When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing

by Daniel H. Pink

Mirror, Mirror.

Mind Meld.

This exercise promotes a more conceptual type of synchronization. Find a partner. You count to three together, then each one of you says a word—any word you want—at the same time. Suppose you say “banana” and your partner says “bicycle.” Now you both count to three and utter a word that somehow connects the two previous words. In this case, you both might say “seat.” Mind meld! But if the two of you offer different words, which is far more likely—suppose one says “store” and the other “wheel”—then the process repeats, counting to three and saying a word that connects “store” and “wheel.” Did you both come up with the same word? (I’m thinking “cart”—how about you?) If not, continue until you both say the same word. It’s harder than it sounds, but it really builds your mental coordination muscles.

Pass the Clap.

Beastie Boys Rap.

FOUR TECHNIQUES FOR PROMOTING BELONGING IN YOUR GROUP

Reply quickly to e-mail.

E-mail response time is the single best predictor of whether employees are satisfied with their boss, according to research by Duncan Watts, a Columbia University sociologist who is now a principal researcher for Microsoft Research. The longer it takes for a boss to respond to their e-mails, the less satisfied people are with their leader.1

Tell stories about struggle.

One way that groups cohere is through storytelling. But the stories your group tells should not only be tales of triumph. Stories of failure and vulnerability also foster a sense of belongingness.

Nurture self-organized group rituals.

The most valuable emerge from the people in the group, instead of being orchestrated or imposed by those at the top.

Try a jigsaw classroom.

The teacher divides students into five-person “jigsaw groups.” Then the teacher divides that day’s lesson into five segments.

The students then go off to study their piece, forming “expert groups” with students from the class’s other five-person groups who share the same assignment.

When the research is complete, each student returns to his original jigsaw group and teaches the other four classmates.

THINKING IN TENSES A Few Final Words

168 Hours: You Have More Time Than You Think (2010) By Laura Vanderkam We each get the same allotment: 168 hours each week. Vanderkam offers shrewd, actionable advice on how to make the most of those hours by setting priorities, eliminating nonessentials, and focusing on what truly matters.

Daily Rituals: How Artists Work (2013) Edited by Mason Currey How have the world’s greatest creators organized their time? This book reveals the daily habits of a range of creative powerhouses—Agatha Christie, Sylvia Plath, Charles Darwin, Toni Morrison, Andy Warhol, and 156 others.

Internal Time: Chronotypes, Social Jet Lag, and Why You’re So Tired (2012) By Till Roenneberg If you’re going to read one book about chronobiology, make it this one. You’ll learn more from this smart, concise work—organized into twenty-four chapters to represent the twenty-four hours of the day—than from any other single source.

The Circadian Code: Lose Weight, Supercharge Your Energy, and Transform Your Health From Morning to Midnight (2018) By Satchin Panda One of the world’s leading circadian rhythm scientists looks at intriguing early research on the “when” of eating. It turns out that restricting our food intake to an 8- or 10-hour window each...

Why Time Flies: A Mostly Scientific Investigation (2017) By Alan Burdick A wonderful and witty work of science journalism that captures the complexity, frustration, and exhilaration of trying to understand the nature of time.

Daniel H. Pink is the author of several books, including the New York Times bestsellers Drive, To Sell is Human, and A Whole New Mind. His books have won multiple awards and have been translated into thirty-five languages. He lives with his family in Washington, DC. danpink.com twitter.com/danielpink facebook.com/danielhpink