When

The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing
by Daniel H. Pink | Riverhead Books © 2018 · 272 pages

Dan Pink is the author of a number of bestselling books. We’ve covered a couple of those books so far: Drive and To Sell Is Human. This one, of course, is about timing. Specifically, as per the sub-title: “The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing.” As with all of his other books, it’s brilliantly written—weaving in fascinating stories with solid science and practical tools to cap it off. Big Ideas we explore include: The hidden pattern in everyday life, the importance of breaks (for the strong not the slothful!), your afternoon nappuccino, beginning before you begin, midpoints as sparks rather than slumps, and your new end-of-day ritual.


Time isn’t the main thing. It’s the only thing.
Miles Davis

“This is a book about timing. We all know that timing is everything. Trouble is, we don’t know much about timing itself. Our lives present a never-ending stream of ‘when’ decisions—when to change careers, deliver bad news, schedule a class, end a marriage, go for a run, or get serious about a project or a person. But most of these decisions emanate from a steamy bog of intuition and guesswork. Timing, we believe, is an art.

I will show that timing is really a science—an emerging body of multifaceted, multidisciplinary research that offers fresh insights into the human condition and useful guidance on working smarter and living better. Visit any bookstore or library, and you will see a shelf (or twelve) stacked with books about how to do various things—from win friends and influence people to speak Tagalog in a month. The output is so massive that these volumes require their own category: how-to. Think of this book as a new genre altogether—a when-to book.”

~ Daniel H. Pink from When

Dan Pink is the author of a number of bestselling books.

We’ve covered a couple of those books so far: Drive and To Sell Is Human.

Drive is about the surprising truth about what motivates us. While To Sell is about the surprising truths about how to move people.

This one, of course, is about timing. Specifically, as per the sub-title: “The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing.”

As with all of his other books, it’s brilliantly written—weaving in fascinating stories with solid science and practical tools to cap it off.

As per the inside flap, it’s “bursting with big ideas and enduring lessons” and “will transform how you think about your past, your present, and your future.” If that sounds like fun, I think you’ll enjoy the book as much as I did. (Get a copy here.)

The book has three parts. We start by looking at “The Day” (in which we learn how to optimize our daily rhythms) then we move on to “Beginnings, Endings, and In Between” (in which we step back and look at more macro rhythms in life and projects) and then we wrap up with “Synching and Thinking” (in which we put it all together with teams and big picture thinking).

Of course, it’s packed with Big Ideas. I’m excited to share a few of my favorites so let’s jump in!

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About the author

Authors

Daniel H. Pink

Author of several bestselling books about business, work, and behavior.