Daniel H. Pink (born July 23, 1964) is an American author. Four of his books have been featured on the New York Times bestsellers’ list. He was host and co-executive producer of the 2014 National Geographic Channel social science TV series Crowd Control.
His books include the long-running New York Times bestsellers When and A Whole New Mind — as well as the #1 New York Times bestsellers Drive and To Sell is Human. Dan’s books have won multiple awards, have been translated into 40 languages, and have sold more than three million copies. He lives in Washington, DC, with his family.
When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing
In When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing Pink sets out to “unearth the hidden science of timing” – to uncover it as a significant but unrecognized player in our lives. He highlights a study of Danish schoolchildren that found that those who took their yearly standardized test in the morning performed better than those who took it in the afternoon. Because of the afternoon slump, you should always try to schedule a doctor’s appointment early in the day.
What can help reduce the slumps are breaks. For example, judges rule in favor of prisoners about 65 percent of the time early in the day, but by late morning, that rate drops to nearly zero. However, after judges take a break, they become more forgiving again.
For teenagers things are different, however. Their changing circadian rhythm make them night owls. This is why early school start times are particularly challenging for them.
Overall, When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing is a relatively short book with 7 chapters spread across three sections.
The first section covers diurnal patterns like how to arrange our daily life, the benefits of micro naps, etc. The second section covers long terms patterns — how do we start habits, how we are influenced by beginnings and endings, how to deal with mid-life crises, etc. The last section covers how to get into harmony with timings.
Each chapter is also followed by a time hacking section which has practical advice on timing.
Top 22 Quotes from When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing By Daniel H. Pink
“Afternoons are the Bermuda Triangles of our days. Across many domains, t he trough represents a danger zone for productivity, ethics, and health.”― Daniel H. Pink
“Decisions and negotiations, should be conducted earlier in the day” ― Daniel H. Pink
“If we stick with a task too long, we lose sight of the goal” ― Daniel H. Pink
“If you want a happy ending, that depends, of course, on where you stop your story. —ORSON WELLES” ― Daniel H. Pink
“The typical worker reaches the most unproductive moment of the day at 2:55 p.m.” ― Daniel H. Pink,
“Elite performers have something in common: They’re really good at taking breaks” ― Daniel H. Pink
“Until about ten years ago, we admired those who could survive on only four hours of sleep and those stalwarts who worked through the night. They were heroes, people whose fierce devotion and commitment revealed everyone else’s fecklessness and frailty. Then, as sleep science reached the mainstream, we began to change our attitude. That sleepless guy wasn’t a hero. He was a fool. He was likely doing subpar work and maybe hurting the rest of us because of his poor choices. Breaks are now where sleep was then. Skipping lunch was once a badge of honor and taking a nap a mark of shame. No more. The science of timing now affirms what the Old World already understood: We should give ourselves a break.” ― Daniel H. Pink
“Psychological detachment from work, in addition to physical detachment, is crucial” ― Daniel H. Pink
“Temporal landmarks slow our thinking, allowing us to deliberate at a higher level and make better decisions” ― Daniel H. Pink
“If you’re an educator, know that all times are not created equal:” ― Daniel H. Pink
“High performers, its research concludes, work for fifty-two minutes and then break for seventeen minutes.” ― Daniel H. Pink
“The best endings don’t leave us happy. Instead, they produce something richer—a rush of unexpected insight, a fleeting moment of transcendence, the possibility that by discarding what we wanted we’ve gotten what we need.” ― Daniel H. Pink
“E-mail response time is the single best predictor of whether employees are satisfied with their boss, according to research by Duncan Watts, a Columbia University sociologist who is now a principal researcher for Microsoft Research. The longer it takes for a boss to respond to their e-mails, the less satisfied people are with their leader.” ― Daniel H. Pink
“I call time-outs like these “vigilance breaks”—brief pauses before high-stakes encounters to review instructions and guard against error.” ― Daniel H. Pink
“Breaks are not a sign of sloth but a sign of strength” ― Daniel H. Pink
“Each of us has a “chronotype”—a personal pattern of circadian rhythms that influences our physiology and psychology.” ― Daniel H. Pink
“We simply don’t take issues of when as seriously as we take questions of what” ― Daniel H. Pink
“Frequent short breaks are more effective than occasional ones” ― Daniel H. Pink
“Say it with me now, brothers and sisters: Lunch is the most important meal” ― Daniel H. Pink
“Jobs that offer autonomy but little challenge bore us.” ― Daniel H. Pink
“If you’ve got an extra minute left, send someone—anyone—a thank-you e-mail.” ― Daniel H. Pink
“That sleepless guy wasn’t a hero. He was a fool” ― Daniel H. Pink
Bestselling Books by Daniel H. Pink
Daniel H. Pink is the author of several provocative, bestselling books about business, work, creativity, and behavior.
His books include: (add amazon links)
- When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing unlocks the scientific secrets to good timing to help you flourish at work, at school, and at home. When spent four months on the New York Times bestseller list. Several outlets (including Amazon, iBooks, and Goodreads) named it one of the best non-fiction books of 2018. It is being translated into 32 languages.
- To Sell is Human: The Surprising Truth About Moving Others, which uses social science to offer a fresh look at the art and science of sales. To Sell is Human was a #1 bestseller on the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Washington Post lists and has been translated into 32 languages.
- Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates US, which draws on 50 years of behavioral science to overturn the conventional wisdom about human motivation. Drive spent 159 weeks on the New York Times (main and extended) bestseller lists. A national bestseller in Japan and the United Kingdom, the book has been translated into 37 languages.
- A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future, which charts the rise of right-brain thinking in modern economies and describes the six abilities individuals and organizations must master in an outsourced, automated age. A Whole New Mind was on the New York Times (main and extended) bestseller lists for 96 weeks over four years.
- The Adventures of Johnny Bunko: The Last Career Guide You’ll Ever Need, the first American business book in the Japanese comic format known as manga and the only graphic novel ever to become a BusinessWeek bestseller. Illustrated by award-winning artist Rob Ten Pas, The Adventures of Johnny Bunko was named an American Library Association best graphic novel for teens.
- Free Agent Nation: The Future of Working for Yourself, a Washington Post bestseller that Publishers Weekly says “has become a cornerstone of employee-management relations.” In 2013, the U.S. Department of Labor and the Library of Congress selected Free Agent Nation as one of 100 Books That Shaped Work in America.
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