Make Time Book Summary

The book is about how one can make time for what matters every day.  The book Make Time is written by Jake and John. Make Time is a productivity book that presents a four-part framework. In the modern world, everyone has got an endless list of works that have to be done.

The more work done, the more one has to do in this busy life one possesses. If one wants to make time for the most important stuff. One can’t just do it simply working faster instead one needs a more holistic approach. Approach to one’s daily routines, priorities, and lives which is the agenda of the book Make Time.

About the book

Make Time follows the four-part framework besides it has got 87 different tactics in the book. It is not a kind of prescriptive productive book. It’s more a case of recognizing that there’s no one-size-fits-all approach to productivity.

The point is one understands the framework and then he/she picks and chooses the tactics that work for him/her. Make Time is based on a simple structure of four steps repeated every day. They are Highlight, Laser, Energize and Reflect.

Step 1: Highlight

The first step is deciding what one wants actually to make time for and that involves figuring out what is one daily highlight. The highlight hypothesis is that if one sets a single intention at the start of each day, authors predict one will be more satisfied, joyful, and effective.

The idea of the daily highlight is that each day one will choose a single activity that one will prioritize and protect in the calendar. The highlight can be anything. It can be finishing off a piece of work or even just going for a walk. It is not the only thing that one is going to do but one has to do it definitely as Jake and John says in the book Make Time

Focusing on a daily highlight stops the tug of war between infinite distractions and the demands of being busy all the time

Step 2: Laser

The laser hypothesis is that if one creates barriers around being busy every time and infinite distractions author predicts that one will focus the attention like a laser beam.

When distractions are hard to access you do not have to worry about willpower. You can channel your energy into making time instead of wasting it

The book actually has 44 different tactics that we can pick and choose from, to manage all of the various distractions in one’s life and to really laser down.

Some of them are as follows:

39: Reset Expectations; 32 is Turn distractions into Tools; 60 is Go all in. For the rest Click Here to buy the book Make Time.

Step 3: Energize

The Hypothesis for this is if one lives a little more like a prehistoric human, authors predict he/she will enhance their mental and physical energy. Tactics 70 in the book says before caffeinating oneself he/one must wake up in the morning. It says that one’s body is like natural cortisol that wakes one up about an hour after he/she first wakes up. So one should then let the caffeine kick in at that point because that keeps us awake for longer and it also means one is not interfering with own body’s cortisol mechanisms.

Step 4: Reflect

It is all about reflecting on one’s day. At the end of the book, it has got the sample template. One can use it to base daily reflection off. The author John says

The important thing that I want people to take away from the book. You need to find a way to establish your own system. You have to get into the routine and the habit of experimenting. Trying things and believe that your attention, time, and energy are yours. You can design it in your own way.

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