Make Time: The Framework
to Protect Your Attention

Jake Knapp
+ John Zeratsky

Authors of Sprint & Make Time

FEATURED

The Problem

Busy Bandwagon vs. Infinity Pools

"Most productivity advice focuses on getting better and faster at what's already in front of you. But those are the defaults, email, meetings, apps designed to grab your attention."

Busy bandwagon: expectation that everyone is busy; cultural pressure to be constantly reactive
Infinity pools: email, social media, feeds that never run out; engineered to be compelling
Together they create a vicious cycle that drains your energy and real priorities
The real problem: you're being productive at the wrong things

Core Framework

The Make Time Method: 4 Steps Daily

Highlight per day

Daily moves

Highlight: Pick your one best moment, what would you call the highlight of today if someone asked tonight?
Laser: Willpower won't work. Remove distractions instead. Block apps, log out, create friction.
Energize: Recharge your attention. Move, sleep, eat well. Attention is physical.
Reflect: Look back. What worked? What distracted you? Adjust tomorrow.

The insightNot about productivity hacks. It's about having ONE great moment of peak attention per day.

Tactics in Practice

How to Actually Make Time

Highlight design: Start your day asking "What's the one thing I want to remember about today?" Make it specific and achievable.
Laser defaults: Remove email & social apps from phone. Stay logged out of feeds. Use browser extensions to disable feeds entirely.
Two-factor friction: Add 2FA to your social accounts, not for security, but to create speed bumps against mindless scrolling.
Reflect tracking: At day's end, write down your highlight, rate your laser focus, note your energy. Build awareness, not judgment.

Jake's system

Gives himself a B to B- grade. On bad days a D, on good days an A. The goal isn't perfection, it's having space for highlights.

John's toolkit

Not on Instagram/Facebook. Twitter & LinkedIn disabled on phone. Uses a Chrome plugin to block LinkedIn feed but keep the directory.

The Highlight

Peak Attention: Design Your Day Around It

Don't force it, design for it. Your highlight shapes how you feel about the whole day.
Pick early. Choose it morning, before inbox and meetings dilute your focus.
Make it a real project. The highlight is your big thing, not a small task or admin.
Accept the mess. Everything else can be messy. If you have your highlight, you win the day.

Jake's real exampleHe was torn between a kid's bedtime and podcast prep. Chose bedtime. Still did the highlight podcast. Felt better about it.

Contrarian

What People Get Wrong About Time

✗You need willpower to resist distractionsINSTEAD →✓ Willpower won't work. Make it hard instead. Remove apps, log out, add friction.

✗More productivity hacks = better resultsINSTEAD →✓ You need ONE system, not 87 hacks. Pick one or two tactics and stick with them.

✗If you mess up, you've failedINSTEAD →✓ Cycles are normal. You'll reinstall apps, miss highlights, get distracted. Reflect and reset.

✗Time management is about fitting more inINSTEAD →✓ It's about changing defaults. Put what matters first, then everything else fits around it.

Based on Jake Knapp's episode on Lenny's Podcast. All ideas on this page are from the episode.Watch on YouTube Follow @jakek on X

GO DEEPER IN THE EPISODE

04:10 Recording the audiobook for Make Time 06:06 What people often get wrong when trying to become more productive 11:24 The busy bandwagon and infinity pools 15:22 Real talk: Jake and John’s productivity levels 20:10 The four-part framework for getting more done: Highlight, Laser, Energize, Reflect 25:15 Step 1: Highlight 28:08 Designing your day with a calendar 30:52 The Groundhog Day mentality 35:10 Tactical advice for implementing the highlight method 39:30 An example of a failed highlight 48:08 Step 2: Laser 51:12 Creating intentional friction to avoid distractions 57:28 Curating a distraction-free phone 01:07:58 Resetting expectations and slowing your inbox 01:14:51 Systems over willpower 01:18:14 Managing email distractions 01:18:49 Step 3: Energize 01:22:05 Step 4: Reflect 01:26:30 Introduction to Sprint

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