Make Time

by Jake Knapp and John Zeratsky

Make Time is a framework for choosing what you want to focus on, building the energy to do it, and breaking the default cycle so that you can start being more intentional about the way you live your life.

Being more productive didn’t mean I was doing the most important work; it only meant I was reacting to other people’s priorities faster.

The first thing we learned was that something magic happens when you start the day with one high-priority goal.

Another lesson from our design sprints was that we got more done when we banned devices. Since we set the rules, we were able to prohibit laptops and smartphones, and the difference was phenomenal.

The first step is choosing a single highlight to prioritize in your day. Next, you’ll employ specific tactics to stay laser-focused on that highlight—we’ll offer a menu of tricks to beat distraction in an always-connected world. Throughout the day, you’ll build energy so you can stay in control of your time and attention. Finally, you’ll reflect on the day with a few simple notes.

Highlight: Start Each Day by Choosing a Focal Point The first step in Make Time is deciding what you want to make time for. Every day, you’ll choose a single activity to prioritize and protect in your calendar.

Asking yourself “What’s going to be the highlight of my day?” ensures that you spend time on the things that matter to you and don’t lose the entire day reacting to other people’s priorities. When you choose a Highlight, you put yourself in a positive, proactive frame of mind.

Perfection is a distraction—another shiny object taking your attention away from your real priorities.

Your Highlight gives each day a focal point. Research shows that the way you experience your days is not determined primarily by what happens to you. In fact, you create your own reality by choosing what you pay attention to.fn1 This might seem obvious, but we think it’s a big deal: You can design your time by choosing where you direct your attention. And your daily Highlight is the target of that attention.

Urgency The first strategy is all about urgency: What’s the most pressing thing I have to do today?

If you have something that absolutely positively must be accomplished today, make it your Highlight.

Satisfaction The second Highlight strategy is to think about satisfaction: At the end of the day, which Highlight will bring me the most satisfaction?

Joy The third strategy focuses on joy: When I reflect on today, what will bring me the most joy?

us. You only waste time if you’re not intentional about how you spend it.

Trust Your Gut to Choose the Best Highlight Which strategy should you use on any particular day? We think the best way to choose a Highlight is to trust your gut to decide whether an urgent, joyful, or satisfying Highlight is best for today.fn2 A good rule of thumb is to choose a Highlight that takes sixty to ninety minutes.

Choose Your Highlight 1. Write It Down 2. Groundhog It (or, “Do Yesterday Again”) 3. Stack Rank Your Life 4. Batch the Little Stuff 5. The Might-Do List 6. The Burner List 7. Run a Personal Sprint

Here’s one thing we do agree on: We hate to-do lists. Checking off finished tasks feels good, but the fleeting glow of accomplishment masks an ugly truth: Most to-dos are just reactions to other people’s priorities, not yours.

Make Time for Your Highlight 8. Schedule Your Highlight 9. Block Your Calendar 10. Bulldoze Your Calendar 11. Flake It Till You Make It 12. Just Say No 13. Design Your Day 14. Become a Morning Person 15. Nighttime Is Highlight Time 16. Quit When You’re Done

Your brain has to load a different set of rules and information into working memory. This “boot up” costs at least a few minutes, and for complex tasks, it can take even longer. The two of us have found it can take a couple of hours of uninterrupted writing before we’re doing our best work; sometimes it even requires several consecutive days before we’re in the zone. It’s like compound interest. The longer you remain focused on your Highlight, the more engaging you’ll find it and the better work (or play) you’ll do.

Be the Boss of Your Phone 17. Try a Distraction-Free Phone 18. Log Out 19. Nix Notifications 20. Clear Your Homescreen 21. Wear a Wristwatch 22. Leave Devices Behind

Stay Out of Infinity Pools 23. Skip the Morning Check-In 24. Block Distraction Kryptonite 25. Ignore the News 26. Put Your Toys Away 27. Fly Without Wi-Fi 28. Put a Timer on the Internet 29. Cancel the Internet 30. Watch Out for Time Craters 31. Trade Fake Wins for Real Wins 32. Turn Distractions into Tools 33. Become a Fair-Weather Fan

Slow Your Inbox 34. Deal with Email at the End of the Day 35. Schedule Email Time 36. Empty Your Inbox Once a Week 37. Pretend Messages Are Letters 38. Be Slow to Respond 39. Reset Expectations 40. Set Up Send-Only Email 41. Vacation Off the Grid 42. Lock Yourself Out

34. Deal with Email at the End of the Day Instead of checking your email first thing in the morning and then getting sucked in and reacting to other people’s priorities, deal with email at the end of the day. That way, you can use your prime hours for your Highlight and other important work. You’ll probably have a little less energy at the end of the day, but that is actually a good thing when it comes to email: You’ll be less tempted to overcommit by saying yes to every incoming request and less likely to bang out a multipage manifesto when a simple reply would do. 35. Schedule Email Time To help establish a new end-of-day email routine, try putting it on your calendar. Yes, we want you to literally add “email time” to your calendar. When you know you’ve got time set aside later, it’s easier to avoid wasting time on email now. And if you schedule your email time before a firm commitment such as a meeting or leaving the office, you’ll get an additional boost: When email time is done, it’s done. Do as much as you can in the allotted time, then move on.

Online, anyone can contact you, not just the highly relevant people in your physical vicinity. They have questions about their priorities—not yours—when it’s convenient for them—not you. Every time you check your email or another message service, you’re basically saying, “Does any random person need my time right now?” And if you respond right away, you’re sending another signal both to them and to yourself: “I’ll stop what I’m doing to put other people’s priorities ahead of mine no matter who they are or what they want.”

Make TV a “Sometimes Treat” 43. Don’t Watch the News 44. Put Your TV in the Corner 45. Ditch Your TV for a Projector 46. Go à la Carte Instead of All-You-Can-Eat 47. If You Love Something, Set It Free

Find Flow 48. Shut the Door 49. Invent a Deadline 50. Explode Your Highlight 51. Play a Laser Sound Track 52. Set a Visible Timer 53. Avoid the Lure of Fancy Tools 54. Start on Paper

I like university professors, but you know … they look upon their body as a form of transport for their heads, don’t they? It’s a way of getting their head to meetings. —SIR KEN ROBINSON

Take Notes to Track Your Results (and Keep You Honest) Collecting the data is super easy. Every day you’ll reflect on whether you made time for your Highlight and how well you were able to focus on it. You’ll note how much energy you had. You’ll review the tactics you used, jot down some observations on what worked and what didn’t, and make a plan for which tactics you’ll try tomorrow.

Jake Back in 2008, I started taking daily notes to help me record my energy level and try to figure out how to improve it. Here’s an excerpt: Nov. 17 Energy level: 8 Tactics tried today: Exercised this morning for 30 minutes. How did it go? Seemed to feel extra good afterward. I should try that more in the future. I focused for three straight hours in the morning but then felt tired after lunch. There was a really good dessert, though, and I had two (chocolate cake). Maybe I should not have dessert after lunch.

Do not ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and then go do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive. —HOWARD THURMAN

Highlight: Schedule Your Highlight (#8) A simple way to be proactive, give form to your day, and break the reaction cycle. Laser: Block Distraction Kryptonite (#24) Free yourself from one Infinity Pool, and see how your attention changes. Energize: Pound the Pavement (#62) A few minutes of walking each day provides a boost for the body and quiet for the mind. Reflect every evening for three days Don’t worry about committing to a lifetime of evening journaling (we’re not there yet, either). Just try the three tactics above and, for three days straight, take notes in the evening. See what you learn and take it from there.