Daniel Pink: When
Daniel Pink has been listed by Thinkers50 as one of the top business thinkers in the world. His works include New York Times bestsellers, A Whole New Mind*, Drive*, To Sell is Human* and his new book, When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing*.
Key Points
- Naps boost productivity, but they should be no more than around 20 minutes long.
- Regular nappers get more benefit from naps than occasional nappers.
- We don’t treat breaks with enough seriousness.
We do better on certain types of tasks at certain times of day.
- Peak – Do heavy analytical work in the morning.
- Trough – Do easier administrative work in the early afternoon.
- Recovery – Do work that requires insight in the late afternoon and evening.
Ways to make the most of project midpoints when motivating teams:
- Recognize midpoints.
- Use midpoints to fire up your team.
- Let you team know they are slightly behind when they hit the midpoint.
Resources Mentioned
- Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us* by Daniel Pink
- When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing* by Daniel Pink
Book Notes
Download my highlights from When in PDF format (free membership required).
Related Episodes
- The Surprising Truth About Influencing Others, with Daniel Pink (episode 84)
- The Way to Make New Behaviors Stick, with Marshall Goldsmith (episode 196)
- The Best Way to Make New Habits Reality, with Kendra Kinnison (episode 217)
- How to Make Deep Work Happen, with Cal Newport (episode 233)
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