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Time Dorks

The newsletter about making time for what matters.

Brought to you twice a month by the Make Time team.

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Featured Post

Avoid the lure of fancy tools

Hey there, I'm a total geek for the latest tech tool or gadget. These days, not a week goes by where I don't hear about an exciting new tool (powered by AI) that promises to transform my workflow. I have no doubt some amazing innovation is happening right now. Yet it's worth remembering that fancy tools are mostly a distraction. So before you sign up for the latest and greatest tool that promises to fix all of your problems, let's discuss a different approach that can save your sanity....

21 days ago • 3 min read

Hey there, We talk a lot about distractions here and why it's important to put barriers between you and Infinity Pool apps like email, social media, and the news. At the same time, these technologies do have value. They can help us stay informed, connected, and entertained, which are all important utilities. So today, let's explore how you can turn those distractions into tools. Something to Try With apps like Instagram, Twitter, email, and all the other Infinity Pools out there, we need to...

about 1 month ago • 3 min read

Hey Time Dorks, Thanks for all your responses to my request for feedback last week. Based on what we heard, we're going to experiment with a bi-weekly cadence for a little while. In today's edition, we're going to talk about one of my favorite topics: sleep. As a soon-to-be new parent (t-minus ~ 5 weeks!), I know my days of a perfectly optimized sleep schedule are limited. But like all tactics we recommend with Make Time, perfection is not the goal (it's really just another distraction.) So...

about 2 months ago • 2 min read

Hey Time Dorks, This is the 15th newsletter since we relaunched Time Dorks in this new weekly format last November. Are you enjoying the format? How about the cadence? Do you have any ideas on how we could improve? We'd love to hear what you think! If you have any feedback, hit reply and let us know. We read every response. Now back to this week's edition. Something to Try Do you look forward to your time on an airplane? There’s the tiny cramped seats. The crying baby in the row behind you....

about 2 months ago • 2 min read

Hey Time Dorks, Are you constantly looking at your To-Do list and feeling overwhelmed? You are not alone! You prioritize, you time block, but no matter what you do, that list is never finished. What if you shifted from a To-Do list to a Might-Do list? Something to Try We all fall victim to making a to-do list that’s insanely long and then are shocked when we don’t have the ability to finish it in a day. To-do lists are like treadmills: they are never empty because there is always something we...

2 months ago • 1 min read

Hey Time Dorks, This week I’m going to introduce you to one important tactic you can do to become more mindful and help you get back to focusing on what matters. The best news? It takes under a minute. Something to Try When you lose focus in your day, you don’t have to completely throw in the towel. There’s a way you can bring your focus back to what matters most without having to develop a whole, extensive mindfulness practice. We call this tactic Notice One Breath (#56). That’s right. Just...

2 months ago • 1 min read

Hey Time Dorks, February was a really exciting month for us. We delivered a bunch of talks and workshops on Make Time, and we’ve got some other exciting things we’ll share with you soon. In a workshop I was teaching last week, a participant who was struggling with an overloaded calendar asked what else she could do to make time for her Highlight. This brought to mind a tactic I used to love experimenting with when I was at Google, and I thought it’d be the perfect subject of this week’s...

3 months ago • 2 min read

Hey Time Dorks, Have you ever opened your phone, forgot why you did it, and then found yourself scrolling an Infinity Pool app? Yeah, us too! This week, I’m going to share a very simple default shift you can make to your phone, which adds some much-needed friction back into the experience, and will help you stay more focused and present throughout your day. Let’s dive in. Something to Try I want you to pull out your phone. Unlock it. Now, what do you see? If you’re like most people, you’re...

3 months ago • 2 min read

Hey Time Dorks, ICYMI, Jake & JZ were on Lenny's Podcast talking about Make Time, and how they are both dealing with distraction, prioritizing what matters, and protecting their focus. Listen or watch here. Plus, find time-stamped Make Time tactics below!This week’s newsletter might ruffle some feathers because I know how many people love their cup of coffee first thing in the morning (me included!). Don’t worry, I’m not going to say you have to quit coffee. But this week’s tactic is all...

3 months ago • 3 min read

Hey Time Dorks, Today we’re going to talk about the power of focus and how you can use a common productivity framework to get your most important projects done. 🏃♂️Something to Try When you’re starting up a new project, your brain acts like a computer starting up, loading relevant information and processes into working memory. This “boot up” takes time and, to some extent, you have to redo it every time you pick up the project. Sidenote: this is why multitasking is so bad for our focus. When...

3 months ago • 1 min read
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