Make Time – Jake Knapp, John Zeratsky
In this book, the author shares more than 80 tactics for all the ideas and tells us to choose those that fit us the most by trying those tactics in our daily life.
The Laser Beam
If you create barriers around Busy Bandwagon and Infinity pools, then you will focus your attention like a laser beam.
When distractions are hard to access, you don’t have to worry about willpower, you can channel your energy into valuing time instead of wasting it.
Busy Bangwagon & Infinite Pools
Busy Bandwagon: This is the illusion of endless tasks.
Infinity Pools: Apps and other sources of endless (or infinity) replenishing content. These are endless distractions.
These days ‘BUSY’ is just like a ‘Badge of Honour’
We are just trying to squeeze productivity into every minute of the day and forget to live more intentionally.
The Tactic of Highlights
3 types of HIGHLIGHTs
Urgency: “What’s the pressing thing I need to do today?”
Satisfaction: “At the end of the day what would give me more satisfaction?”
Joy: “When I reflect on my day, what experience will give me more joy?”
Some highlight tactics –
You only waste time if you’re not intentional about how you spend it.
Reflect
Adjust and Improve your system.
Take note of those tactics that are working for you and those that aren’t.
Establish your own ‘Make Time’ System.
Shifting your focus to something that your mind perceives as a doable, completable task will create a real increase in positive energy, direction, and motivation.
Highlight
If you set a single intention at the start of each day, then you will be more satisfied at end of the day after completing that task.
Focusing on a daily highlight stops the tug-of-war between Infinity Pool Distractions and the demands of Busy Bandwagon.
It creates a third path: Being intentional and focused on how you spend your day.
We don’t remember every day, we remember moments.
Perfection is a distraction—another shiny object taking your attention away from your real priorities.
Energize
Use your body to recharge your brain.
If you live a little more like a prehistoric human, you will enhance your mental and physical energy.
- Exercise every day (Don’t Be a Hero)
- Stay Hungry: Skip the Breakfast
- Take a caffeine Nap
- Get Woodsy: Get some time in the woods (or close to nature)
- Trick yourself into Meditating: Just take a moment and feel your breaths and count them.
Smart Tactics for Laser-Like Focus
- Log out – from all the social media sites, uncheck the ‘remember me’, reset the password to a strong one(like – gh#?56&95/g$), and write it down physically.
- Nix Notifications
- Skip the Morning Check-in
- Block Distraction Kryptonite: The weak point of you which can’t resist (just like Kryptonite is the weak point of Superman).
- Be Slow to Respond
- Play a Laser Sound Track – a favourite soundtrack of you – will help to get into focus easily.
- Make a Random Question List.
Do not ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive, then go do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.