Jake Knapp

All of a sudden I’d realize I was working toward a goal that no longer mattered to me. And living a “someday” life was demoralizing. In the words of author James Clear, I was essentially saying, “I’m not good enough yet, but I will be when I reach my goal.”

Whenever you begin a project, your brain is like a computer starting up, loading relevant information, rules, and processes into your working memory. This “boot up” takes time, and you have to redo it to a certain extent every time you pick up the project.

Just choose the same Highlight for several days in a row (breaking it up into steps for each day if you need to) and keep your mental computer running.

had to schedule my Highlight if I wanted to make time for it.

There’s no harm in telling people something important came up and asking if they can meet a little earlier or later or for a quick chat instead of for an hour.

Blocking, bulldozing, and flaking are great ways to make time for your Highlight. But the best way to get out of low-priority obligations is never to accept them in the first place.

if we ended each workday before people were exhausted, the week’s productivity increased dramatically.

it’s not just Infinity Pools that create time craters. There’s also recovery time

And there’s anticipation. When you don’t start your Highlight because you’ve got a meeting coming up in thirty minutes, that’s a time crater, too.

Instead, I focus on the highlights—the parts that bring me real joy—and use the rest of my time for other things that matter.