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Why I Wrote When

What You'll Learn in When

  • Timing isn’t an art. It’s a science. We often make our “when” decisions based on intuition or instinct. That’s a mistake. Decades of research in psychology, biology, economics, and medicine, reveal that timing follows predictable patterns – and understanding those patterns can boost our performance and well-being.
  • Your cognitive abilities don’t remain constant throughout the day. Most of us move through the day in three stages: peak, trough, recovery. Doing the right work at the right time can dramatically boost your performance.
  • Breaks are a performance enhancer, not a sign of weakness. The right kinds of breaks – especially those involving movement, nature, socializing, and full detachment from technology – can sharpen focus, reduce errors, and lift well-being.
  • Episodic timing is as important as daily timing. Beginnings, midpoints, and endings have outsized effects. How we start things dramatically affects their course. Being in the middle of a project or a life can either create a spark or produce a slump. And endings pack an enormous emotional wallop.
  • Group timing makes us stronger. Synchronizing with others – whether singing in a choir or rowing in a boat – boost performance and deepens meaning. When we sync, we soar.

Most Highlighted on Kindle

  • "High performers, its research concludes, work for fifty-two minutes and then break for seventeen minutes. P. 61 (3,946 highlighters)"
  • "For analytic problems, lack of inhibitory control is a bug. For insight problems, it's a feature. P. 25 (3,931 highlighters)"
  • "Positive affect — language revealing that tweeters felt active, engaged, and hopeful— generally rose in the morning, plummeted in the afternoon, and climbed back again in the early evening. P. 10 (3,737 highlighters)"
  • "For most of us, those sharp- minded analytic capacities peak in the late morning or around noon. P. 22 (3,464 highlighters)"
  • "Some have called this phenomenon the “inspiration paradox” — the idea that “innovation and creativity are greatest when we are not at our best, at least with respect to our circadian rhythms.” . P. 25 (3,280 highlighters)"
Purchase Now:

WHEN: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing

In Daniel Pink’s new book, find out how regret, our most misunderstood emotion, can be the pathway to our best life.

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Awards & Accolades

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Four months on The New York Times bestseller list

Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, USA Today bestseller

An Amazon Best Book of the Year

Goodreads Readers' Choice Science Book of the Year Finalist

Translated in 39 languages 

“Daniel Pink is one of the few non-fiction authors alive today capable of filtering the work of so many scientific minds through his original human stories and onto the page. Reading this book is time well spent.”

Harper's Bazaar

“Brims with a surprising amount of insight and practical advice.”

The Wall Street Journal

“WHEN is engaging, conversational and tightly edited, making it an easy yet important read.”

Associated Press

“A cornucopia of compelling information and insights . . . Pink is a splendid writer, with a knack for distilling important takeaways of scholarly research.”

Philadelphia Inquirer

“Intriguing stuff written with a light, assured touch.”

The Guardian

“Fascinating. . . truly revelatory.”

Toronto Star

“Pink should change many people’s understanding of timing with this book, which provides insights from little-known scientific studies in an accessible way. . . . By the book’s end, readers will be thinking much more carefully about how they divide up their days and organize their routines.”

Publishers Weekly

“Consistently applying the principles laid out in the book could have dramatic impacts on one’s life and on society.”

Washington Post

“[Pink] unpicks compelling patterns… and he includes handy ‘time‑hacking’ advice on how to put the insights divulged into practice.”

Nature

“This marriage of research, stories and practical application is vintage Pink, helping us use science to improve our everyday lives.”

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