Prioritize Your Daily Tasks Based on Importance: A Guide by Jake Knapp and John Zeratsky
In the bustling world of productivity literature, "Make Time" by Jake Knapp and John Zeratsky stands out for its pragmatic, adaptable approach. Written by authors with extensive experience in the tech industry, this book offers a four-step system for focusing on priorities, drawn from their experiences at Google and their personal lives.
Knapp and Zeratsky, creators of the Time Dorks newsletter and authors of the New York Times bestseller Sprint, bring valuable insights from their time at Google and beyond to help readers design their time effectively. Their tech industry background lends credibility to their digital distraction strategies.
The book emphasizes the importance of energy management, recommending practices like regular exercise, healthy eating, and adequate sleep. It challenges the notion of being constantly busy and encourages intentional choices about time use. To select a daily highlight, readers are advised to consider what would give the most satisfaction or joy.
The four steps of the system are: Highlight (choose a daily focal point), Laser (eliminate distractions), Energize (optimize physical and mental energy), and Reflect (evaluate and adjust tactics). Potential highlights should be written down on a "might-do" list, with the top three rewritten and circled to choose from.
To implement these steps, the authors provide 87 tactics, emphasizing flexibility and personalization. The tactics range from simple suggestions like using a paper notebook to more involved strategies like redesigning your workspace. One potential drawback is the book's emphasis on individual action, as it does not deeply address systemic issues that affect time management.
The authors advocate for creating "time bubbles" - periods of uninterrupted focus. To do this, a 60 to 90 minute chunk of time should be blocked out in the calendar for the chosen highlight. The chosen highlight should be placed on a Post-It note and displayed in a visible location.
The writing style of the book is approachable and engaging, making complex concepts easy to grasp and apply. Personal anecdotes and scientific research support the proposed methods, making the book a valuable resource for anyone seeking to improve their productivity and focus.
In conclusion, "Make Time" offers a practical, adaptable approach to productivity that emphasizes energy management, intentional time use, and creating periods of uninterrupted focus. While it does not delve deeply into systemic issues, it provides a wealth of actionable tactics for readers to implement in their daily lives.
