Make Time: How to Focus on What Matters Every Day by Jake Knapp — book cover
Self-realization · Time management · Work-life balance

Make Time: How to Focus on What Matters Every Day by Jake Knapp — Summary, Key Ideas & Quotes

2018306 pages3-min Big ideas4.1 (15)
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What is Make Time: How to Focus on What Matters Every Day about?

Do you ever wonder where your day went? Or daydream about activities you'll get to "someday"? Knapp and Zeratsky share their tactics for a four-step daily framework that you can use to systematically re-design your days. Highlight, Laser, Energize, Reflect. You may not be able to add more hours to your day-- but you can learn to make your life your own, day by day. -- adapted from jacket

A glimpse inside

Illustration for Make Time: How to Focus on What Matters Every Day
The Four-Step Daily Framework

At the heart of 'Make Time' is a repeatable, four-part process: Highlight, Laser, Energize, and Reflect. Each day, you choose one priority (Highlight), focus your attention on it (Laser), maintain your physical and mental energy (Energize), and then review what worked (Reflect). This structure is designed to be flexible and forgiving, allowing you to experiment and adapt as you go, rather than imposing a rigid schedule.

Highlight: Choosing What Matters Most

Instead of trying to do everything, 'Make Time' urges you to pick a single, meaningful task or activity as your Highlight for the day. This could be a work project, a personal goal, or even quality time with family. By deliberately choosing what deserves your best attention, you give your day a sense of purpose and direction, making it easier to say no to distractions and lesser priorities.

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Open Library
4.1 / 5
15 ratings
Get smart in 3 min
6 key ideas, distilled
  1. 1The Four-Step Daily Framework
  2. 2Highlight: Choosing What Matters Most
  3. 3Laser: Beating Distraction and Finding Focus
  4. 4Energize: Fueling Your Body and Mind
  5. 5Reflect: Continuous Improvement Through Experimentation

Popular quotes from Make Time: How to Focus on What Matters Every Day

You can’t make more time, but you can make more of the time you have.
The best way to make time for what matters is to make time every day.

Frequently asked

Do you ever wonder where your day went? Or daydream about activities you'll get to "someday"? Knapp and Zeratsky share their tactics for a four-step daily framework that you can use to systematically re-design your days. Highlight, Laser, Energize, Reflect. You may not be able to add more hours to your day-- but you can learn to make your life your own, day by day. -- adapted from jacket