When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing(54)

The other study examined the effect of awe. Awe lives “in the upper reaches of pleasure and on the boundary of fear,” as two scholars put it. It “is a little studied emotion . . . central to the experience of religion, politics, nature, and art.”19 It has two key attributes: vastness (the experience of something larger than ourselves) and accommodation (the vastness forces us to adjust our mental structures).

Melanie Rudd, Kathleen Vohs, and Jennifer Aaker found that the experience of awe—the sight of the Grand Canyon, the birth of a child, a spectacular thunderstorm—changes our perception of time. When we experience awe, time slows down. It expands. We feel like we have more of it. And that sensation lifts our well-being. “Experiences of awe bring people into the present moment, and being in the present moment underlies awe’s capacity to adjust time perception, influence decisions, and make life feel more satisfying than it would otherwise.”20

Taken together, all of these studies suggest that the path to a life of meaning and significance isn’t to “live in the present” as so many spiritual gurus have advised. It is to integrate our perspectives on time into a coherent whole, one that helps us comprehend who we are and why we’re here.

In an otherwise forgettable scene in the 1930 movie Animal Crackers, Groucho Marx corrects himself for using the verb “are” when he should have said “were.” He explains, “I was using the subjunctive instead of the past tense.” Then, after a beat, he adds, “We’re way past tents, we’re living in bungalows now.”

We, too, are way beyond tenses. The challenge of the human condition is to bring the past, present, and future together.


When I began working on this book, I knew that timing was important, but also that it was inscrutable. At the start of this project, I had no idea of the destination. My goal was to arrive at something resembling the truth, to pin down facts and insights that could help people, including me, work a little smarter and live a little better.

The product of writing—this book—contains more answers than questions. But the process of writing is the opposite. Writing is an act of discovering what you think and what you believe.

I used to believe in ignoring the waves of the day. Now I believe in surfing them.

I used to believe that lunch breaks, naps, and taking walks were niceties. Now I believe they’re necessities.

I used to believe that the best way to overcome a bad start at work, at school, or at home was to shake it off and move on. Now I believe the better approach is to start again or start together.

I used to believe that midpoints didn’t matter—mostly because I was oblivious to their very existence. Now I believe that midpoints illustrate something fundamental about how people behave and how the world works.

I used to believe in the value of happy endings. Now I believe that the power of endings rests not in their unmitigated sunniness but in their poignancy and meaning.

I used to believe that synchronizing with others was merely a mechanical process. Now I believe that it requires a sense of belonging, rewards a sense of purpose, and reveals a part of our nature.

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





FURTHER READING


Time and timing are endlessly interesting topics that other authors have explored with skill and gusto. Here are six books, listed in alphabetical order by title, that will deepen your understanding:

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.

A Geography of Time: Temporal Misadventures of a Social Psychologist (1997)





By Robert V. Levine


Why do some cultures move fast and others slowly? Why do some abide by strict “clock time” and others by more fluid “event time”? A behavioral scientist offers some fascinating answers, many based on his own peripatetic adventures.

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 Dance of Life: The Other Dimension of Time (1983)





By Edward T. Hall


An American anthropologist examines how cultures around the world perceive time. The analysis is occasionally a bit dated, but the insights are powerful, which is why this book remains a staple of college courses.

Why Time Flies: A Mostly Scientific Investigation (2017)





By Alan Burdick


Awonderful and witty work of science journalism that captures the complexity, frustration, and exhilaration of trying to understand the nature of time.