance and mood by taking regular breaks. We might even consider a ‘napuccino’ – a cup of coffee followed by a nap for 20 minutes (timer set…) while the caffeine gets into our blood stream, ready to take effect when we wake.

Pink also delivers many other useful pointers in terms of how we see time – from harnessing the power of the midpoint and the ‘uh-oh effect’ in order to complete task more effectively, to bridging the gap between past and present by writing a letter to our future selves.

Time may never again go by, so little noticed.

What am I most likely to say after reading this book?

“Timing is everything.”

What am I least likely to say after reading this book?

“What a waste of time.”