When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing by Daniel Pink. This was a very enjoyable read. So enjoyable that I restarted chapter one immediately after finishing the book. And then again, a third read. Maybe this is no surprise. I read in 2007 his book A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future and it was also very enjoyable.
In this book Pink provides a lot of scientific data (big data) that provides insights to our lives. This is so broadly appealing that everyone should read this book. Basically Pink shares that we all have a unique hidden patterns. This really impacts our work performance, studies, exercise and even our mood throughout the day.
Pink breaks our day into three periods: Peak, Trough, and Recovery. A morning Peak is when we apply thinking tasks. A Trough sees a decline in the mid-afternoon. This is best for simple tasks. Finally Recovery reenergizes us in the early evening to be creative.
At the same time Pink acknowledges our personality fits into one of three buckets. These circadian rhythms are Lark (morning person), an Owl (evening person), or a middle Third Bird. These rhythms will change over time. While in college I was definitely an owl, programming into the wee hours of the morning. Owls have their rhythms in reverse: recovery, trough and peak.