Daniel H. Pink’s book When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing covers the topic of you guessed it TIME. We have all heard of “HOW TO BOOKS.” In fact, walk into any book store across America, and you will find whole sections of “HOW TO” books. Daniel H. Pink says that he has written a “WHEN TO” book.
Daniel H. Pink argues that we should make “WHEN” we do something as important as “WHAT” we do. This book answers the question of when is the best time to work on projects that involve critical thinking, when we should work out, when we should start a job, when we should quite a job, when we should get married and more. Daniel H. Pink takes studies from peer-reviewed social scientists and discovers that there are idea times WHEN we should do almost everything in our lives.
This book helped me to rethink the importance of time altogether. After finishing this book, I have adjusted how I spend critical peak times in my day. When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing showed me how to determine my peak times of performance and structure my schedule around that. Now I can synchronize my work that requires the most analytical thinking around the times my mind is the most active.
Before reading this book, I thought very little about the importance of time. We have all heard that saying, timing is everything, but I rarely spent any time thinking about when I did things. I generally tried to stack as much into the day as I possibly could. Now I realize that if I know the best times when to do things I can get far more done in a much more effective way.
This book covers much more than just how to schedule your day. As I mentioned above, it goes over a wide variety of topics and when you should do them. One of the fascinating topics Daniel H. Pink covers is beginnings, endings and in between. The patterns found in when we start a project, when we are in the middle of a project and when are at the end of a project will give you fresh insight on how to manage your projects. If you are a leader of a project, this chapter will help you understand the psychology behind the people in your group and how you can get more out of them.
I would recommend this book if you have ever thought, when is the best time to make a decision, or when is the best time to work on a specific project, or if you are just interested in social science and how people inner clock work. In this book, Daniel gives you several time-hacks to help you best spend your time and optimize your WHEN. This book you will help you discover how to best live, work and succeed.
-William A. Horton
Dr. William A. Horton 