Reflecting on the Make Time course
At the beginning of the month, I mentioned that I started doing the Highlight course, an online course based on the book Make Time by Jake Knapp and John Zeratsky. I just completed the course, and part of the final module was to reflect back on the month, with some questions I answered below. If you'd like to know more about some of the specific tactics I mentioned below, get in touch @gendor@merveilles.town on Mastodon.
What did you want to make time for?
I wanted to make time for my side projects, which includes building electronics, hydroponics and growing my own food, permaculture, and getting more involved with climate action in my local community.
Were you able to make time for it?
I was able to spend an evening each week on an online permaculture course. I started growing sprouts using a mason jar strainer lid that I printed on my 3D printer. I started a garden diary, installed a rainwater harvesting system and made my own cleaning products.
I also made much faster progress than usual on a bunch of projects at work.
What is your “tactic stack”? (Your 5-7 essential tactics.)
- Write it down
- Schedule your highlight
- Put your toys away
- Might Do list
- Make your bedroom a bed room
What’s an unexpected challenge you faced in making time?
There are some of my side projects, like hydroponics, and getting more involved with climate action, that ranked pretty high on my ideal priority during stack rank, but that I still haven't been able to make time for. Maybe I need to try and Explode my Highlight, and then combine the Might Do list with the Burner list?
What’s an unexpected success?
I drink a lot of coffee. A lot. Experimenting with caffeine use seemed like a non-starter due to my dependence, but after trying Maintaining Altitude with Green Tea, I'm more confident that I can try some of the other caffeine-related tactics.
I've tried various attempts at a distraction-free phone in the past, but finally deleting Instagram and other social media from my phone made it so much easier to also Make my Bedroom a Bed Room.
How is your life different now than it was at the beginning of the course?
I feel like I'm less anxious and more present. I'm excited to keep this going and make time for more things, although I'm a bit concerned that I will fall off the wagon again, so to speak. I'm hoping that the Make Time community will keep me on track.
How will you use the Make Time framework in the future?
I'm looking forward to trying other tactics, like the Burner List and Friendly Social Jujitsu. I've found that the Make Time app (on Android) has been really helpful in keeping me going, by providing both opportunities for writing down and scheduling my highlight, as well as reminding me to reflect at the end of the day.
I’m publishing this as part of 100 Days To Offload. You can join in yourself by visiting https://100daystooffload.com.