Ever feel like your days are just slipping by, filled with endless tasks and constant distractions? If so, “Make Time: How to Focus on What Matters Every Day” by Jake Knapp and John Zeratsky might just be the guide you need to regain control. In this engaging and practical book, the authors share their insights on how to carve out time for the things that truly matter, using their own experiences and experiments as a backdrop. Let’s dive into the key ideas and actionable tips from “Make Time” in a fun and easy-to-understand way.
The Problem: Busy Bandwagon and Infinity Pools
Knapp and Zeratsky pinpoint two main forces that eat up our time:
- Busy Bandwagon: Our culture’s obsession with busyness – overflowing inboxes, packed calendars, and never-ending to-do lists.
- Infinity Pools: Endless streams of content from apps and websites that keep us distracted and entertained, but disconnected from our priorities.
To combat these, the authors present a four-step framework: Highlight, Laser, Energize, and Reflect.
Step 1: Highlight – Choose Your Daily Focal Point
The first step is deciding what you want to make time for each day. This could be an important work task, a personal project, or simply something fun and fulfilling. The key is to be intentional about your focus.
Actionable Tips:
- Write Down Your Highlight: Clearly define the day’s most important task or activity.
- Groundhog It: Repeat the previous day’s highlight if it’s still relevant or unfinished.
- Stack Rank Your Life: Prioritise the big things in your life to identify your daily highlights.
- Batch the Little Stuff: Group small tasks together to handle them all simultaneously.
- Create a Might-Do List: List potential tasks and projects you might do, but only choose one to focus on.
- Use a Burner List: Keep a front burner for the most important projects and a back burner for secondary ones.
- Run a Personal Sprint: Dedicate consecutive days to a single project to maintain momentum.
Story Highlight: Jake shares a personal story about his son asking why he was always on his phone. This was a wake-up call for Jake, who realised he was missing out on meaningful moments with his family because he constantly reacted to emails and notifications. This led him to experiment with deleting distracting apps and focusing on what truly mattered each day.
Step 2: Laser – Beat Distractions
To stay focused on your highlight, you need to manage distractions effectively. This means redesigning how you use technology and setting boundaries for your attention.
Actionable Tips:
8. Log Out: Log out of social media and other distracting apps.
9. Nix Notifications: Turn off non-essential notifications on your devices.
10. Clear Your Homescreen: Remove distracting apps from your home screen.
11. Wear a Wristwatch: Use a wristwatch to check the time instead of your phone.
12. Leave Devices Behind: Go device-free during certain activities.
13. Skip the Morning Check-In: Avoid checking email or social media first thing in the morning.
14. Block Distraction Kryptonite: Identify and block your biggest distractions.
15. Ignore the News: Limit your news consumption to avoid unnecessary distractions.
16. Put Your Toys Away: Keep distracting gadgets out of sight.
17. Fly Without Wi-Fi: Work offline to stay focused.
18. Put a Timer on the Internet: Limit your time online with a timer.
19. Cancel the Internet: Disconnect from the Internet when you need to focus.
20. Watch Out for Time Craters: Be mindful of activities that consume more time than intended.
Story Highlight: John (JZ) recounts his journey of experimenting with different ways to avoid distractions, from logging out of social media to reprogramming his sleep schedule. One of his most effective tactics was designing his day to include breaks and downtime, which helped him maintain focus and energy.
Step 3: Energize – Recharge Your Brain
Maintaining your energy levels is crucial for focus and productivity. The authors suggest simple, sustainable ways to boost your energy.
Actionable Tips:
21. Exercise Every Day: Engage in daily physical activity.
22. Pound the Pavement: Incorporate walking or running into your routine.
23. Inconvenience Yourself: Make small changes to be more active, like taking the stairs.
24. Squeeze in a Super Short Workout: Do quick, high-intensity exercises.
25. Eat Real Food: Choose whole, unprocessed foods.
26. Stay Hungry: Avoid overeating to prevent sluggishness.
27. Snack Like a Toddler: Eat small, healthy snacks throughout the day.
28. Wake Up Before You Caffeinate: Allow your body to wake up naturally before consuming caffeine.
29. Caffeinate Before You Crash: Use caffeine strategically before an energy dip.
30. Take a Caffeine Nap: Drink coffee before a short nap for a quick recharge.
31. Disconnect Sugar: Reduce sugar intake to avoid energy crashes.
32. Get Woodsy: Spend time in nature to recharge.
33. Trick Yourself into Meditating: Use simple mindfulness techniques to relax.
34. Leave Your Headphones at Home: Experience the world without constant audio stimulation.
35. Take Real Breaks: Give yourself genuine downtime to recover and recharge.
Story Highlight: The authors share their experiences with different energy-boosting tactics. For instance, Jake experimented with different workout routines and even tracked his daily energy levels in a spreadsheet to find out what worked best for him.
Step 4: Reflect – Adjust and Improve
The final step is to reflect on your day, assess what worked and what didn’t, and make adjustments as needed. This continuous improvement cycle helps you fine-tune your system.
Actionable Tips:
36. Take Notes: Reflect on what worked and what didn’t at the end of each day.
37. Experiment with Tactics: Try new tactics and adjust your approach.
38. No Perfection Required: Accept that it’s okay to make mistakes and that perfection is not the goal.
39. Schedule Reflection Time: Dedicate weekly to reflect on your progress.
40. Adjust Your System: Make tweaks based on what you learn from reflection.
41. Celebrate Small Wins: Recognize and celebrate small achievements to stay motivated.
42. Ask for Feedback: Get input from others to improve your system.
43. Track Your Energy Levels: Monitor how different activities affect your energy.
44. Adapt to Change: Be flexible and adapt your system as your circumstances change.
45. Set New Goals: Regularly set and review your goals to stay focused.
Story Highlight: Throughout the book, Jake and JZ share how they regularly reflected on their progress and made adjustments. For example, they would tweak their tactics based on feedback from each other and from readers who tried their methods.
Conclusion
“Make Time” offers a practical and engaging framework to help you reclaim your time and focus on what truly matters. By implementing the Highlight, Laser, Energize, and Reflect steps, you can design your days with intention, beat distractions, maintain your energy, and continuously improve your approach. Start with a few tactics that resonate with you, and remember, the goal is not perfection but progress. So, go ahead and make time for what matters most in your life!
