A psychologist who studies extraordinary performers, Ericsson found that elite performers have something in common: They’re really good at taking breaks.In Ericsson’s study, one factor that distinguished the best from the rest is that they took complete breaks during the afternoon (many even napped as part of their routine), whereas non-experts were less rigorous about pauses.They practice with intense focus for forty-five- to ninety-minute bursts, then take meaningful restorative breaks.You can do the same. Pause like a pro and you might become one.

PAUSE LIKE A PRO

<ol><li>If you’re on a ballot (county commissioner, prom queen, the Oscars)</li><li>If you’re not the default choice</li><li>If there are relatively few competitors (say, five or fewer) - for the advantage of the “primacy effect”</li><li>If you’re interviewing for a job and you’re up against several strong candidates, you might gain an edge from being first.</li></ol>

Four Situations When You Should Go First

“The best endings don’t leave us happy. Instead, they produce something richer—a rush of unexpected insight, a fleeting moment of transcendence, the possibility that by discarding what we wanted we’ve gotten what we need.”

"If you want a happy ending, that depends, of course, on where you stop your story. "

3 step process -<ol><li>Determine your chronotype: Lark( morning type), Owl (night type), or Third bird (in between)</li><li>Determine what you need to do. Does it involve heads-down analysis or head-in-the-sky insight? Or are you trying to make a decision?</li><li>Look at this chart to figure out the optimal time of day</li></ol>

FIGURE OUT YOUR DAILY WHEN

“Breaks are not a sign of sloth but a sign of strength”

<ul><li>Lose weight: Morning exercise (after waking up) may burn 20 percent more fat than later, post-food workouts.</li><li>Boost mood: Cardio workouts—swimming, running, even walking the dog— do it in the evening, you’ll end up sleeping through some of the good feelings.</li><li>Keep to your routine: if you find yourself struggling to stick with a plan, morning exercise, especially if you enlist a regular partner, can help you form a habit.</li><li>Build strength: Our physiology changes throughout the day. If you’re doing weight training, schedule your workout for those early-morning hours.</li></ul>

WHEN TO EXERCISE

<ol><li>Find your afternoon through time: Around 2-3 pm (after ~7 hours of waking up).</li><li>Create a peaceful environment: Turn off notifications, dim the lights, etc.</li><li>Down a cup of coffee: The most efficient nap is the nappuccino. The caffeine won’t fully engage in your bloodstream for about twenty-five minutes, so drink up right before you lie down.</li><li>Set a timer on your phone for twenty-five minutes: Most important - not more than 25 minutes!</li><li>Repeat consistently</li></ol>

TAKE A PERFECT NAP

“I used to believe that timing was everything. Now I believe that everything is timing.”

<ol><li>Drink a glass of water when you wake up.</li><li>Don’t drink coffee immediately after you wake up.</li><li>Soak up the morning sun.</li><li>Schedule talk therapy, appointments for the morning.</li></ol>

FOUR TIPS FOR A BETTER MORNING

<ol><li>If you are the default choice, don’t go first.</li><li>If there are many competitors (not necessarily strong ones, just a large number of them), going later can confer a small advantage, and going last can confer a huge one.</li><li>If you’re operating in an uncertain environment, not being first can work to your benefit.</li><li> If the competition is meager, going toward the end can give you an edge by highlighting your differences.</li></ol>

Four Situations When You Should Not Go First

<ol><li> Be aware: Simply knowing that you’re operating at a suboptimal time can be helpful because you can correct for your chronotype in small but powerful ways.</li><li>Work the margins: Even if you can’t control the big things, you might still be able to shape the little things. If you’re a lark or a third bird and happen to have a free hour in the morning, don’t fritter it away on e-mail. Spend those sixty minutes doing your most important work. Try managing up, too. </li></ol>

IF YOU DON’T HAVE CONTROL OVER YOUR DAILY SCHEDULE

Each day, alongside your list of tasks to complete, meetings to attend, and deadlines to hit, make a list of the breaks you’re going to take.Start by trying three breaks per day. List when you’re going to take those breaks, how long they’re going to last, and what you’re going to do in each. Even better, put the breaks into your phone or computer calendar so one of those annoying pings will remind you. Remember: What gets scheduled gets done.

MAKE A BREAK LIST

The instant New York Times Bestseller #1 Wall Street Journal Business Bestseller Instant Washington Post Bestseller "Brims with a surprising amount of insight and practical advice." --The Wall Street Journal Daniel H. Pink, the #1 bestselling author of Drive and To Sell Is Human, unlocks the scientific secrets to good timing to help you flourish at work, at school, and at home. Everyone knows that timing is everything. But we don't know much about timing itself. Our lives are a never-ending stream of "when" decisions: when to start a business, schedule a class, get serious about a person. Yet we make those decisions based on intuition and guesswork. Timing, it's often assumed, is an art. In When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing, Pink shows that timing is really a science. Drawing on a rich trove of research from psychology, biology, and economics, Pink reveals how best to live, work, and succeed. How can we use the hidden patterns of the day to build the ideal schedule? Why do certain breaks dramatically improve student test scores? How can we turn a stumbling beginning into a fresh start? Why should we avoid going to the hospital in the afternoon? Why is singing in time with other people as good for you as exercise? And what is the ideal time to quit a job, switch careers, or get married? In When, Pink distills cutting-edge research and data on timing and synthesizes them into a fascinating, readable narrative packed with irresistible stories and practical takeaways that give readers compelling insights into how we can live richer, more engaged lives.

books

Books

The instant New York Times Bestseller #1 Wall Street Journal Business Bestseller Instant Washington Post Bestseller "Brims with a surprising amount of insight and practical advice." --The Wall Street Journal Daniel H. Pink, the #1 bestselling author of Drive and To Sell Is Human, unlocks the scientific secrets to good timing to help you flourish at work, at school, and at home.  Everyone knows that timing is everything. But we don't know much about timing itself. Our lives are a never-ending stream of "when" decisions: when to start a business, schedule a class, get serious about a person. Yet we make those decisions based on intuition and guesswork. Timing, it's often assumed, is an art. In When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing, Pink shows that timing is really a science. Drawing on a rich trove of research from psychology, biology, and economics, Pink reveals how best to live, work, and succeed. How can we use the hidden patterns of the day to build the ideal schedule? Why do certain breaks dramatically improve student test scores? How can we turn a stumbling beginning into a fresh start? Why should we avoid going to the hospital in the afternoon? Why is singing in time with other people as good for you as exercise? And what is the ideal time to quit a job, switch careers, or get married? In When, Pink distills cutting-edge research and data on timing and synthesizes them into a fascinating, readable narrative packed with irresistible stories and practical takeaways that give readers compelling insights into how we can live richer, more engaged lives.

Daniel H. Pink is the author of six provocative books — including his newest, When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing. WHEN has spent 4 months on the New York Times bestseller list and was named a Best Book of 2018 by Amazon and iBooks. Dan's other books include the long-running New York Times bestseller A Whole New Mind and the #1 New York Times bestsellers Drive and To Sell is Human. His books have won multiple awards and have been translated into 39 languages. He and his wife, who live in Washington, DC, have three children -- a college senior, a college sophomore, and a high school sophomore. 

WHEN TO EXERCISE

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