The decisions each president makes about how to spend his time provide a window into the theory and practice of presidential leadership. In his new book, The President’s Day: Managing Time in the Oval Office (Columbia University Press), UC Irvine political science professor Matthew Beckmann combines archival research with in-depth interviews to provide an extraordinary look at how presidents navigate the challenge of infinite demands and finite time. Below, Beckmann shares insights about his research, his results, and the practice of what John Kennedy called, “the presidential enterprise.”

Q: What inspired you to study presidents’ time management? 

A: Drawn between infinite possibilities and finite hours, presidents must decide what to do. Literally. Which appearances should I make? Which calls should I take? Which speeches should I give? Which places should I visit? Which events should I host? Which meetings should I attend? And, of course, which assemblage of advisors, officials, and/or guests should join me at each?

To me, this is an interesting analytic puzzle – how can you make the most of each day – but it is also a fascinating window into presidential leadership. For in deciding how to do the job, each president reveals how he understands his particular role and distinctive value.

Q: Your project covers all presidents from John F. Kennedy to George W. Bush. How were you able to discern how each spent his time?

When John Kennedy was elected president, he began planning his memoirs. To that end, he instructed his aides to keep careful records.

JFK’s secretary, Evelyn Lincoln, went above and beyond. Ms. Lincoln created something called the “Daily Diary,” a centralized, standardized means for recording minute-by-minute details about Kennedy’s daily work activities – meetings, calls, trips, speeches, interviews, and the like.

With an incredibly fortuitous confluence of events, the Daily Diary has endured. This is what let me extract details about what presidents have done with incredible precision. For instance, here is the Daily Diary for George W. Bush’s workday on 9/11/2001.

Parenthetically, having done all sorts of archival research and elite interviews with the people involved, I realized I should document my findings regarding the history of the Daily Diary. Thus became appendix A in The President’s Day.

Q: Were there any surprising patterns or significant changes in presidential time management over the decades?

A: As you can imagine, there are a lot of interesting nuggets – who started work early (Carter), who ended work late (Clinton), who packed a lot into each (Ford) – or not (Reagan). But the most interesting thing I found was the dramatic change in President Nixon’s work habits as the Watergate scandal grew ever more perilous. Indeed, while his public schedule remained consistent, Nixon’s work behind the scenes fell off dramatically, so much so that I conclude he effectively “quit before he resigned.”

Q: You close the book with advice for presidents about how best to allocate their time based on lessons from the past. Based on what you know, is President Trump following your advice?

A: It’s an important question with a simple answer: no.