What is the main message of When?

The main message of When is that timing is crucial in all aspects of our lives.

How long does it take to read When?

The reading time for When varies, but the Blinkist summary can be read in just 15 minutes.

Who is the author of When?

The author of When is Daniel H. Pink.

Psychology

When Book Summary - When Book explained in key points

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When summary

Name: When
Rating: 4.4 (300 reviews)
Author: Daniel H. Pink

Daniel H. Pink

The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing

4.4 (300 ratings)

18 mins

Brief summary

When by Daniel H. Pink is a thought-provoking book about timing, revealing how careful and strategic timing can improve decision-making, productivity and inspire creativity.

Topics

Success Effectiveness Social Psychology

Table of Contents

When
Summary of 7 key ideas

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Key idea 1 of 7

What’s in it for me? Find out if timing really is everything.

As Miles Davis once said, “Time isn’t the main thing. It’s the only thing.” While he was likely talking about music and not the day-to-day affairs of students and professionals, the statement nonetheless applies to all of us. We spend much of our lives trying to be on time, meet deadlines and get the most efficient results out of what time we have. We spend so much of our life living by the clock that, as you’ll learn in these blinks, there’s a very strong emotional pattern that most of us exist in from Monday to Friday.

You’ll also get a glimpse into the vast amount of research conducted on why we do certain things when we do them and just how important timing is to us. Even if you pride yourself on not living the nine-to-five lifestyle, you’re still likely to find a great deal of insight into human nature in these blinks.

You’ll also discover

when you should avoid the operating table;
what a napuccino is; and
why so many 29-year-olds run marathons.

There is an emotional pattern to our daily lives.

People love their daily routines. Day in and day out, we brush our teeth, have a shower, get a cup of coffee, take the dog for a walk, check the mailbox, read the news and so forth. But did you know that, in parallel to these habits, there’s another, subtler pattern to our daily lives?

Researchers at Cornell University looked at Twitter to try and get a sense of the prevailing moods of people during a typical day. By examining 500 million tweets from over a two-year period, they saw a very clear pattern emerge:

There’s a general feeling of positivity that peaks during the morning, drops swiftly in the afternoon and then climbs back up in the evening. This cycle happens every weekday, to pretty much everyone, regardless of race or nationality.

Of course, Twitter isn’t the best gauge for emotional accuracy since it isn’t exactly known for its honesty. And the software the researchers used to scan for words with certain emotional significance can’t pick up on when those words are being used sarcastically; nevertheless, this same pattern has been noticed in other studies, too:

Behavioral scientists, using what’s known as the day reconstruction method (DRM) to go hour by hour through people’s lives, found the same pattern: positivity or happiness levels peak in the morning, plummet in the afternoon and then rebound, or climb back up, and peak again in the evening.

This daily pattern is known as the morning peak, afternoon trough and evening rebound. Likewise, negativity levels show the exact opposite: they’re on the rise in the afternoon and fall in the evening.

What’s interesting is that this pattern has a very direct impact on the work we do. In a separate study that revealed very similar findings, three professors at American business schools analyzed over 26,000 earnings calls – conference calls between a company’s CEO and the primary investors, where they discuss how things have been going and how they expect things to go in the future. These calls often determine whether stock prices rise or fall.

The study showed that the later in the day the calls took place, the worse the “emotional tenor” was, and, as the day went on, the more negative the calls would get. Across over 2,000 public companies, the advice was the same: conduct your earnings calls bright and early in the morning to keep them upbeat and positive.

To make the most of your day, understand your chronotype.

So there’s substantial evidence that our emotional levels tend to follow a daily pattern – but that doesn’t mean everyone’s pattern is the same. Although everyone shares the afternoon energy trough, there’s a good chance you have friends or family whose schedule is otherwise different.

Studies show that, on average, one in every four people has a differing internal clock, or what’s known as a chronotype. In addition to the normal chronotype, which experiences the morning peak, afternoon trough and evening rebound, there are two others: the night owl and, to use the author’s term for early risers, the lark.

Be vigilant and take breaks to avoid midday mistakes.

You may know what your current chronotype is, but here’s the thing: we tend to move through these different types as we age. Young kids and older folks are generally larks, while teenagers tend to be owls.

This is why teens suffer when high-school classes start before 8:00 a.m., especially when math class is scheduled for the first period, and they’re forced to think analytically at the worst possible time.

Breaks and also naps, when correctly timed, can be very beneficial.

Over the past ten years or so, we’ve been moving in the wrong direction when it comes to taking breaks.

Many schools have reduced, or entirely gotten rid of, recess breaks, in the mistaken belief that this would improve grades. But as we saw in the previous blink, breaks, when timed well, are actually extremely beneficial. They expand your cognitive abilities and improve your mood, acting as an overall refresher for the mind and body.

When starting new projects, try to anticipate problems and recognize the power of the midpoint.

We like to imagine that, no matter the undertaking, we’ll hit the ground running and get off to a good start effortlessly. But, in reality, we’re bound to encounter a challenging takeoff at least once in a while.

Here’s a helpful tool that the author uses to ensure things go as smoothly as possible with any new endeavor: a premortem. It’s like a postmortem, the procedure a mortician would go through at a hospital, only moved up to before a project even begins. In other words, imagine all the ways in which your project might die and identify all the possible causes of death so that you can be sure to avoid them.

To reach the end, reassert the project goals; but beware of extreme behavior as the finish line draws near.

You’ve just learned about the good that can come out of a midpoint crisis, but there’s also a bad version, where people panic and the last leg of a project becomes a disorganized mess.

Here are some tips on how to help your team get through an eventual midway slump and reach a successful finish.

There are good ways to create a happy ending and bring poignancy into your life.

So people overemphasize the importance of endings, and they usually display extreme behavior near the end. This tendency is almost as predictable as our desire for endings to be happy.

And not only happy – but poignant. Poignancy is that bittersweet happiness that is shaded by sadness, an emotion that seems to capture the essence of the human condition. Pixar, with movies like the tear-jerker Up, is a poignancy pro.

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What is When about?

When (2018) combs through around 700 scientific studies to get a better understanding of how big a role timing plays in our lives. Daniel H. Pink sifts through data from the fields of economics, anthropology, social psychology and others, giving the reader a thorough look at why we make the decisions we do, and why we make them when we do.

When Review

When by Daniel H. Pink (2018) is a fascinating exploration of the science behind timing and how it affects our lives. Here's why we think it's a great book to read:

Packed with practical strategies and insights, it allows readers to optimize their performance and decision making by understanding the impact of timing.
Backed by extensive research and real-life examples, the book provides valuable knowledge that can be applied to various aspects of life, from work to relationships.
With its intriguing revelations about the influence of timing, the book promises to make readers view time in a completely new, thought-provoking light.

Best quote from When

You can take the chronotype questionnaire at danpink.com/MCTQ

—Daniel H. Pink

Who should read When?

Readers who want to improve their efficiency
Managers looking for tips on effective leadership
Recent college graduates

About the Author

Daniel H. Pink is the best-selling author of multiple books that have topped the New York Times book charts. A graduate of Yale Law School, he also has experience in politics, having worked as a speechwriter for Al Gore during his vice presidency. His previous books include Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us and To Sell is Human: The Surprising Truth About Moving Others.

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Psychology Productivity

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