What’s it about?
Make Time is a guide for helping you slow down, focus, and find more joy in each day. The authors show that most of our time is spent by default—unless we make the conscious choice to change it. The book challenges the idea that we always need to keep up with everyone else, and instead encourages us to create our own priorities, routines, and highlights. With practical tactics and mindset shifts, Knapp and Zeratsky show that anyone can design more meaningful days, build energy, and live more intentionally.
Book Review: Make Time
by Jake Knapp & John Zeratsky
Published: 2018
Review published: September 9, 2025
What I Learned / My Take
1. Everyone else is busy. If you slow down, you might fear you'll fall behind and never catch up.
2. We can help you slow down a little, turn down the noise of the modern world, and find more joy in each day.
3. Most of our time is spent by default: it's a preselected option, and if you don’t do something to change it, that default is what you get.
4. What do you want from your days and from your life? What would happen if you could override these defaults and create your own?
5. Something magic happens when you start the day with one high-priority goal. At the end of the day, which highlight will bring me the most satisfaction?
6. Every mistake was just a data point, and we could always try again tomorrow.
7. To achieve focus and make time for what matters, your brain needs energy, and that energy comes from taking care of your body. Charge your battery with exercise, food, sleep, quiet, and face-to-face time.
8. Finally, before going to bed, take a few notes. It's super simple: decide which tactics you want to continue and which ones you want to refine or drop.
9. “We do not remember days, we remember moments.” - Cesare Pavese
10. Setting goals seemed more meaningful than optimizing my to-do list.
11. But eventually, the winter ended, spring turned to summer, the birds started to sing, and almost by accident, I began to see the solution I'd been looking for.
12. Boredom is actually a good thing. Boredom gives your mind a chance to wander, and wandering often leads you to interesting places.
13. “What you do every day matters more than what you do once in a while.” - Gretchen Rubin
14. Harvard’s 75-year study of adult development: People with strong relationships are more likely to live long, healthy, fulfilling lives. We’re not claiming that talking to strangers in the grocery store checkout line will help you live to be 100—but spending time with people face-to-face can be a big energy booster.
15. “Do not ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive and then go do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” - Howard Thurman
16. We aren’t advising you to quit your job, but we are reminding you that it’s important to be proactive and seek out moments when you can be passionate about your efforts.
Scenes and Images that Stuck with Me:
- Feeling less busy: We can slow down, turn down the noise, and find more joy each day— The faster you run on the hamster wheel, the faster it spins.
- Overriding defaults: Most of our days run on autopilot until we choose to change the settings.
- One highlight per day: Starting each day with one clear, high-priority goal can transform your satisfaction.
- Energy is everything: Taking care of your body—moving, eating real food, sleeping well—fuels your brain and your focus.
- Time with energizing people: Spending time with those who make you come alive is one of the best ways to recharge.
- Boredom and wandering: Boredom isn’t a problem; it’s a space for creativity and self-discovery.
- Reflection and adaptation: Taking notes, reviewing what works, and making small changes every day keeps you growing and intentional.
Would I recommend it?
Definitely. If you feel like your days are always too busy or distracted, this book gives you simple, actionable strategies to take back your time, your energy, and your focus. It’s practical, encouraging, and easy to apply—perfect for anyone who wants to design a more intentional and meaningful life.