When: The Scientific Secret of Perfect Timing

This is my notes on the book When: The Scientific Secret of Perfect Timings by Daniel Pink This book was recommend by Harsh Shah, founder of Fynd. During my summer internship there, he recommended this book during the annual townhall meeting.

Chapter 1 - How to figure out you daily ‘when’?

This question can be answered by three question method

  1. Chronotype : Lark/Third/Owl
  • Lark : A person who wakes up at 6-8am and sleeps at 9-11pm
  • Owl : A person who wakes up at 2-4pm and sleeps at 5-6am
  • Third : Exection of both above.
  1. What do you need to do?
  • Analytic task
  • Insight task
  • Making an impression
  • Making a decision
  1. EM LA a tabular method which I forgot

Set up a phone alarm every 90 min

Every time the alarm goes off, try to answer a couple of questions:

  • What are you doing?
  • On a scale of 1 - 10, how mentally alert you are?
  • On a scale of 1 - 10, how physically alert you are? These are self assessment question and makes you take a break for a little while. Try to write answer to these questions and make a review of the entire day once before going to bed.

No control over schedule?

If you feel you day is being bombareded with meeting or tasks and you feel you’re not getting enough out of day as much you can get. They to Be aware and Work Margins

Set up a fixed of morning routing

  • Lose weight
  • Boost mood
  • Keep routine
  • Build Strength

There are a fixed steps one can perform to properly wake up in the morning and get the right mix of energy for the entire day.

Planing out such a routine will be most promising. Some tips for such are:

  • Drink atleast two glasses of lukewarm water
  • Avoid caffine, early in the morning. Cortisole (stress harmone) is released via caffine, best time (2pm-4pm)
  • Try to get some early morning sun by going for a jog/run, or exercise outdoors
  • Schedule your therapy in mornings

Chapter 2 - Make a break list

List of task with a certain task to be performed along with some deadlines attached. Try to put in atleast 3 breaks in between such high performing schedule

Perfect Nap??

  1. Find afternoon around 2pm - 3pm or seven hours after waking up
  2. Create a peaceful environment
  3. Down a cup of coffee. NAPPUCCINO 200mg
  4. Set a time for 25 min. Get you into sleep inertia
  5. Repeat frequently coined the term Frequent Nappers

Restorative Breaks!!

Benefits of taking a break:

  1. Micro breaks : 20 mins/20 sec away from screen, Hydrate, walk to tap/water cooler, Wiggle-wiggle-wiggle body
  2. Moving breaks : 5 mins every one hour, walking, push-ups, office yoga
  3. Nature breaks : Walk outside in nature park
  4. Social breaks ; talking to people, socializing
  5. Mental gear shifting break : Meditate, controlled breathing, ligthen up with jokes, etc

Own time-outs and thorough checklist

In high stress environment, such as operation theatre in hostpitals, high stress can make human do unwanted mistakes. To prevent this mostly working in teams, have a well though checklist to ensure everyone is on same page at all times, so if someone slacks other can pull him up of ask them to take breaks. Eg. Green cards at University of Michigan Medical Center

  1. Everyone stops, steps back, deep breaths
  2. 30 seconds to report progress per member
  3. 30 seconds to describe next steps per member
  4. What is missing? Answers by every member
  5. Assign member for missing task
  6. Schedule another similar time-out

“Pause like pro” - Andres Ericsson

Chapter 3

Avoid a false start with a pre-mortem

Before a project think about the end, when several things have gone wrong, then the team performs a post-mortem. Similarly perfoming a pre-mortem may help team plan deadline more effectively.

Temporal Landmarks

These landmarks help you find a anchor to the longitivity of life. Such anchor can also act as points of change, review, improve and plan ahead. Like new-year resolutions taken at start of every year. Similar self-evaluations an be performed at temporal landmarks eg. Mondays, Months, seasons, birthdays, graduation, etc

When to go first??

  1. Interviews
  2. Pitching new ideas
  3. Contesting in elections Here going first creates your impression on fresh minds which are active and attentive.

When NOT to go first??

  1. Indial Idol last performance
  2. Judge on trail hearing
  3. Operating in uncertain enviroments

Tips for making a fresh start in job

  1. Before you begin picture youself “becoming” a new person
  2. Let your results do the talking
  3. Stockpile you motivation
  4. Sustain your moral with small wins

When to get married??

  1. Wait until your old enough, 25 - 30 average marring age
  2. Completed education
  3. Relationship matures

Chapter 4

Reawaken your motivation during MIDPOINT slump

  1. Set interm goals
  2. Publically commit to these interm goals
  3. Stop your sentence midway through. (Zeigarink effect) unfinished task
  4. Don’t break the chain (Seinfeild)
  5. Picture one person your work will help

The Form-Storm-Perform method

  1. Form and storm phase: when team first comes together there exists a period of maximal harmony and minimal conflict
  2. Midpoint phase “uh-oh” effect
  3. Perform phase: motivated team work with minimal friction to acheive goals

Combat a midlife slump

  1. Prioritize top goals (Buffett technique)
  • List to top 25 goals
  • circle top 5 among them
  • plan to acheive top5 goals
  1. Develop midcareer mentoring
  • helps recognize the U-shaped wave
  • strategize to deal with slump
  1. Mentally substract positive events
  • achievements, what leads to them
  • be happy about the chain of events
  1. Write yourself a few paragraphs of self compasion
  • identify momnets of disappointment
  • how it made you feel (examine it)
  1. Wait. Have Patience
  • Sometimes best course of action is inaction

Chapter 5

" The creatures outside looked from pig to man and from man to pig and from pig to man again. But already it was impossible to say which is which”

When to quit a job?

  1. Do you want to be in this job on your next work anniversary?
  2. Is your current job both demanding and in your control?
  3. Does your boss allow you to do your best work?
  4. Are you outside the three-to-five year salary bump window?
  5. Does your daily work align with your long-term goals?

The workday

  • 2-3 minutes to write down what you accomplished since morning
  • layout your plan for the next day
  • thank you emails, be grateful

The semester of school year

  • letter to 5-year elder yourself
  • student toasting to each other, celebrating little thing creates positive enviroment

A vacation

  • very end of an experience seems to disproportionately affect our memory of it
  • plan a day out, other than your daily routine

A purchase

  • Handing bangs with thank you
  • Applause on target of achivement

Chapter 6

Coordinating and Synchronizing

  1. Sing in chorus
  2. Run together
  3. Rowing crew
  4. Dancing groups
  5. Yoga classes
  6. Flash mob
  7. Cook in tandem

Ask questions periodically

  1. Do we have a clear boss
  2. Are fostering a sense of belonging enriches individual identity, deepens afiliation and allows everyone to sycronize to the tribe
  3. Are we activating the uplift-feeling good and doing good-that is necessary for group to succedd?

Improv exercises

  1. Booosts your group timing skills
  2. Mirror, mirror : A partner mimics you expression and you do the same by switching roles
  3. Mind, Meld : A partner and you count to 3 and then utter a word randomly, like “banana” or “bicycle”. Repeat this again with count of 3 and stop at the same word.
  4. Pass the clap : Form a circle look right make eye contact and clap at same time. Claping comes back from reverse direction
  5. Beastie boys rap

Promote belonging in group

  1. Reply quickly to e-mail
  2. Tell stories about struggle
  3. Nuture self-organised group rituals
  4. Try a jigsaw classroom