Why You Should Redesign Your Day Using Jake Knapp and John Zeratsky’s Make Time Method
Take back control and focus on what matters
My favorite thing about Jake Knapp and John Zeratsky’s Make Time method is that it recognizes our shortcomings. Unlike other self-help books and productivity techniques, it doesn’t ask us to do some outrageous overhaul in order to get results.
Instead, what their book Make Time: How to Focus on What Matters Every Day does is present you with a practical approach to finding the time to do the things you love.
“We can’t get you out of every pointless meeting or magically set your inbox to zero, and we won’t try to turn you into a Zen master. But we can help you slow down a little, turn down the noise of the modern world, and find more joy in each day.”
If we’re not busy, we’re distracted
Knapp and Zeratsky ascribe our lack of time to two things, things that keep us busy and things that keep us distracted. They are categorized into two groups: the “Busy Bandwagon” and the “Infinity Pools”.
The Busy Bandwagon refers to the things that keep us preoccupied such as work and school duties. It also includes the present-day attitude that tells us that the busier we are, the more productive we are being, and if we’re not as busy as everyone us, we will fall behind. The Infinity Pools concern the things that keep us distracted like our smartphones and other sources of limitless content.
And if you think about it, there is some truth to it. When we’re not immersed in work or study, we’re consumed by social media, binge-worthy Netflix shows, cat videos on YouTube, and clickbait stories.
The reason we so willingly feed into the forces that are busyness and distraction is because we’re reacting to defaults. Defaults allude to the systems that are pre-selected in our software and in our society. In order to change these systems, effort is required, which is why we are prone to leaving them as they are.
We can’t rely on willpower alone
Both Knapp and Zeratsky spent many years working as designers in the tech industry so they have first hand knowledge and experience on how expertly designed the apps, games, and devices are. They know that willpower alone isn’t enough to conquer the distraction of these Infinity Pools. A game plan is needed.
That’s where the idea of Make Time comes in.
Make Time is a framework that encourages you to take back control of how your time is spent. It focuses on redesigning your day by making the effort to change the default settings that are predetermined in our software and in our lives. Even if you don’t have the luxury to completely change your schedule, it’s still a way to take back some control of your time.
“Even if you don’t completely control your own schedule — and few of us do — you absolutely can control your attention.”
How to Make Time
Knapp and Zeratsky put forth the concept of redesigning time. That if we adjust the default settings in our lives, we can control how we spend our days. To do this, they’ve included over 80 tactics and a four-step framework in their book that, if we follow accordingly, could provide the solution to our time management woes.
The framework asks you to follow four steps and then repeat them daily. Doing so will enable you to create a routine unique to your habits that will help you achieve the things that matter to you. Here’s what they are:
Step 1. Highlight: A highlight is your top aim for the day. It can be something that you want to do or have to do. The important thing is that it is something you’ve chosen to do. Because so many of us don’t have full control of our schedule, including a highlight each day gives us back a sense of control.
Step 2. Laser: The next step is about eliminating distractions—so goodbye to aimlessly scrolling through Instagram. Being laser-focused enables you to produce better work and achieve your highlight.
Step 3. Energize: Being low on energy makes you more susceptible to distraction. This step emphasizes on keeping your mind alert by keeping your body energized through healthy eating and regular exercise.
Step 4. Reflect: The final step of the framework requires you to take a few moments at the end of the day to evaluate. Doing so gives you the opportunity to think about how you’ll approach the following day and make any necessary improvements.
Along with the framework, there are over 80 tactics featured in the book to help you redesign your day. Don’t let the number scare you. Just because there are over 80 tactics, it doesn’t mean you have to complete every single one.
Think of it like a recipe book. You don’t cook every single recipe all at once. You select the ones that appeal to you and test those out. Then you if you’re happy with them, you may repeat them a few times over, and if not, you move on to the next recipes.
Through this trial and error, you will figure out which tactics work best and which can be left out. This will eventually lead you to a routine distinct to your quirks and situation, something that will work for you and help you to make time.
Why you should redesign your day
The beauty of Knapp and Zeratsky’s method is there are no stringent rules on how to best achieve results. You can choose to implement as many or as few tactics as you want, and you’re free to go at your own pace.
The authors used their cleverly design-thinking brains to reassess how to overcome busyness and distraction and what they’ve come up with is a method adaptable enough to suit anyone in any situation. By redesigning how our days are planned out, we can fit in time to do the things we love and focus on what matters.
This overview of the Make Time method can be seen as a part one. In part two, I’ll attempt to implement the framework and some tactics to see how I fare with making time for something important to me.
Until then…
Cheers,
Dinnie and the Zenkit Team
