Book: Make Time: How to Focus on What Matters Every Day by Jake Knapp. Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️.

It’s a good book but maybe it’s not for me.

They mostly talk about their personal experiences and how they helped them to get better. There are some interesting experiences, especially because they were working for Google in the past and the culture of meetings is really strong there.

I already knew many things exposed here, so it was not life-changing for me. I like to read again about the same topic because I’m still not applying some of the tips mentioned and it’s a reminder that reading without applying is not very useful.

The audiobook narration is also a little bit weird as they tried to do it together. I usually don’t complain about the narration (sometimes I even use text to speech), but for some reason, this one was weird for me.

To summarize, I would still recommend this book to someone who likes this style of writing and is just starting in the “deep work” side of things.

Here are my raw notes about the book:

  • As designers, our job is to turn abstract ideas like “it would be great if email sorted itself” into Gmail’s priority inbox
  • Change the default from distracted to focused
  • Manage your energy and get work done more effectively
  • Choose one single highlight to prioritize every day and stay laser focused on it. During the day, build energy to stay focused on the goal and reflect about your day in the end
  • When choosing the highlight for your day, choose a task that takes from 60 to 90 minutes to complete
  • If you can’t choose the next highlight, the previous one may still be important to keep
  • Think about what is most meaningful to you, not the most urgent when choosing your highlight
  • Block your time too, not just time for others (meetings)
  • You don’t know if you could be a morning person if you don’t try. It’s OK not to be, but give it a shot.
  • If you want to wake up earlier, go to sleep earlier as well. Pay attention to the amount of sleep you need to feel good.
  • Lights and routine helps to get you up and ready for the day in the morning
  • Quit when you’re done with the important work. Don’t overwork or it will drain your energy for the important task the next day.
  • The average Brazilian watches 3.7 hours of TV every day — 💭 :(((
  • We evolved to like gossip and seek social status because it helps us to build a big network of contacts
  • My phone talk to me as the ring did to Bilbo Baggins. Any boredom and out of a sudden the phone is in my hand. — 💭 so true haha
  • Remove social media apps from your phone. You can always install them again if you really need them, don’t worry about that
  • Turn off notifications of almost every app. A notification free phone is good for your focus
  • When you remove social media, the people who really want to get in touch with you and the people you really want to meet will find another way to contact you
  • “Contributing to a discussion on the Internet” is usually a fake win. Your brain thinks you did some work but it’s worthless most of the time. Remember: your highlight is the real win
  • Office workers spend only around 30% of the time on real work, the rest is bureaucracy and organization
  • Don’t respond to email right away. Unlike face to face conversation, you may have hundreds of people talking to you at the same time via email. Emails are their priority, not yours; prioritize it for you as well
  • Instead of signing in for TV (cable, Hulu, Netflix), sign in when you know there’s something you want to watch
  • Stay without TV for a while and do other things. When this period ends, do you still want to have a TV?
  • Invent deadlines for yourself; it helps you to focus and deliver on time
  • Use a focus soundtrack as a cue (reference to [[book/The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business]]) to start your focused time
  • Try to workout every day. An exhausting workout may drain your energy for the rest of the day. Prefer something lighter but continuous. If you don’t have time, consider high-intensity interval training and the 7 mins workout
  • Use caffeine wisely. Wake up before you take caffeine to use cortisol wisely. 9:30 is usually a good time for the first take o caffeine
  • Don’t wait until you’re very tired to take caffeine, it will be too late
  • Transform your bedroom into a bed-room. Use it for sleep, no devices allowed. It will help you sleep better.
  • Track the things you do daily and keep an eye on how they affect you
  • How to start: Number 8 schedule your highlight, number 24 block distraction (remove at least one infinity pool), number 62 walk at least a little bit every day to energize, reflect in the evening and see what you learn
  • References: the happiness project, Brain rules, the distracted mind, [[book/Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World]], 4-hour workweek, [[book/Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity]], how to have a good day, the power of moments, [[book/The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business]], mindset, in defense of food, [[book/Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind]], irresistible
  • Other references: as long as it’s fun, on writing (Stephen King)