Making decisions is one of the most important aspects of a successful life. Decisions should be perfect, so that when you act upon them, they produce fruitful results. Whether the matter is big or small, you need to make decisions almost throughout the day. To be absolutely correct on your decision, which is the best time of the day? Is it morning or evening? Does the time of day affect your abilities to make a decision? Do early morning risers and night owls have varied time capabilities of decision-making? Do night owls think best in the middle of the night? Let’s find out the answers here.
A Study to find the truth
Argentine psychological scientists carried out detailed analysis of the available data of online chess matches. They investigated at least 2000 time-stamped online chess games of 100 elite online chess players and tried to find out real-world variations in decision making across 24-hours a day.
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Hypothesis
Their initial hypothesis was that morning people make the best decisions in the morning and the night owls make best decisions at night.
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Findings
– After carefully analyzing the extensive data, they found that irrespective of the chronotype of individuals, there is no impact on the quality of decision-making ability whether it is morning or night.
– The Argentine psychological scientists found that in the morning all people (irrespective of their chronotypes) made accurate but slower decisions.
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Conclusion of the Findings
The study uncovered that people employed slightly different decision-making strategies, based on the time of the day. In the morning, a preventive policy was adopted by the sample players. They adopted a strategy where they played more accurately as if they were playing against high-level opponents. However, in the evening, the players resorted to riskier policy. They made the decision much faster. However, their decisions were less accurate.
The researchers concluded that the best time for decision-making capabilities of people (irrespective of chronotype, time zone, and gender) is in the morning. As midday arrives, the decision-making capabilities of people hit a plateau or become more or less stagnant. By evening, the quality of decision making becomes poorer.
Therefore, the researchers suggested that the most important decisions should be made in the morning so that people can employ their best judgment and ultimately get the best result.
Which work should you do at which time of the day?
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Learning
The best time of learning is said to be:
– 10am to 2pm
– 4pm to 10pm
To keep something in your memory for a longer period of time, always choose daytime for learning or studying.
P.S. If you are an early riser or even a night owl, try to avoid 4am to 7am time frame because it is considered as the lowest learning curve.
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Decision Making
The decision should be made during morning time (the findings of the Argentine psychological scientists confirm this). Should you make decisions early in the morning? They say the crucial decisions should be made 1-to-3 hours after waking up in the morning. If you are not sure about the exact time of making decisions, listen to your circadian rhythm, and then make the right decision when you feel in sync with the rhythm.
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Brainstorming and Coming up with New Ideas
When you are tired and different concepts and thoughts struggle to form a connection, that’s the time when creative ideas come to your brain. Creative ideas need you to think out of the box, and at the same time be open to newer ideas. So, try not to make decisions at the most productive time of the day – 11am to 3pm. Brainstorm in the later part of the day or in the evening (especially after 3pm).
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Ask for Money or a Raise
On Friday afternoon (week’s least productive day) most people are in a good mood. If you are asking for money or a raise in salary, avoid Monday morning and go for Friday afternoon.
All the best, and experiment with these strategies going forward!
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