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Make Time: How to Focus on What Matters Every Day Hardcover – September 25, 2018
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“If you want to achieve more (without going nuts), read this book.”—Charles Duhigg, author of The Power of Habit
Nobody ever looked at an empty calendar and said, "The best way to spend this time is by cramming it full of meetings!" or got to work in the morning and thought, Today I'll spend hours on Facebook! Yet that's exactly what we do. Why?
In a world where information refreshes endlessly and the workday feels like a race to react to other people's priorities faster, frazzled and distracted has become our default position. But what if the exhaustion of constant busyness wasn't mandatory? What if you could step off the hamster wheel and start taking control of your time and attention? That's what this book is about.
As creators of Google Ventures' renowned "design sprint," Jake and John have helped hundreds of teams solve important problems by changing how they work. Building on the success of these sprints and their experience designing ubiquitous tech products from Gmail to YouTube, they spent years experimenting with their own habits and routines, looking for ways to help people optimize their energy, focus, and time. Now they've packaged the most effective tactics into a four-step daily framework that anyone can use to systematically design their days. Make Time is not a one-size-fits-all formula. Instead, it offers a customizable menu of bite-size tips and strategies that can be tailored to individual habits and lifestyles.
Make Time isn't about productivity, or checking off more to-dos. Nor does it propose unrealistic solutions like throwing out your smartphone or swearing off social media. Making time isn't about radically overhauling your lifestyle; it's about making small shifts in your environment to liberate yourself from constant busyness and distraction.
A must-read for anyone who has ever thought, If only there were more hours in the day..., Make Time will help you stop passively reacting to the demands of the modern world and start intentionally making time for the things that matter.
- Print length304 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherCrown Currency
- Publication dateSeptember 25, 2018
- Dimensions5.72 x 1 x 8.54 inches
- ISBN-100525572422
- ISBN-13978-0525572428
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From the Publisher
How to Focus on What Matters Every Day
Editorial Reviews
Review
“As someone obsessed with time and how to spend it wisely, I loved this fun and useful book. Not your normal productivity fare.” —Ev Williams, founder of Medium and Twitter
"I defy you to read this book and not come away with ideas that make you happier and/or more effective in accomplishing what you want in life. It’s smart, entertaining, and packed with field-tested insights." —Dan Heath, bestselling co-author of The Power of Moments and Switch
"Time is the single biggest ingredient for creative work. Time to focus, time to experiment, time to master creative skills. Make Time provides ways for each of us to find new reserves of that precious commodity. It is an excellent guidebook for taking control of the design of your life." —Tim Brown, CEO of IDEO and author of Change By Design
"Make Time is practical and engaging, offering tips on everything from designing your day to the benefits of cutting out cable news and eschewing plane Wi-Fi in favor of time away from work. Especially useful for me was the guidance on e-mail. It turns out that being slow to respond is a terrific way to take control of your time. (Sorry, colleagues.)" —Harvard Business Review
“In today’s fast-paced, technology-saturated world, readers are sure to glean insights from this powerful book.” —Booklist, starred review
About the Author
Jake spent 10 years at Google and Google Ventures, where he created the design sprint process. He has since run more than 150 sprints with companies including Nest, Slack, 23andMe, and Flatiron Health. He lives in San Francisco with his wife and sons.
John has written for the Wall Street Journal, Time, Harvard Business Review, Wired, Fast Company, and many more publications. For nearly fifteen years, he was a designer at technology companies, including YouTube and Google Ventures. Originally from Wisconsin, John and his wife now live aboard their sailboat, "Pineapple."
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
This is a book about slowing down the crazy rush. It’s about making time for things that matter. We believe it’s possible to feel less busy, be less distracted, and enjoy the present moment more. Maybe that sounds a little hippy-dippy, but we’re serious.
Make Time is not about productivity. It’s not about getting more done, finishing your to-dos faster, or outsourcing your life. Instead, it’s a framework designed to help you actually create more time in your day for the things you care about, whether that’s spending time with your family, learning a language, starting a side business, volunteering, writing a novel, or mastering Mario Kart. Whatever you want time for, we think Make Time can help you get it. Moment by moment and day by day, you can make your life your own.
We want to start by talking about why life is so busy and chaotic these days. And why, if you feel constantly stressed and distracted, it’s probably not your fault.
In the twenty-first century, two very powerful forces compete for every minute of your time. The first is what we call the Busy Bandwagon. The Busy Bandwagon is our culture of constant busyness—the overflowing inboxes, stuffed calendars, and endless to-do lists. According to the Busy Bandwagon mindset, if you want to meet the demands of the modern workplace and function in modern society, you must fill every minute with productivity. After all, everyone else is busy. If you slow down, you’ll fall behind and never catch up.
The second force competing for your time is what we call the Infinity Pools. Infinity Pools are apps and other sources of endlessly replenishing content. If you can pull to refresh, it’s an Infinity Pool. If it streams, it’s an Infinity Pool. This always-available, always-new entertainment is your reward for the exhaustion of constant busyness.
But is constant busyness really mandatory? Is endless distraction really a reward? Or are we all just stuck on autopilot?
Most of Our Time Is Spent by Default
Both forces—the Busy Bandwagon and the Infinity Pools—are powerful because they’ve become our defaults. In technology lingo, default means the way something works when you first start using it. It’s a preselected option, and if you don’t do something to change it, that default is what you get. For example, if you buy a new phone, by default you get email and Web browser apps on the homescreen. By default, you get a notification for every new message. The phone has a default wallpaper image and a default ring tone. All these options have been preselected by Apple or Google or whoever made your phone; you can change the settings if you want to, but it takes work, so many defaults just stick.
There are defaults in nearly every part of our lives. It’s not just our devices; our workplaces and our culture have built-in defaults that make busy and distracted the normal, typical state of affairs. These standard settings are everywhere. Nobody ever looked at an empty calendar and said, “The best way to spend this time is to cram it full of random meetings!” Nobody ever said, “The most important thing today is everybody else’s whims!” Of course not. That would be crazy. But because of defaults, it’s exactly what we do. In the office, every meeting defaults to thirty or sixty minutes even if the business at hand actually requires only a quick chat. By default other people choose what goes on our calendars, and by default we’re expected to be okay with back-to-back-to-back meetings. The rest of our work defaults to email and messaging systems, and by default we check our inboxes constantly and reply-all immediately.
React to what’s in front of you. Be responsive. Fill your time, be efficient, and get more done. These are the default rules of the Busy Bandwagon.
When we tear ourselves away from the Busy Bandwagon, the Infinity Pools are ready to lure us in. While the Busy Bandwagon defaults to endless tasks, the Infinity Pools default to endless distraction. Our phones, laptops, and televisions are filled with games, social feeds, and videos. Everything is at our fingertips, irresistible, even addictive. Every bump of friction is smoothed away.
Refresh Facebook. Browse YouTube. Keep up on the nonstop breaking news, play Candy Crush, binge-watch HBO. These are the defaults behind the ravenous Infinity Pools, devouring every scrap of time the Busy Bandwagon leaves behind. With the average person spending four-plus hours a day on their smartphone and another four-plus hours watching TV shows, distraction is quite literally a full-time job.
There you are in the middle, pulled in opposite directions by the Busy Bandwagon and the Infinity Pools. But what about you? What do you want from your days and from your life? What would happen if you could override these defaults and create your own?
Willpower isn’t the way out. We’ve tried to resist the siren song of these forces ourselves, and we know how impossible it can be. We also spent years working in the technology industry, and we understand these apps, games, and devices well enough to know that they eventually will wear you down.
Productivity isn’t the solution, either. We’ve tried to shave time off chores and cram in more to-dos. The trouble is, there are always more tasks and requests waiting to take their place. The faster you run on the hamster wheel, the faster it spins.
But there is a way to free your attention from those competing distractions and take back control of your time. That’s where this book comes in. Make Time is a framework for choosing what you want to focus on, building the energy to do it, and breaking the default cycle so that you can start being more intentional about the way you live your life. Even if you don’t completely control your own schedule—and few of us do—you absolutely can control your attention.
We want to help you set your own defaults. With new habits and new mindsets, you can stop reacting to the modern world and start actively making time for the people and activities that matter to you. This isn’t about saving time. It’s about making time for what matters.
The ideas in this book can give you space in your calendar, in your brain, and in your days. That space can bring clarity and calm to everyday life. It can create opportunities to start new hobbies or get to that “someday” project. A little space in your life might even unlock creative energy you lost or never found in the first place. But before we get into all of that, we’d like to explain who the heck we are, why we’re so obsessed with time and energy, and how we came up with Make Time.
Product details
- Publisher : Crown Currency (September 25, 2018)
- Language : English
- Hardcover : 304 pages
- ISBN-10 : 0525572422
- ISBN-13 : 978-0525572428
- Item Weight : 1 pounds
- Dimensions : 5.72 x 1 x 8.54 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #23,136 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #36 in Time Management (Books)
- #76 in Decision-Making & Problem Solving
- #556 in Success Self-Help
- Customer Reviews:
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Make Time: How to Focus on What Matters Every DayAmazon Videos
About the authors
Jake Knapp is a designer, investor, and New York Times bestselling author. His books Sprint, Make Time, and Click are available in over 20 languages worldwide.
Jake has helped over 300 startups bring new products to market, including teams at One Medical, Uber, and Slack. Before co-founding the venture firm Character Capital, he was a leader at Google, where he helped build Gmail and co-founded Google Meet. He lives on Orcas Island in Washington State.
John Zeratsky is the bestselling author of Sprint: How to Solve Big Problems and Test New Ideas in Just Five Days and Make Time: How to Focus on What Matters Every Day.
John’s writing has been published by The Wall Street Journal, TIME, Harvard Business Review, Wired, Fast Company, and many other publications. He has appeared on stage nearly 200 times, including at Netflix, IDEO, McKinsey, the Code Conference, and The London School of Economics.
For nearly 15 years, John was a designer for technology companies. At Google Ventures (GV), he helped develop the design sprint process and worked with close to 200 startups, including Uber, Slack, 23andMe, Flatiron Health, Blue Bottle Coffee, and Nest. He was also GV’s in-house copywriter, editor, and content strategist; he created and edited the GV Library, which has reached millions of readers since 2012. Previously, John was a designer at YouTube and Google, and an early employee at FeedBurner, which Google acquired in 2007.
John studied journalism at the University of Wisconsin and graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree from the UW School of Human Ecology, where he’s now an advisor to the Dean and faculty.
Originally from small-town Wisconsin, John and his wife Michelle have lived in Chicago and San Francisco. They spent 18 months traveling in Central America aboard their sailboat Pineapple before moving to Milwaukee in 2019.
Customer reviews
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Learn more how customers reviews work on AmazonCustomers say
Customers find the book helpful for time management, providing practical ways to plan work and leisure time, and appreciate its simple, easy-to-follow tactics. Moreover, the book receives positive feedback for its readability, entertainment value, and cute illustrations. They value its focus on daily highlights and reflections, and one customer notes how it organizes content into four clear steps of daily process.
AI-generated from the text of customer reviews
Customers find the book helpful for time management, providing useful tactics for planning work and leisure time.
"...from devices, prioritize what is most important, and make time for your life goals...." Read more
"...I also appreciate that the book is almost 100% actual, actionable advice which you don't always get from so-called advice books...." Read more
"...find something in there that will help you become more present, more fulfilled, and more able to enjoy everyday life." Read more
"...The book does contain plenty of valuable ideas, and the writing is often humorous and entertaining, but much of it has to be taken with a big grain..." Read more
Customers find the book highly readable, describing it as a fantastic and entertaining read with practical suggestions.
"This book is **amazing**. First of all, the authors write it in a very light and entertaining way- I love the writing style...." Read more
"...It's a short, quick read too and I liked the gentle goofy humor and illustrations." Read more
"I started this book almost six months ago, and really enjoyed the beginning...." Read more
"...Not all the tips make sense to me, but I enjoy reading this book. It's like listening to a podcast, and the author is reading it to me." Read more
Customers find the book simple and easy to read, with one customer noting it is organized into four clear steps of daily process and helps readers quickly apply the techniques described.
"...the authors write it in a very light and entertaining way- I love the writing style. There are even cute illustrations...." Read more
"...don't have to do every tactic and I think the broader structure the book preaches is worthwhile...." Read more
"...dash to some invisible finish line, Make Time provides simple, easy to read tools that can be used to refocus on what truly makes you happy...." Read more
"...Many of the techniques are tiny and straightforward but still impactful, like signing out of social media accounts so that you need to put in just a..." Read more
Customers find the book effective for time management, helping them organize their schedules and prioritize tasks.
"...give very good advice on how to disconnect from devices, prioritize what is most important, and make time for your life goals...." Read more
"...Far from being a mad dash to some invisible finish line, Make Time provides simple, easy to read tools that can be used to refocus on what truly..." Read more
"...I am a failure. But this one is all about making time for what you want to actually do, structured more as a cookbook than a single..." Read more
"...crux of the book: Identify what you want to do (Highlight) -> carve out time to do it (Laser) -> find ways to ensure you have energy to do it..." Read more
Customers appreciate how the book helps them rethink their focus, with one customer highlighting its framework of daily highlights and reflections, while another notes its down-to-earth perspectives.
"This book helps me to think and rethink my focus on what is most important every day...." Read more
"...ideas are to choose one Highlight for each day, use various techniques to increase your focus (often by reducing distractions) and increase your..." Read more
"...Choose Highlight (Pick something that YOU want to move forward) Laser Focus (Set time away and cut off distractions)..." Read more
"...and JZ have turned their attention to managing time and how to focus your attention...." Read more
Customers appreciate the actionable tactics in the book, with one customer highlighting the four-step objective approach and another noting how quickly the advice can be implemented.
"TL;DR: Make Time has helped both my wife and I take much greater control over our days, helping us focus more on what fulfills and less on just..." Read more
"The advice in this book is actionable very quickly. The framework of..." Read more
"...The authors give a four-step objective and then steer you through ways to test and find your own path with the ultimate goal of a better life." Read more
"This book provides great tactics that will help you focus on what matters to you in this busy world, where keeping infinity pools away could be a..." Read more
Customers find the book entertaining and interesting, with one mentioning it provides tons of immediate value, while another notes it serves as a great start to the new year.
"...First of all, the authors write it in a very light and entertaining way- I love the writing style. There are even cute illustrations...." Read more
"...things done around the house, and engaging in meaningful and fulfilling hobbies...." Read more
"...plenty of valuable ideas, and the writing is often humorous and entertaining, but much of it has to be taken with a big grain of salt." Read more
"...If you are like me and always in search of fun hacks to improve your productivity and reduce distractions, check out Make Time...." Read more
Customers appreciate the illustrations in the book, describing them as cute and lovely, with one customer noting the approachable fuzzy hand-drawn sketches.
"...The book never comes off as preachy. Instead, I would describe it as charming and self-deprecating...." Read more
"...It's a short, quick read too and I liked the gentle goofy humor and illustrations." Read more
"...familial style with relatable stories and lots of approachable fuzzy hand-drawn sketches...." Read more
"Easy to digest and good illustrations to go along. Some of the suggestions is really useful while some others are not for me...." Read more
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Top reviews from the United States
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- Reviewed in the United States on May 31, 2024This book is **amazing**. First of all, the authors write it in a very light and entertaining way- I love the writing style. There are even cute illustrations. The other thing is that they give very good advice on how to disconnect from devices, prioritize what is most important, and make time for your life goals. For example, one of the authors wanted to sail to South America, and by making changes in his life with how he spent his time and what he focused his energy on, he was able to achieve that goal.
The book never comes off as preachy. Instead, I would describe it as charming and self-deprecating. Reading their stories and insights is like having a wonderful conversation with a very good friend who wants to help you and is only looking out for your best interest.
Highly recommend the book!
(I would give 10 stars if I could.)
- Reviewed in the United States on June 8, 2024(3.5 stars)
Truth be told I'm already doing a lot of the techniques mentioned in this book, but if you're struggling with attention or making time for things I think this is an excellent primer. Some of the ideas are a little too involved for my taste (anything involving writing things on actual paper is anathema for me, I hate having papers sitting around taking space) but the authors fully admit you don't have to do every tactic and I think the broader structure the book preaches is worthwhile. I also appreciate that the book is almost 100% actual, actionable advice which you don't always get from so-called advice books. I've read too many that promise some amazing technique only to get bogged down in neurological studies, statistics, and anecdotes, so having a book that focuses on what you can actually do was nice. It's a short, quick read too and I liked the gentle goofy humor and illustrations.
- Reviewed in the United States on September 25, 2018TL;DR: Make Time has helped both my wife and I take much greater control over our days, helping us focus more on what fulfills and less on just marking days off of a calendar.
There's a real line between being a productive person, and being a productivity person. Someone who focuses on so many "hacks" or ways to get more out of every second, that efficiency in and of itself becomes to goal to the expense of everything else. That may be useful in a manufacturing job, but in our daily lives, there is surely more.
This is where Make Time really shines. Far from being a mad dash to some invisible finish line, Make Time provides simple, easy to read tools that can be used to refocus on what truly makes you happy. The book is written as a bit of a toolbox, meant to allow you to take pieces that work for you, and leave the ones that don't. Using that approach has massively improved my lifestyle.
As an example, after reading a few chapters in Make Time, I started having a morning ritual with my wife of making a hot cup of herbal tea, nuts, and cheese. Meanwhile, we would rearrange our chairs in our front room to face the sun and talk about what our highlights would be for the day as we watched the sunrise over the mountains, wrapped up in warm blankets. After that, I would perform a quick 7-minute exercise, ready to hit the day with a plan and energy to do it. I would frequently take a mental break in the middle of the workday, even giving myself opportunities to nap in my building's cell phone booths (with a visible 15-minute timer for passersby) to recharge my batteries and finish the workday hard. Then, on the ride home, I would meditate, newly recharging my brain and allowing myself to move on from work and to be truly present at home. Probably most importantly, I turned off almost all notifications on my phone. I noticed that when I was home, I was way more proactive spending time with my wife, getting things done around the house, and engaging in meaningful and fulfilling hobbies.
My story isn't all that unique, but it has all amounted to huge changes in my quality of life. All of the things I mentioned above are simple changes that were integrated over time, I'm positive that if you pick up this book and try out its experiments, you too will find something in there that will help you become more present, more fulfilled, and more able to enjoy everyday life.
- Reviewed in the United States on December 6, 2024This book helps me to think and rethink my focus on what is most important every day. Write it down and place all my intentions on getting those things done.
Top reviews from other countries
- JamesReviewed in Canada on February 2, 2024
5.0 out of 5 stars A Shift in Mindset
I bought this book, desperate to have more time in my day. Every day felt like it was slipping past me, and I was filled with frustration. “If only I had a couple of more hours in the day, I’d be able to complete so much more.”
Though there is so much value in the practical tips the authors provide (and there’s a lot!), the most valuable takeaway was a shift in mindset. I don’t need ‘more time’, I need to ‘make time’ for the things that are important to me. I needed to redefine productivity to completing the most meaningful tasks in my day, not trying to fill and complete my daily to-do list.
It’s an approach to productivity that is a much needed balance of doing enjoying, meaningful work with sitting down and getting things done. Highly, highly recommend!
- PhanReviewed in Australia on September 26, 2023
5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing
Knew about this book after watching a Youtube video about productivity. Really worth reading and keep them to reference and experiment frequently.
- Lewin AntaoReviewed in India on October 8, 2024
5.0 out of 5 stars Highly Recommended
A well written book with real simple examples and easy to do steps that are really effective in life.Hats off to the authors 👏👏
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Cliente de AmazonReviewed in Mexico on April 8, 2021
5.0 out of 5 stars Un MUST!!
Excelente libro que te reafirma lo que ya sabemos o que hemos pensado sobre el tiempo y su correcto uso, sin embargo en esta epoca con avances digitales tenemos la necesidad de ser “productivos” sin serlo realmente aun cuando tenemos agendas ocupadas al 100, considero que es un MUST si lo que deseas es ser verdaderamente productivo en lo que interesa.
En lo que respecta al estado fisico, se me rompio el corazon cuando vi que estaba mal empastado, con las hojas en desorden ☹️
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Thomas Klein MiddelinkReviewed in the Netherlands on October 28, 2018
5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing book
Goed boek wat je echt aan het denken zet. Ben ik productief als ik druk ben? Alleen al een paar tips helpen je al!
Aanrader!
🍦