Make Time: My 14-Month Journey from Overwhelmed to Intentionally Productive
3-Line Summary
- Make Time helps you pick one Daily Highlight and shape your day around it.
- The loop is simple: Highlight → Laser Mode (distraction blocking) → Energize → Reflect.
- Based on 14 months of real implementation, here's what actually works, what fails, and how to adapt the system to modern life's chaos.
Table of Contents
- Why Make Time
- My 14-Month Transformation Timeline
- Core Ideas at a Glance
- Setup: Schedule & Environment (Real Implementation)
- 7-Day Starter Plan
- Measured Results After 14 Months
- Role-Based Tips (Office/Student/Parent/Creator)
- What Actually Goes Wrong (And Solutions)
- FAQ (From Living the System)
- Quick Checklist
- One-Line Takeaway
Why Make Time
Busy days can end with nothing important done. Make Time flips that: choose one thing that truly matters, then adjust your schedule, space, and energy to make it happen. It's not just prioritizing; it's executing the priority.
The Problem I Didn't Know I Had
I thought I was productive. I responded to emails within minutes, attended every meeting, and stayed late to "catch up." But when I tracked my time for two weeks, the reality was sobering: I spent less than 90 minutes per day on work that aligned with my long-term goals.
The rest was reactive firefighting. I was busy, not productive. I was responding, not creating. I was urgent, not important.
Make Time forced me to confront a uncomfortable truth: my attention was being auctioned to the highest bidder, and I wasn't even participating in the auction. Social media algorithms, urgent requests, and notification systems were making decisions about my life while I pretended to be in control.
My 14-Month Transformation Timeline
Phase 1: Resistance and Discovery (Months 1-3)
The Early Struggles
- Week 1-2: Tried to maintain all existing commitments while adding Daily Highlights. Predictable failure.
- Month 1: Highlight success rate: 40%. Kept choosing highlights that were too big or vague.
- Month 2: Started seeing benefits but felt guilty about ignoring some requests.
- Month 3: First major breakthrough: completed a project I'd been "working on" for six months.
Phase 2: System Refinement (Months 4-8)
- Highlight success rate: Improved to 75%
- Key insight: Discovered my optimal highlight timing (early morning) and duration (60-90 minutes)
- Social challenges: Had to have difficult conversations about availability and response times
- Energy management: Learned that physical habits dramatically impact focus ability
Phase 3: Integration and Evolution (Months 9-14)
- Highlight success rate: Stabilized at 80-85%
- System evolution: Developed seasonal variations and adapted for travel/disruptions
- Compound effects: Started seeing long-term results from consistent daily investments
- Teaching others: Began helping colleagues and friends implement similar approaches
Core Ideas at a Glance
| Idea | Meaning | Use it now | My Personal Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daily Highlight | One thing you really want to do today | Write one line (verb + noun): "Draft 300 words" | "Write 500 words for Chapter 3 of personal project" |
| Laser Mode | A focused block with fewer pings | Notifications off, site blockers, full-screen, timer | Phone in kitchen, laptop in airplane mode, 75-minute timer |
| Energize | Body first so focus lasts | Sleep, walking, water, light meals | 7-hour sleep minimum, 10-minute morning walk, water bottle always visible |
| Reflect | Short end-of-day review | Three lines: what worked, what blocked, tweak for tomorrow | "Highlight successful. Slack notifications broke focus twice. Tomorrow: airplane mode from start." |
Setup: Schedule & Environment (Real Implementation)
My Daily Highlight Selection Process (Evolved Over Time)
Version 1.0 (Months 1-3): Too Ambitious
Mistake: "Complete quarterly business plan" or "Learn Python"
Problem: Impossible to finish in one session, leading to constant feelings of failure
Version 2.0 (Months 4-8): Right-Sized
Improvement: "Draft executive summary section" or "Complete Python tutorial Chapter 3"
Result: Much higher success rate and sense of momentum
Version 3.0 (Current): Context-Aware
Evolution: I now have different highlight "menus" based on energy level, available time, and life circumstances
- High energy, 90+ minutes: Deep creative work or complex problem-solving
- Medium energy, 60 minutes: Structured learning or detailed planning
- Low energy, 30 minutes: Organizing, light reading, or communication tasks
My Actual Schedule Evolution
Early Attempts (Failed)
- 5:30-7:00 AM: Too early, unsustainable
- Lunch break: Too many interruptions
- Evening: Too tired after full work day
Current System (Sustainable)
- 6:30-7:00 AM: Wake up, coffee, light breakfast
- 7:00-8:15 AM: Daily Highlight time
- 8:15-8:30 AM: Quick review and transition to work day
- Weekends: 9:00-10:30 AM (allow for more flexibility)
Laser Mode Environment (What Actually Works)
Physical Setup
- Location: Same spot every day (kitchen table, facing wall)
- Phone: Charging in bedroom, out of sight and reach
- Tools: Laptop, notebook, pen, water bottle - nothing else
- Lighting: Natural light when possible, consistent lamp when dark
Digital Environment
- Airplane mode: Complete disconnect for first 30 minutes
- Browser blocker: Cold Turkey to block social media and news
- Full-screen mode: Whatever application I'm using takes over completely
- Timer: Visual countdown (Forest app) to create urgency
What I Learned About Distractions
The biggest insight after 14 months: internal distractions are harder to manage than external ones. I can block websites and silence notifications, but I can't easily block the voice in my head saying "I should check that email" or "I wonder what's happening in the news." The solution wasn't more technology - it was building the mental muscle to notice and redirect these impulses.
7-Day Starter Plan
| Day | Highlight | Laser Mode | Energy / Review | Success Metric |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Read one article thoroughly and take notes | 45-min timer + airplane mode | Walk 10 min before, 3-line review | Article fully understood |
| 2 | Write 500 words on any topic | 60-min timer + site blocker | 2 glasses water, light lunch | Word count achieved |
| 3 | Organize one area of living/work space | 30-min timer + phone away | Stretch 5 min, review | Visible improvement |
| 4 | Learn something new for 1 hour | 60-min deep focus + full-screen | Morning light, walk 15 min | New skill/knowledge gained |
| 5 | Complete one creative task | 75-min extended session | Good sleep night before, review | Creative output produced |
| 6 | Plan and prep for next week | 45-min planning session | Relaxed pace, water nearby | Clear plan established |
| 7 | Reflect on week and adjust system | 30-min review + notes | Weekly reflection, set intentions | Insights captured |
Measured Results After 14 Months
Quantitative Changes
| Area | Before Make Time | After 14 Months | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deep work hours/week | 3-5 hours | 8-10 hours | +100% |
| Personal projects completed | 1-2 per year | 8 significant projects | +300% |
| Books read | 8-10 per year | 28 books | +200% |
| Email checks per day | 30-50 | 4-6 | -80% |
| Social media time/day | 60-90 minutes | 10-15 minutes | -85% |
Qualitative Improvements
- Sense of agency: Feel like I'm driving my days instead of being driven by them
- Reduced anxiety: Less constant worry about "falling behind" or missing something
- Better relationships: More present during personal interactions
- Career progress: Completed visible projects that advanced professional goals
- Learning acceleration: Systematic daily investment in new skills compounded dramatically
Unexpected Benefits
- Decision speed: Faster at determining what deserves attention
- Energy management: Better understanding of my natural rhythms
- Boundary setting: More comfortable saying no to requests that don't align with priorities
- Present-moment awareness: Less mental time-travel to future worries or past regrets
Role-Based Tips (Office/Student/Parent/Creator)
| Role | Strategy | Point | Real Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Office Worker | Early morning highlights before work | Protect energy for what matters most | 6:30-8:00 AM personal projects, then commute/work |
| Student | Hardest subject as daily highlight | Peak mental energy for biggest challenges | Calculus homework before any other subjects |
| Parent | Micro-highlights during available windows | Progress over perfection | 30-minute highlights during nap time or early morning |
| Creator | Creation before consumption | Make before you take | Write/design/build before reading news or social media |
What Actually Goes Wrong (And Solutions)
The Real Failures I've Experienced
Problem 1: The Perfectionist Trap
What happened: Spent 30 minutes trying to choose the "perfect" daily highlight
Why it failed: Analysis paralysis prevented any actual work
Solution: Set a 5-minute timer for highlight selection. Any reasonable choice is better than perfect analysis.
Problem 2: Social Pressure and Guilt
What happened: Felt guilty ignoring messages during highlight time
Why it failed: Constant internal debate about whether I was being irresponsible
Solution: Set clear communication expectations. "I check messages at 9 AM, 1 PM, and 5 PM for immediate responses."
Problem 3: The Energy Crash
What happened: Tried to power through highlights when exhausted
Why it failed: Poor quality work that didn't feel satisfying
Solution: Have "low-energy highlights" ready. Organization, light reading, or planning work when tired.
Problem 4: All-or-Nothing Thinking
What happened: Missed one day and felt like the system was broken
Why it failed: Binary thinking prevented getting back on track
Solution: Aim for 80% consistency. Missing days is data, not failure.
- Oversized Highlights: Cut to 60-90 minutes worth. Better to complete small things than abandon large ones.
- Phone gravity: Physical distance is more effective than willpower. Charge it elsewhere.
- Unprotected schedule: Guard highlight time like you would guard a meeting with your most important client.
- Energy depletion: Sleep, movement, and hydration aren't optional for sustained focus.
- Skipping reflection: The three-line review is what turns today's experience into tomorrow's improvement.
FAQ (From Living the System)
Q. Does the Highlight have to be work?
A. Not at all. Pick for joy, satisfaction, or impact. Some of my most meaningful highlights have been personal: learning guitar, cooking new recipes, or organizing photo albums. Personal insight: I actually found that non-work highlights often provided more sustainable energy than purely professional ones.
Q. My Highlight keeps expanding. How do I control scope?
A. Set a strict time boundary and honor it. 60-90 minutes max. When time's up, stop and capture what you'd do next. What I learned: Artificial constraints often improve quality. Some of my best work happened because I had to finish within the time limit.
Q. What about truly urgent interruptions?
A. Define "emergency" in advance. For me: someone needs medical attention, a client system is down, or family crisis. Everything else can wait 90 minutes. Reality check: 95% of things that feel urgent aren't actually urgent.
Q. How do you handle multiple competing priorities?
A. The highlight system forces prioritization, which is uncomfortable but necessary. If everything is important, nothing is important. My approach: I keep a running list of potential highlights and choose based on deadlines, energy level, and long-term impact.
Q. What if I feel guilty about ignoring people/requests?
A. Reframe it: you're not ignoring, you're batching responses for higher quality attention. Experience: People actually preferred getting thoughtful responses at predictable times rather than quick reactive responses throughout the day.
Q. Does this work during busy periods or crises?
A. The system becomes more important during chaos, not less. Even 30 minutes of intentional focus can anchor a crazy day. Adaptation: During genuinely busy periods, I shrink highlights but maintain the rhythm.
Quick Checklist
Daily Checklist
- ☐ Choose today's highlight (60-90 min scope, clear success criteria)
- ☐ Prepare environment (phone away, distractions blocked, tools ready)
- ☐ Set timer and start with full attention
- ☐ Complete highlight without multitasking
- ☐ Reflect in 3 lines: what worked, what interfered, tomorrow's tweak
Weekly Checklist
- ☐ Review highlight completion rate (aim for 70%+ over time)
- ☐ Identify patterns in what works/doesn't work
- ☐ Plan next week's highlight themes
- ☐ Adjust environment or timing based on lessons learned
Monthly Checklist
- ☐ Assess long-term progress on important projects
- ☐ Refine highlight selection criteria
- ☐ Update not-to-do lists and boundaries
- ☐ Celebrate consistent practice and cumulative achievements
One-Line Takeaway
Make time for what matters by designing your day around one important thing, then protecting that choice from the world's infinite distractions.
Final Reflection: The Compound Effect of Daily Intention
Fourteen months later, the most profound change isn't in my productivity metrics—though those improved dramatically. It's in my relationship with time itself.
Before Make Time, I felt like time was something that happened to me. My calendar filled up with other people's priorities. My attention got pulled toward whatever was loudest or most recent. I was always busy but rarely felt like I was making meaningful progress.
Now, I feel ownership over my days. I make conscious choices about where my attention goes, and I protect those choices. This hasn't made me antisocial or unresponsive to legitimate needs. Instead, it's made me more intentional about when and how I engage.
The daily highlight system taught me that time isn't managed—it's allocated. And the quality of your life largely depends on the wisdom of your allocations. When you consistently invest your best energy in your most important work, the compound effect is remarkable.
Make Time isn't just a productivity system. It's a practice of living deliberately in a world designed to make you reactive. In an attention economy, choosing where to focus is one of the most important skills you can develop.
Resources for Implementation
Tools That Actually Work
- Time blocking: Simple calendar app with distinct colors for highlights vs. other work
- Website blocking: Cold Turkey (comprehensive) or Freedom (cross-device)
- Phone management: Do Not Disturb schedules + physical distance
- Timer/focus: Forest app (gamification) or simple kitchen timer
- Reflection: Physical notebook beats digital for end-of-day reviews
Complementary Reading
- Digital Minimalism (Cal Newport): Deeper dive into intentional technology use
- Deep Work (Cal Newport): The science and practice of focused attention
- Indistractable (Nir Eyal): Understanding and managing internal triggers
- The Power of Now (Eckhart Tolle): Present-moment awareness and mental clarity
Getting Started Recommendations
- Start small: 30-minute highlights for the first week
- Same time daily: Consistency trumps optimization in early stages
- Lower expectations: 60% success rate is excellent when building the habit
- Physical boundaries: Environment design is more reliable than willpower
- Track simply: Just mark whether you completed your highlight - don't over-analyze