Do you know why I am going to review this book, Make Time: How To Focus On What Matters Every Day? It’s because nowadays, I can hear everyone saying, “I don’t have enough time to get things done.” I am sure you too, must be feeling the same but after reading this book, I can firmly say that you will never have this feeling again.
About The Authors:
The authors, Jake Knapp and John Zeratsky have put together a powerful guide that will help you understand the importance of creating time for yourself and how to use that time to achieve your goals. They are the New York Times bestseller for Sprint and the creators of Time Dorks.
Jake Knapp is an award-winning designer and product creator. He spent 10 years at Google Ventures. John Zeratsky is a designer and writer who helps companies make products people love. John is also the co-author of Design Sprint. He works at famous companies like Fast, Wired, Wall Street Journal, Harvard Business Review, and Time including YouTube and Google Ventures.
Book Genres:
Make Time is mainly a self-help book. But it also falls into the category of productivity, time management, leadership, motivation and self-esteem, stress and anxiety management, psychology, personal development, and psychology.
Short Summary of Make Time Book
In a world full of entertainment, distractions, and technology, it gets hard to prioritize and focus on things that matter. Being in a race to achieve more in less time, we often feel overwhelmed. But how can we make the most of our lives? This is where the Make Time book comes in.
The extensive experience at world-class companies and interaction with different people have made the authors develop a powerful formula to make time. This formula will help you prioritize things that matter and how you can focus on the present moment.
“Every mistake [is] just a data point.” Make Time
Through deliberate efforts to focus on things that matter the most, this book helps to reclaim time in our lives. That we wouldn’t normally have access to. The Make Time formula offers a customizable menu of tactics to use wisely and helps to become more productive and creative.
These two former Google designers offer practical strategies and techniques for managing time, prioritizing tasks, and focusing on what truly matters to lead a more fulfilling life. The authors introduce a four-step framework called “Highlight, Laser, Energize, and Reflect.”
This encourages readers to identify and focus on their most important daily tasks. Along with eliminating distractions, maintaining high energy levels, and continuously improving their time management skills.
In short, “Make Time Book” is a practical and actionable guide that empowers readers to control their time and focus on what truly matters. By following the authors’ four-step framework and implementing personalized tactics, readers can create a more intentional, satisfying, and productive life.Key Points and Valuable Insights From The Book:
Busy Bandwagon and Infinity Pools
The two most interesting and relevant concepts related to time management that the authors have discussed in this book are the “Busy Bandwagon” and “Infinity Pools.” The Busy Bandwagon is a term used to describe how the culture of busyness has been glorified, and people have started to believe that being busy is a sign of success.
On the other hand, Infinity Pools are the resources and apps that are designed to keep you hooked and constantly replenishing content. If you unconsciously stream and refresh these apps or sources, it’s Infinity Pools. These infinity pools are the reasons for the exhaustion and stress people feel due to the lack of time.
Wasting Time By Default
Another valuable insight from the book is that many of us waste time by default without realizing it. From a technological perspective, “Default” means the standard settings for a program or system. It’s a preselected option that people have to choose for themselves. If you don’t make an active choice, you will likely stay with the default setting.
In the same way, our lives are filled with default settings, not just the devices we use. We fall into habits, patterns, and cultures without noticing them. The Busy Bandwagons set their lives on these default rules and end up wasting time by doing endless tasks. Whereas the infinity pools lure you into endless distraction by defaults. In short, everyone in today’s technological world is into this full-time job by default.
Darren Hardy’s book “The Compound Effect” is also a good source for those who are looking for time management techniques. In his book, Hardy explains how you can save time by knowing where you are spending your time by suggesting some techniques. These techniques can help you to avoid wasting time by default.
Willpower and Productivity aren’t workable solutions.
The authors highlighted in their book that they have tried Productivity and willpower a lot of time to manage their life, but nothing has worked. The only solution is to set your own defaults and consciously choose what you want to focus on. Not only focusing on what you want but also having the energy to take action and break the default cycle.
“Every time you check your email or another messaging service, you’re basically saying, “Does any random person need my time right now?” Make Time
One can easily control their attention and schedule by being more intentional with time and staying focused on what matters. Setting defaults also requires a positive mindset, healthy habits, and consistent effort.
“It’s not about ‘having’ time. It’s about making time. If it matters, you will make time.” Unknown
Design Spirits A four-step framework
The goal of reclaiming time and making it your own is the key purpose of this book. The authors proposed a four-step framework to reclaim or redesign the time. The framework is called Design Spirits, and it has four steps: Highlight, Laser, Energize, and Reflect.
The first step is ‘Highlight,’ which encourages readers to identify and focus on the most important tasks. In this way, one can intentionally allocate their intentions and activities. The book presented three categories to select your daily highlight.
- What is urgent?
- What brings satisfaction?
- What brings joy?
The second step is ‘Laser,’ which suggests working on your highlight with a laser-focused mode. One must eliminate distractions to move forward in the journey of reclaiming time.
“The best way to defeat distraction is to make it harder to react.” Make Time
The third step is ‘Energize,’ encouraging readers to maintain their energy levels. The energy levels are not only limited to physical energy, but it covers cognitive and emotional energy. It helps to stay focused on the present moment.
This thing also helps in studies by maintaining your consciousness and energy level. It benefits you to effectively study by adopting such habits that increase your focus time.
“If you want energy for your brain, you need to take care of your body.” Make Time
The fourth step is ‘Reflect,’ which helps readers to continuously evaluate and refine their progress. One must keep an eye on the past and learn from it. It helps to stay centered and mindful of your activities and time management. You need to reflect on the day to check out how the day has gone. “How focused were you? How energized were you? Did you make time for your highlight? Which tactics did you try? Which tactics do you want to try tomorrow?
Who should read the Make Time Book?
The Make Time book is a great guide for anyone who considers themselves Busy Bandwagon and highly vulnerable to infinity pools. Apart from this, Freelancers, gig workers, independent artists, entrepreneurs, and students who want to maximize their productivity and energy levels will find this book helpful.
They are the ones who have more engagement with devices and the internet and are also not accountable to anyone. That’s why they have more chances of getting into the infinity pools and losing focus. Overall, anyone who wants to create a more intentional, satisfying, and productive life can benefit from the book.
Final Thoughts
If you are exhausted and overwhelmed by the culture of busyness and intensely looking for solutions to reclaim your time, Make Time is the ideal guidebook. It’s a practical guide to reclaiming time control and focusing on what truly matters. The authors’ four-step framework provides tangible and actionable steps to redesign your time.
Don’t forget that reclaiming your time is more than just productivity and willpower. You must stay mindful of the default cycles and make an active effort to choose what you want to focus on. If you are a freelancer, this is one of the best books you can read to improve your productivity and time management skills.
