“Make Time” revolutionizes productivity, offering a refreshing take on reclaiming your day. Jake Knapp and John Zeratsky’s innovative approach helps you focus on what truly matters, transforming how you work and live.
Discover how to reshape your daily routine and unlock your full potential – read on to master the art of making time.
Table of Contents
Genres
Self-help, Productivity, Personal Development, Lifestyle, Psychology, Mindfulness, Career Advice, Organizational Skills, Business Culture, Design, Leadership, Organization and Time Management Skills, Stress and Anxiety Management Success, Motivation and Self-Esteem
“Make Time” presents a four-step system to help readers focus on their priorities. The authors draw from their experiences at Google and their personal lives to create a practical framework. The steps include:
- Highlight: Choose a daily focal point.
- Laser: Eliminate distractions to maintain focus.
- Energize: Optimize physical and mental energy.
- Reflect: Evaluate and adjust tactics.
The book offers 87 tactics to implement these steps, emphasizing flexibility and personalization. It challenges the notion of being constantly busy and encourages intentional choices about time use.
Knapp and Zeratsky advocate for creating “time bubbles” – periods of uninterrupted focus. They suggest practical methods like turning off notifications, using a distraction-free phone setup, and scheduling “office hours” for meetings.
The authors stress the importance of energy management, recommending practices like regular exercise, healthy eating, and adequate sleep. They also discuss the impact of technology on attention and provide strategies to use it mindfully.
Throughout the book, personal anecdotes and scientific research support the proposed methods. The writing style is approachable and engaging, making complex concepts easy to grasp and apply.
Review
“Make Time” stands out in the crowded field of productivity literature. Its strength lies in its practical, adaptable approach. Unlike rigid systems, it encourages experimentation and personalization.
The book’s focus on daily highlights is particularly effective. It shifts the mindset from completing endless to-do lists to prioritizing meaningful work. This approach can lead to more satisfaction and less stress.
The tactics provided are diverse and actionable. From simple suggestions like using a paper notebook to more involved strategies like redesigning your workspace, readers can find methods that suit their lifestyle.
One potential drawback is the book’s emphasis on individual action. While personal choices are crucial, it doesn’t deeply address systemic issues that affect time management, such as workplace cultures or societal expectations.
The authors’ tech industry background adds credibility to their digital distraction strategies. However, some tactics may be more applicable to knowledge workers than those in other fields.
Overall, “Make Time” offers a fresh, implementable approach to productivity. Its blend of scientific backing and personal experience creates a compelling read. For anyone feeling overwhelmed by busyness or seeking to align their time with their values, this book provides valuable insights and practical tools.
Busy Bandwagon
Two forces are eroding your time: The Busy Bandwagon and Infinity Pools.
When you ask someone at work how they’re doing, they’ll probably tell you, “Busy! Really, really busy.” People wear their busyness like a badge of honor. You and I feel pressure to join the ‘busy’ club and spend the day responding to emails, running from meeting to meeting, and adding tasks to our to‐do lists.
If we step off the Busy Bandwagon to relax, ‘Infinity Pools’ are waiting to pull us into their vortex.
Infinity Pools
“Infinity Pools are apps and other sources of endlessly replenishing content. If you can pull to refresh, it’s an Infinity Pool. If it streams, it’s an Infinity Pool.” – Make Time
Infinity Pools, like Instagram, YouTube, and Netflix, are powerful because they track our behavior, know what we like, and make it effortless to consume their content.
“While the Busy Bandwagon defaults to endless tasks, the Infinity Pools default to endless distraction. Our phones, laptops, and televisions are filled with games, social feeds, and videos. Everything is at our fingertips, irresistible, even addictive. Every bump of friction is smoothed away.” – Make Time
“With the average person spending four‐plus hours a day on their smartphone and another four‐plus hours watching TV shows, distraction is quite literally a full‐time job.” – Make Time
To prevent the Busy Bandwagon and Infinity Pools from turning our daily lives into a blur of meaningless activity, focus on daily highlights.
The Daily Highlight
If you answer 100 emails and complete 20 errands but don’t have a big win or a peak moment (i.e., a highlight), your days and weeks will be a blur (like a dream you can hardly remember).
To define your daily highlight, imagine that a friend calls you at the end of the day and asks:
“What was the highlight of your day?”
If you can answer that question at the start of the day, you give yourself the best chance to experience a peak moment. To help you define your daily highlight, authors Jake and John provide three highlight categories:
Urgency
Find a highlight in the ‘urgency’ category, by asking yourself, “What’s the most pressing thing I need to do today?” This might be a proposal you promised a client or a test you need to study for. I find it helpful to ask, “Of all the urgent things in my life, what would provide the greatest sense of relief?”
Satisfaction
When searching the satisfaction category for a potential daily highlight, ask yourself, “At the end of the day, what would give me the most satisfaction?” Maybe that’s drafting 2,000 words for your next book or completing the first module of a computer programming course you’ve wanted to start. Satisfaction highlights are things you want to do but don’t necessarily need to do.
Joy
Find a highlight in the ‘joy’ category, by asking yourself, “When I reflect on my day, what experience would give me the most joy?” Stop searching for things you can accomplish, and start identifying the people you enjoy and activities that bring you joy (i.e., activities you do for the sake of doing them). A joy‐based highlight may be going to the playground with your child, or having a guitar jam session with your friend, or taking a cooking class with your spouse.
Select your highlight
- Write down all the potential highlights on a blank piece of paper (call it your “might‐do” list). Each highlight should be bigger than a task but smaller than a major project, and each highlight should take between 60 to 90 minutes to complete.
- Rewrite the top three potential highlights on a new sheet of paper, then circle the one highlight you want to focus on today. Now write that highlight on a Post‐It note and put that Post‐It note in a place you’ll see throughout the day.
- Block out a 60 to 90 minute chunk of time in your calendar to dedicate to your highlight.
That’s it! By identifying and focusing on one highlight each day, you’ll pull yourself away from the Busy Bandwagon and Infinity Pools, and start living more intentionally.
Jake Knapp and John Zeratsky are obsessed with the idea of redesigning time. They’re the authors of the New York Times bestseller Sprint and the creators of Time Dorks, a popular newsletter about experiments in time management.
Jake spent 10 years at Google and Google Ventures, where he created the design sprint process. He has since run more than 150 sprints with companies including Nest, Slack, 23andMe, and Flatiron Health. He lives in San Francisco with his wife and sons.
John has written for the Wall Street Journal, Time, Harvard Business Review, Wired, Fast Company, and many more publications. For nearly fifteen years, he was a designer at technology companies, including YouTube and Google Ventures. Originally from Wisconsin, John and his wife now live aboard their sailboat, “Pineapple.”
Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION 1
Most of Our Time Is Spent by Default 4
Meet the Time Dorks 7
The Backstory, Part 1: The Distraction-Free iPhone 8
The Backstory, Part 2: Our Dorky Quest to Make Time 14
Four Lessons from the Design Sprint Laboratory 15
HOW MAKE TIME WORKS 19
Make Time Is Just Four Steps, Repeated Every Day 19
Highlight: Start Each Day by Choosing a Focal Point 20
Laser: Beat Distraction to Make Time for Your Highlight 21
Energize: Use the Body to Recharge the Brain 22
Reflect: Adjust and Improve Your System 23
The Make Time Tactics: Pick, Test, Repeat 23
No Perfection Required 24
The “Everyday” Mindset 25
HIGHLIGHT 27
The Missing Months 30
What Will Be the Highlight of Your Day? 34
Three Ways to Pick Your Highlight 35
Trust Your Gut to Choose the Best Highlight 38
Highlight Tactics
CHOOSE YOUR HIGHLIGHT 41
1. Write It Down 43
2. Groundhog It (or, “Do Yesterday Again”) 44
3. Stack Rank Your Life 45
4. Batch the Little Stuff 48
5. The Might-Do List 50
6. The Burner List 52
7. Run a Personal Sprint 55
MAKE TIME FOR YOUR HIGHLIGHT 57
8. Schedule Your Highlight 59
9. Block Your Calendar 61
10. Bulldoze Your Calendar 63
11. Flake It Till You Make It 63
12. Just Say No 64
13. Design Your Day 66
14. Become a Morning Person 69
15. Nighttime Is Highlight Time 73
16. Quit When You’re Done 75
LASER 77
A Love Affair with Email 81
Redesigning YouTube
82 Why Infinity Pools Are So Hard to Resist 84
Don’t Wait for Technology to Give Back Your Time 87
Create Barriers to Distraction 88
Laser- Tactics
BE THE BOSS OF YOUR PHONE 91
17. Try a Distraction-Free Phone 93
18. Log Out 98
19. Nix Notifications 99
20. Clear Your Homescreen 100
21. Wear a Wristwatch 101
22. Leave Devices Behind 103
STAY OUT OF INFINITY POOLS 105
23. Skip the Morning Check-In 107
24. Block Distraction Kryptonite 108
25. Ignore the News 110
26. Put Your Toys Away 112
27. Fly Without Wi-Fi 113
28. Put a Timer on the Internet 114
29. Cancel the Internet 117
30. Watch Out for Time Craters 117
31. Trade Fake Wins for Real Wins 119
32. Turn Distractions into Tools 119
33. Become a Fair-Weather Fan 122
SLOW YOUR INBOX 125
34. Deal with Email at the End of the Day 128
35. Schedule Email Time 128
36. Empty Your Inbox Once a Week 129
37. Pretend Messages Are Letters 129
38. Be Slow to Respond 130
39. Reset Expectations 131
40. Set Up Send-Only Email 132
41. Vacation Off the Grid 134
42. Lock Yourself Out 135
MAKE TV A “SOMETIMES TREAT” 137
43. Don’t Watch the News 140
44. Put Your TV in the Corner 140
45. Ditch Your TV for a Projector 141
46. Go a la Carte Instead of All-You-Can-Eat 141
47. If You Love Something, Set It Free 142
FIND FLOW 145
48. Shut the Door 147
49. Invent a Deadline 147
50. Explode Your Highlight 149
51. Play a Laser Sound Track 149
52. Set a Visible Timer 151
53. Avoid the Lure of Fancy Tools 152
54. Start on Paper 154
STAY IN THE ZONE 155
55. Make a “Random Question” List 157
56. Notice One Breath 157
57. Be Bored 158
58. Be Stuck 158
59. Take a Day Off 159
60. Go All In 159
ENERGIZE 163
You Are More Than a Brain 165
You Awaken to the Roar of a Saber-Toothed Tiger 168
The Modern Lifestyle Is an Accident 170
Act Like a Caveman to Build Energy 172
Energize Tactics
KEEP IT MOVING 175
61. Exercise Every Day (but Don’t Be a Hero) 177
62. Pound the Pavement 181
63. Inconvenience Yourself 182
64. Squeeze in a Super Short Workout 184
EAT REAL FOOD 189
65. Eat Like a Hunter-Gatherer 191
66. Central Park Your Plate 193
67. Stay Hungry 194
68. Snack Like a Toddler 196
69. Go on the Dark Chocolate Plan 197
OPTIMIZE CAFFEINE 199
70. Wake Up Before You Caffeinate 203
71. Caffeinate Before You Crash 204
72. Take a Caffeine Nap 204
73. Maintain Altitude with Green Tea 205
74. Turbo Your Highlight 206
75. Learn Your Last Call 206
76. Disconnect Sugar 207
GO OFF THE GRID 209
77. Get Woodsy 211
78. Trick Yourself into Meditating 213
79. Leave Your Headphones at Home 216
80. Take Real Breaks 217
MAKE IT PERSONAL 221
81. Spend Time with Your Tribe 223
82. Eat Without Screens 225
SLEEP IN A CAVE 227
83. Make Your Bedroom a Bed Room 229
84. Fake the Sunset 230
85. Sneak a Nap 232
86. Don’t Jet-Lag Yourself 233
87. Put On Your Own Oxygen Mask First 235
REFLECT 237
Fine-Tune Your Days with the Scientific Method 239
Take Notes to Track Your Results (and Keep You Honest) 241
Small Shifts Create Big Results 244
START ” SOME DAY” ‘TODAY 247
“QUICK START” GUIDE TO MAKE TIME 253
SAMPLE AGENDAS 255
FURTHER READING FOR TIME DORKS 260
SHARE YOUR TACTICS, FIND RESOURCES, AND GET IN TOUCH 264
THANK-YOU NOTES 265
ILLUSTRATION CREDITS 270
MAKE TIME TEST READERS 272
INDEX 284