When: Daniel Pink, Body Clock and Our Daily Performance

The subject of body clock and the biological routine of organisms has been garnering a lot of interest. The 2017 Nobel Prize in physiology and medicine was awarded to Jeffrey C. Hall, Michael Rosbash and Michael W. Young for their discovery of discoveries of molecular mechanisms controlling the circadian rhythm. 

A lot has been said, done and researched about the influence of this biological clock system on our daily routine and how we plan our different activities. Yesterday, I read the first chapter of a book 'When: The Scientific Secret of Perfect Timing' by Daniel Pink. Interestingly, the book was borrowed from his college by my elder son Kushal who is doing is 11th in Science. The boy is evolving into a voracious reader. 

While reading the first chapter, I was struck by the amount of research and study that went into writing this book. Mr. Pink has cited more than 300 articles, papers, books, reports and other sources in his 200 page book. No wonder writing a good book demands a lot of reading, research and assimilation of ideas. 

More than the amount of effort put in by the author, I was struck by the subject matter itself. According to the book, the outcome and efficiency of our actions depends upon the timing of the action. The book categorizes people into different categories based on their sleep and work cycles. Based on the category, the book recommends specific scheduling for tasks that are mundane, tasks that need logical analysis & decision and the tasks that need insight and understanding. 

The single most striking thing for me was the suggestion, based on various research outcomes, that our moods and hence our abilities to remain calm, make major decisions, motivate others and influence people hits high during early hours before noon. It then dives to low troughs during the afternoon hours before it rebounds in the early evening. 

If one were to go by Mr. Pink's recommendations, we would not make important decisions, schedule critical meetings and do important consultations during the afternoon. 

This is not mere speculation but a recommendation based on the findings of numerous researches and seems better we could follow it. For those of us who cannot follow, there are techniques to adjust our own schedules so that we could maximize positives and minimize negatives. 

A very interesting read and indeed something useful to work upon.  

11:11 AM 27 January 2019