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You do not need a perfect system to control your time. In Make Time, Jake Knapp and John Zeratsky offer a menu of simple tactics to spend less time on distractions and more on what matters to you, without turning your life into a productivity project.
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This summary covers the four-step Make Time framework (Highlight, Laser, Energize, Reflect) and the book's best-known tactics, plus an honest look at the book's limits. You will find more titles like it in our Productivity & Habits book summaries.
Best for: busy people who feel constantly distracted and want flexible, low-pressure ideas. Reading time of the book: a few evenings. Reading time of this summary: about five minutes.
The book in one sentence
Instead of trying to become more efficient, choose a daily Highlight and use small tactics to protect your time and energy for it.
About the author and the book
Jake Knapp and John Zeratsky are designers who worked at Google and later at Google Ventures, where they helped create the "design sprint" method. Make Time: How to Focus on What Matters Every Day, published in 2018, grew out of their own experiments with their time and attention. It offers a menu of 87 tactics you can try.
The four steps of Make Time
| Step | Goal | Example tactic |
|---|---|---|
| Highlight | Choose one priority for the day | Pick a Highlight each morning and schedule time for it |
| Laser | Beat distraction | Delete social apps, empty your inbox once a day |
| Energize | Take care of your body and mind | Sleep, eat well, move and spend time outside |
| Reflect | Adjust what works | Write down results and tweak your tactics |
5 ideas worth remembering
1. Pick a Highlight every day
Choose one activity that you want to remember at the end of the day. Highlights can come from urgency, satisfaction or joy, and they give the day a clear focus.
2. Beware the busy bandwagon and the infinity pools
The authors say the "busy bandwagon" fills our lives with tasks, and "infinity pools" such as feeds and inboxes pull us in with endless content. Making them less accessible gives your attention back.
3. Be a laser, not a floodlight
Laser tactics make it harder to get distracted, such as logging out of apps, turning off notifications and checking email only at set times.
4. Energy comes first
Making time is easier when you are rested and fit. The book offers tactics on sleep, food, movement, quiet time and connection.
5. Experiment and reflect
There is no single right way. Try a few tactics, keep what works and drop what does not, and review your results regularly.
Strengths and limits
What works well
- Flexible: you choose the tactics instead of following one rigid system.
- Honest, light tone and clear examples from the authors' own experiments.
- Covers attention and energy, not just scheduling.
Where it falls short
- Some tactics assume freedom over your time, which not every job allows.
- A few ideas, such as avoiding certain apps, are well known.
- The menu of 87 tactics can feel long, and you need to choose a few to use.
Who should read it?
Who should read it: people overwhelmed by notifications and busy schedules. Who may skip it: readers who want a strict system or a deep scientific treatment of attention.
Key takeaways
- Choose one Highlight each day.
- Make distractions harder to reach.
- Protect your energy with sleep, food and movement.
- Treat productivity as experiments, not rules.
- Reflect and keep only what works.
FAQ
What is Make Time about?
It is a practical book with a four-step framework and many tactics for focusing on what matters each day.
What is a Highlight?
It is the one activity you want to make time for each day, the thing you would like to remember at the end of the day.
Do I need to follow all 87 tactics?
No. The authors encourage you to try a few and keep those that work for you.
Is Make Time worth reading?
Yes, if you want realistic and flexible ideas about attention and time. A summary may give you the main idea quickly.
Keep reading
- Atomic Habits by James Clear: Summary, Key Ideas & Review: habits that make your Highlight easier.
- Deep Work by Cal Newport: Summary, Key Ideas & Review: the deep focus your Highlight needs.
- The War of Art: Breaking Through Resistance and Unleashing Your Inner Creative: on the resistance that steals your best hours.
- All Productivity & Habits summaries
- Back to the SummarBooks home page
Ready to make time?
Pick tomorrow's Highlight tonight, and remove one distraction from your phone. If you want the full menu of tactics, get a copy of Make Time on Amazon.
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Disclosure: as an Amazon Associate, SummarBooks earns from qualifying purchases. If you buy through the links above, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. This summary is an independent overview and does not replace reading the book.