To improve your life, start with a different way of dealing with time

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Learning how to choose the right time for important things can make life easier and better.

In his new book, When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing, Daniel Pink provides a range of psychological, biological and economic research and explains how to choose the right time for certain activities. In his opinion, it is best to conduct surgeries and meetings with investors before noon. And if you change jobs every 3-5 years, you will earn much more than you can imagine.

“Timing has an incredible impact on what we do and how we do it,” says Pink. Below are some important tips for learning how to deal with time and thus make life easier.

Do everything important in the morning

Our mood and energy are directly dependent on fairly predictable circadian rhythms. They, in turn, are determined by a person's chronotype, laid down at the genetic level.

The average person's mood drops about seven hours after waking up, that is, from 2 to 4 pm. It is during this time that people - especially health workers - make the most mistakes at work.

“A few months ago, my daughter was supposed to have a wisdom tooth pulled out,” says Pink. - I told her: 'You will go to the doctor's appointment very first.'

Drink coffee and take a nap

It has long been proven that taking a nap is always beneficial. By closing your eyes for 10–20 minutes, you can sharpen your mental abilities without risking drowsiness. But if you also drink a cup of coffee before that, the effect of a short sleep will increase significantly. After all, caffeine begins to work just about 25 minutes after it enters the body.

According to Pink, short nap breaks should be an integral part of the workday. Researchers at Columbia University found that judges give more lenient sentences if they take a nap before doing so. And the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention assures that children who rest during the day get better marks.

Don't rush forward

If you are competing with a large group of people, wait until the end before demonstrating your skills. Scientists have researched vocal contests like American Idol in eight countries and learned that singers who come on stage later are more likely to get high scores. In particular, the last participant has a 10-15% higher chance of going to the next stage of the competition.

Researchers believe that initially the judges have overestimated requirements, but during the competition their representations become less idealistic. The only exception is ballots. Voters most often choose the first name on the list, regardless of whether we are talking about the president of the country or a local deputy.

Set intermediate tasks

The intermediate stages in work, sports training, and in general in life can be both discouraging and inspiring. Researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles found that people working in a team, in most cases, do almost nothing until half the time is left before the deadline. Only after that do they start plowing with all their might.

To avoid this, set intermediate goals and complete them in a chain. Choose one task and every day, while you are doing it, draw a cross on the calendar. A bar of crosses will encourage you to achieve the goal as soon as possible.

Do things with other people

Activities together, be it rowing, running, or participating in flash mobs, reduces stress and makes the mind and body work more efficiently. Singing in a group has been found to improve self-esteem and alleviate depression. Choir singing can raise pain thresholds and boost immune responses in the fight against cancer.

It works on a physiological level. The hearts of the people in the choir even beat in sync.

Daniel Pink