Timing Matters!

If you sometimes feel like you never seem to get everything done during the day or you are too tired to finish what you wanted to complete, check out Daniel Pink’s new book: When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing. 

Pink’s book outlines the hidden patterns we have in our days that affect mood and performance and provides guidelines about managing our time by paying attention to our internal body clocks.

According to Pink, our body temperature tends to rise during the day, from relatively low when we first wake up to higher as the day progresses.  The rising temp boosts our energy and functioning which in turn enhances how we operate throughout the day, until we hit a peak, usually about 7 hours after we wake up.  After that our energy levels decline a bit – a trough – until a later recovery period a little later in the day.

The practical application of this might be to consider, for example, the best time to schedule surgery. If your physician has been on their feet all day and is seeing you at 3pm, is this the lowest point of their cognitive ability? A Duke University study, reviewed 90,000 surgeries, and discovered an adverse event was four times more probable at 3 p.m. than at 9 a.m.  Something to think about for your next medical procedure!

The good news is a nap or break from activities when your energy levels are low, helps to boost your brain so you can complete the rest of the days activities and enjoy that later recovery phase.

What’s your experience?  Tell us if you agree with this idea in the comments section below.

If you’d like to learn more Daniel Pink and the book, check out this 6 minute video.