Weekend Boost No. 185

TIMING IS EVERYTHING...AND IT STARTS WITH PRESENCE

I got to spend time recently with one of my favorite people, a dear friend I don't see nearly enough. We have a running debate every time we're together about how early to arrive at the airport. She always wins, or at least she always reminds me why she wins, because Jodie considers herself a chronoptimist.

A chronoptimist is someone who genuinely believes there is enough time. Not in a naive way, but as a practiced orientation toward life. A choice to inhabit time rather than fight it.

It landed for me because so much of what I see in leaders right now is the opposite. A chronic sense that time is running out, that the moment has passed, that there isn't enough room to breathe before the next thing arrives.

And yet the leaders who seem to have the best instincts for timing, knowing when to act, when to stay, when a moment is ready, tend to be the ones who are actually present. Not managing time from the outside, but genuinely in it.

That's not a soft idea. The science backs it up.

Here are three resources worth your time this weekend.

The deeper story on time itself
How to Make a Lifetime Seem Longer and More Fulfilling — Marc Wittmann, Psychology Today

Researcher Marc Wittmann makes the case that how we experience time isn't fixed. The more present and emotionally attuned we are, the richer our memories, and the fuller life actually feels. For leaders, this is worth sitting with. Presence isn't just good for relationships. It's how we stay calibrated to what a moment actually needs.

The fun, punchy one (yes, there's a quiz)
How to Time Your Day for Peak Performance — Daniel Pink, CNBC

Pink's research on timing is genuinely surprising and very practical. Are you a lark, an owl, or a "third bird"? Turns out it matters more than you think for when you do your best thinking, your most creative work, and yes, even when you have hard conversations. Short, scannable, and worth bookmarking.

The podcast worth a walk
What We Know About Leading with Intuition — HBR IdeaCast

Researcher Laura Huang makes a compelling argument that what we call "gut instinct" is actually years of experience and data working quietly beneath the surface. Good timing often feels like intuition, but it's really presence and attunement doing their work. This one is rich and worth a full listen.
 

THE PRACTICE

Think of a decision, conversation, or moment coming up for you this week, something where timing actually matters.

Before you act, try this: slow down enough to ask yourself what you're actually noticing right now, not what you think you should do, but what the moment seems to be asking for.

What do you sense in the room? In the relationship? In yourself?

Good timing starts there.