BOOK REVIEW OF: Make Time by Jake Knapp and John Zeratsky

A guide to how to "make time" for things that you really care about

How many times have u woken up to a post which makes you think- “Why am I not doing that? I’ve potential, I can do this too. Maybe even better… ” And the line of thought is just a big black hole which sometimes suck the energy which was for your day and you end up spending the day rethinking every decision you made, doubting yourself. Sounds bad, right? But don’t we end up letting this happen a lot of times?

We just don’t wish to blame the device which actually causes this. Our mobile phones. And I’m sure we all know the culprit but we still can’t obviously live without this device now, can we? I mean normally also it was a long shot and now with the current pandemic it’s impossible to live without a phone. So, as I started my preparation for CAT 2021, social media sites like instagram seemed more and more important to me. Watching something engaging in the name of motivation seemed like the rational thing to do, when it really wasn’t.

So I started doing something really simple, but effective. I started using Instagram in chrome instead of the app,logged out after every use and never save the password. It gave me time to actually think while typing it whether it’s the best thing to do in the moment and hence reduced my usage significantly. And after coming across this book, which has listed out this a method too, I came across many methods which I would like to share, so that we all can make time for things that really matter, instead of using the “busybandwagon” phrase- “ I don’t have time”.

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yes, that’s the original doodled version of themselves from the book!

The authors- Jake and JZ( short and nickname of John Zerastsky) have penned down their own experiences and tips and techniques in this book for readers to follow if they have trouble being able to make time for things they really want to do, like JZ wanted to go on a vacation in his boat and Jake wanted to make time for his writing career. They both work in google, and have experience of applications are made to make us spend the most of our time in them, and hence the experts in the subject if one’s looking for how to make time in the midst of all this chaos of technology. I’ve taken some the most important points and summarized them as below, though I highly recommend reading the book for personal account of the writers to get a better insight.

• The to-do-list highlight method

• Laser mode on

• Energize

• Reflect

• Pick,test,repeat techniques

• No perfection required

  

1. The to-do-list highlight:

In this, we are supposed to make one highlight as a task which is supposed to be done that day itself. It can be many tasks in one heading, like a project consisting of researching, note taking, typing etc. For deciding which task should be the highlight, one can use the four quadrant method, and decide based on priority, importance urgency, and also self satisfaction.

2. Laser:

In this part, we need to define the time where we do this highlight task, undisturbed. Here, we should avoid multi-tasking, and distracting devices, any urge to do something else - all should be avoided and this should be taken as a deep work session, focused just on the task in hand, i.e. just like a laser beam.

3. Energize

Energizing after sessions as such, be on daily basis or weekly, is very important, after all, as homo sapiens our prehistorical tasks also included breaks! So, simple, mindful activities such as reading an interesting book, watching your favorite show, taking a walk in nature, cycling, listening to music or after a long term project, a vacation can work as energizing for your body and mind, help you come back stronger for next tasks.4

4. Reflect

It’s very important to reflect on whatever technique you used in a day to see if it work, to make any changes if required, or to tweak it a bit for better functionality. Nothing is supposed to be a hard line which can’t be crossed, this is not the aim of being able to make time, because in the end we want our peace of mind. So introspection is one good way of looking back on what works for you and what doesn’t, and create an efficient and flexible system for ourselves which becomes habit with time.

5. Pick Test and Repeat

The various techniques discussed can be picked as per comfort and need, tested on a day to basis, and can either be rejected or accepted based on the experience. Also, the pattern can be repeated to get the set of methods that work for one the best!

6. No Perfection Required

So you started off with the highlighting one week but couldn’t keep up in the next? Well you shouldn’t beat yourself up for not being able to be consistent or “perfect” with the idea. It’s sometimes possible that we pick a highlight in the morning and by the afternoon you might not feel upto it. The authors Jake and JZ quote their own examples of how they also find themselves in such situations, and their simple fix is, change the highlight!

Nothing needs to be perfect, we just need to have patience, perseverance and passion to do it for our own sakes.

Conclusion

After finishing the book, I realized that there were many ways, and techniques in the book, but also for a productivity system to be effective, I know that it needs to be simple, so keep what works, chuck off what doesn’t, and see your life change by following these very effective and practical tips from the authors of the book- Make time.

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