How many times have you spoken the phrase, “What perfect timing?” What an interesting phenomenon timing can be. Addressing other aspects of time in posts such as Chronos vs. Kairos, today I want to ask readers to consider time in the chronological sense, specifically in determining what your personal chronotype is and why delving into this self-awareness activity might be of value to you.
Recently in my nutrition classes, I asked students to explore which tendency described them best after reading Gretchen Rubin’s The Four Tendencies. With the intent to examine how establishing positive habits, specifically as it relates to our physical health, might be interconnected to a personal tendency, I asked students to read through the list and choose one of the four: upholder, questioner, rebel, or obliger. What I did not forsee was the need to explain the question: Am I a lark or an owl? Once I added the descriptor and rephrased the question to “Are you a morning lark or a night owl?’, they seemed to grasp the idea.
Emerging in my reading this week of Daniel Pink’s When, the terms lark and owl again appear as important factors in developing a Habit of Awareness; this occasion in the sense of understanding our chronological type and what time of day is considered perfect for certain tasks. I find it fascinating how Pink’s insight applies not only in normal routines, but especially in situations of Life Interrupted where we are attempting to process a new normal. Pink encourages us to identify a chronotype which he defines as “a personal pattern of circadian rhythms that influences our physiology and psychology” so that we can be aware of when to attempt specific types of tasks. Using the common descriptors of a morning lark or a night owl when defining chronotypes, Pink offers another option called the “third bird” which he feels describes 60-80 percent of the population who fall somewhere in between a lark or an owl. One important application I offer is that at a time when life has been interrupted, many of us are being provided an interesting opportunity to use our chronotype to create a personal schedule that has the potential to launch both personal and professional success.
Let me see if I can offer a short summary of what Pink has learned from scientists about the rhythm of a day. Pink offers that most people experience the “same daily oscillation—a peak, a trough, and a rebound. Beneath the surface of our everyday life is a hidden pattern…These internal timekeepers play an essential role in proper functioning. They govern a collection of what are called circadian rhythms (from the Latin circa [around] and diem [day]) that set the daily backbeat of every creature’s life…research is unlocking some surprising time-based patterns in how we feel and how we perform—which, in turn, yields guidance on how we can configure our own daily lives.”
Pink shares, “In short, all of us experience the day in three stages—a peak, a trough, and a rebound. And about three-quarters of us (larks and third birds) experience it in that order. But about one in four people, those whose genes or age make them night owls, experience the day in something closer to the reverse order—recovery, trough, peak.” Gaining insight from this assessment, we have an opening to arrange our days, when possible, to improve our perfect timing. Sharing research from numerous countries, organizations, and professions, Pink opened my eyes to a better understanding for why I undertake tasks which require a great deal of concentration in the morning hours and prefer to use the early afternoon for menial tasks and even a quick exercise break. I am a morning lark!
Whether you are a morning lark like me, a night owl like my friend Tracey, or a third bird somewhere in between, planning your day around your tendencies might be worth deep consideration. Although our schedules are typically arranged by others, I do encourage you, when it’s possible, to conduct conversations with family members, office personnel, and even yourself, to uncover a suitable schedule which allows you to optimize the idea of perfect timing. Taking a little time to determine your chronological type in a Habit of Awareness might even be of assistance in creating a Habit of Deep Work, where you are able to produce the best of your God-given talents.
Please feel free to share in the comments below any ways you see that understanding a chronological type can be beneficial to a relationship.
References:
Pink, D.H. (2018). When: The scientific secrets of perfect timing. Riverhead Books.
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