I’ve always enjoyed Daniel Pink’s books. They always seem to be thoughtful and interesting. So, I saw this book come through, I thought I’d give it a read. It’s a good book, and here are the points I found really interesting:

  • The morning time people feel energized and positive. Afternoon time people can be a bit more weary and negative.
  • Mainly the positive effect climbs in the morning hours and reaches an optimal emotional point around midday. From there it plummets until the afternoon, and then increases in the evening.
    • This also depends if you’re a lark (morning person), third bird (me, late, but not too late), or owl (night person). For Third Bird – analytics in the morning, insights in the evening, make an impression in the morning, make a decision mid-morning.
  • Cognitive abilities ebb and flow throughout the day. Morning = great for math, testing. Afternoon is great for insights and creative thinking. (Innovation and creative thinking is greatest when we are not at our best.) Afternoons are great for art and creative thinking.
  • Plan around this. Hard work in the morning. Grocery shopping at 1pm. Creative writing in the afternoon.
  • Afternoons are dangerous. NEVER schedule a surgery after 1pm. This is the dead zone. Doctors aren’t at their best. No colonoscopies then too. Doctors miss more polyps. Judges tend to be harsher on criminals after 1pm.
  • Having breaks is incredibly important. Kids who have recess score better on tests. Go for walks. Being in nature is important. Don’t text during your break.
  • High performers tend to work for 52 minutes and then break for 17 minutes.
  • Lunch is possibly the most important meal of the day. It’s a break. It’s great for recovery.
  • Naps also are a key thing. But, a 10 to 20 minute nap will do wonders. It boosts mental and physical health.
    • Nappaccuino – Drink coffee right beforehand. SLeep for 20 minutes. The coffee then will wake you up, and you’ll be ready to go.
    • The sleepless guy wasn’t a hero, but a fool. Naps and breaks matter.
  • Elite performers are really good at taking breaks… not trudging through it.
  • Interesting notes on beginnings. Teens (who are more like owls in their life) tend to test better when school starts later.
  • INteresting – gradutating in a recession tends to negatively affect overall wealth of graduates
  • Always go first –
    • When you are not the default choice. People will remember those that come first… compared to the next people.
  • Always go last –
    • If you are the incumbent.
    • Or… if there are a lot of competitors.
    • If the competition is weak. Get that lasting impression.
  • Motivation comes in waves.
  • Midpoints – We tend to get re-energeized when we’re haflway through. Midpoints don’t deflate, but can motivate.
    • Mid-life is interesting. We start being hopeful about life. We then in midlife settle on the reality. And then get re-enthused in our 50s when we realize life isn’t as bad as we made it out to be.
    • Urgency propels motivation after we cross that halfway point.
    • When your behind, but only by a little… you’re in the best position to exceed expectations. Majority of basketball games are won by the team who is down by one point.
    • New ideas are less open to be taken on after the midpoint.
  • Reawaken your motivation – Think about the next mile. Not the finish line… Finish writing an email/scope midsentence… not at a paragraph… PICTURE the one thing that your work will help. (This helped motivate me.)
  • Endings – e.g, age 29, 39, 49, etc… We tend to look for crisis or meanings. We run a marathon or cheat on our loved ones.
  • People remember how things end… not how they begin. A great meal ends with the waiter giving us a surprise desert. “It’s not how you start, but how you finish”
    • Giving a gift at the end of a project to a client
  • At old age, we may not have as many friends. Maybe not by choice, but because we edit our relationships to keep the ones close we care about.
  • Always deliver bad news first. Then the good news.
  • “In the end, we seek meaning”
  • The most fulfilling jobs are both demanding and that we control (autonomy). If it’s demanding, and we’re under control… we get burnt out. If it’s not demanding, and we’re autonomous, it’s not challenging.
  • Human being rarely got at it alone. We do it in concert with other people.
  • A boss is essential to know whose in charge. Think of the coxswain on a row team. They’re the ones with vision, guiding the crew, the team into rhythm. while they do the work of getting the boat in rhythm.
  • Belonging to a group and providing value to that group is part of our survival.
  • The team who is more chatty is more productive. Even teams that touch more (fist bumps, hugs, etc.) the better they tend to do.
  • Respond quickly to your team. A leader who doesn’t respond quickly fails the people who follow them.
  • Tribes with weaker future tenses in their communications (e.g., Mandarin), tend to have people who save and exercise. Their future self and current self are one in the same. However, in the US (English), we have strong tenses which show separation of the two.

In conclusion:

  • Surf the waves of momentum and decline throughout the day
  • Lunch breaks, naps, and walks are a necessity
  • Midpoints matter. Use them to motivate and do more after you’ve reached that point.
  • Build meaningful endings. This is what people remember.
  • Syncing with others requires a sense of belonging and purpose. Show people’s value to the group.