Second, determine what you need to do. Does it involve headsdown analysis or head-in-the-sky insight? (Of course, not all tasks divide cleanly along the analysis-insight axis, so just make the call.) Are you trying to make an impression on others in a job interview, knowing that most of your interviewers are likely to be in a better mood in the morning? Or are you trying to make a decision (whether you should take the job you’ve just been offered), in which case your own chronotype should govern?
Third, look at this chart to figure out the optimal time of day:
| Your Daily When Chart | |||
| Lark | Third | Owl | |
| Analytic tasks | Early morning | Early to midmorning | Late afternoon and evening |
| Insight tasks | Late afternoon/early evening | Late afternoon/early evening | moring |
| Making an impression | Morning | Morning | Morning(sorry, owls) |
| Making a decision | Early morning | Early to midmorning | Late afternoon and evening |
For example, if you’re a larkish lawyer drafting a brief, do your research and writing fairly early in the morning. If you’re an owlish software engineer, shift your less essential tasks to the morning and begin your most important ones in the late afternoon and into the evening. If you’re assembling a brainstorming group, go for the late afternoon since most of your team members are likely to be third birds. Once you know your type and task, it’s easier to figure out the time.
HOW TO FIGURE OUT YOUR DAILY WHEN: THE ADVANCED VERSION
For a more granular sense of your daily when, track your behavior systematically for a week. Set your phone alarm to beep every ninety minutes. Each time you hear the alarm, answer these three questions:
1. What are you doing?
2. On a scale of 1 to 10, how mentally alert do you feel right now?
3. On a scale of 1 to 10, how physically energetic do you feel right now?
Do this for a week, then tabulate your results. You might see some personal deviations from the broad pattern. For example, your trough might arrive earlier in the afternoon than some people or your recovery may kick in later.
To track your responses, you can scan and duplicate these pages, download a PDF version from my website (http://www.danpink.com/chapter1supplement).
7 a.m.
What I’m doing:
Mental alertness: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 NA
Physical energy: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 NA
8:30 a.m.
What I’m doing:
Mental alertness: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 NA
Physical energy: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 NA
10 a.m.
What I’m doing:
Mental alertness: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 NA
Physical energy: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 NA
11:30 a.m.
What I’m doing:
Mental alertness: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 NA
Physical energy: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 NA
1 p.m.
What I’m doing:
Mental alertness: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 NA
Physical energy: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 NA
2:30 p.m.
What I’m doing:
Mental alertness: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 NA
Physical energy: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 NA
4 p.m.
What I’m doing:
Mental alertness: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 NA
Physical energy: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 NA
5:30 p.m.
What I’m doing:
Mental alertness: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 NA
Physical energy: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 NA
7 p.m.
What I’m doing:
Mental alertness: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 NA
Physical energy: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 NA
8:30 p.m.
What I’m doing:
Mental alertness: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 NA
Physical energy: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 NA
10 p.m.
What I’m doing:
Mental alertness: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 NA
Physical energy: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 NA
11:30 p.m.
What I’m doing:
Mental alertness: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 NA
Physical energy: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 NA
WHAT TO DO IF YOU DON’T HAVE CONTROL OVER YOUR DAILY SCHEDULE
The harsh reality of work—whatever we do, whatever our title—is that many of us don’t fully control our time. So what can you do when the rhythms of your daily pattern don’t coincide with the demands of your own daily schedule? I can’t offer a magic remedy, but I can suggest two strategies to minimize the harm.
1. 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.
Suppose you’re an owl forced to attend an early-morning meeting. Take some preventive measures. The night before, make a list of everything you’ll need for the gathering. Before you sit down at the conference table, go for a quick walk outside—ten minutes or so. Or do a small good deed for a colleague—buy him a coffee or help him carry some boxes—which will boost your mood. During the meeting, be extra vigilant. For instance, if someone asks you a question, repeat it before you answer to make sure you’ve gotten it right.
2. 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. Gently tell your boss when you work best, but put it in terms of what’s good for the organization. (“I get the most done on the big project you assigned me during the mornings—so maybe I should attend fewer meetings before noon.”) And start small. You’ve heard of “casual Fridays.” Maybe suggest “chronotype Fridays,” one Friday a month when everyone can work at their preferred schedule. Or perhaps declare your own chronotype Friday. Finally, take advantage of those times when