Make Time: How to focus on what matters every day

by Jake Knapp

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.

Every day, you’ll choose a single activity to prioritize and protect in your calendar.

Your Highlight might be something you don’t necessarily have to do but want to do,

your Highlight

will be your priority.

If, at the end of the day, someone asks you, “What was the highlight of your day?” what do you want your answer to be?

other people set your agenda.

Don’t let your agenda be filled with other people’s priorities

Focusing on a daily Highlight

being intentional and focused about how you spend your time.

three different criteria to choose our Highlight.

Urgency

Satisfaction

this strategy encourages you to focus on what you want to get done.

Use your Highlight to break the “someday” cycle.

Joy

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

A good rule of thumb is to choose a Highlight that takes sixty to ninety minutes.

To-do lists just perpetuate the feeling of “unfinishedness” that dogs modern life.

The Highlight hypothesis If you set a single intention at the start of each day, we predict you’ll be more satisfied, joyful, and effective.

The Laser hypothesis If you create barriers around the Busy Bandwagon and the Infinity Pools, we predict you’ll focus your attention like a laser beam. The Energize hypothesis If you live a little more like a prehistoric human, we predict you’ll enhance your mental and physical energy.