The lowdown: This Free to Focus summary by Michael Hyatt is a book that teaches everyone how to achieve more from their day without having to do more.
“Working hard but we hardly working.” “Working smart, not hard.” These are phrases we have come to be familiar with especially from seemingly more successful people, occasionally from the Hip-Hop video. But what does this truly mean?
You can easily be the one confidently saying this catchy phrase if you know the right things. We all want to do more with our days, but to what end? To create time for more work? If that is what you think at this point, I just have to tell you that you are wrong. According to Jack Nevison, Founder of the New Leaf Project Management, workers who work for more than 55 hours per week were less productive compared to their counterparts that work for less than 50 hours.
This goes a long way to point out obvious misconception we have about the concept of productivity. It is not necessarily doing more work, but rather doing more of the right things as Michael Hyatt has rightly pointed out in this book.
- Audible Audiobook
- Michael Hyatt (Author) – Michael Hyatt (Narrator)
- English (Publication Language)
- 04/09/2019 (Publication Date) – Mission Audio (Publisher)
Three key lessons I learned from this Free To Focus were:
- Time is fixed, and your energy and focus levels are finite.
- Always make time to rejuvenate and recharge.
- How to identify unnecessary tasks.
Time is fixed, and your energy and focus levels are finite
Many of us make the wrong assumption increasing our working time increases our output proportionately. However, empirical evidence points in the opposite direction. It is impossible to maintain the same level of energy and focus throughout the day. It is common knowledge that we are fresher and more efficient in the morning compared to afternoons when our minds are slower and clogged with information and other things.
Always make time to rejuvenate and recharge
We all get the same amount of time every day. 24 hours per day, 168 hours a week, no more no less. So how do you think trying to nick a few more hours on a Monday will not affect you on the Tuesday, or possibly into Wednesday? Time is a zero game. You do not get more from anywhere. You have to make the best of what you have so you do not cheat yourself out of the remaining time you have.
When we get a backlog of work, we instinctively cut back on time we should spend socializing and relaxing. According to David K. Randall in his book Dreamland, “sleep deprivation makes it harder to solve problems, stay focused and make good decisions.” Penelope A. Lewis goes on to say that sleep-deprived people have fewer original ideas. And as human beings, we are social animals. Deteriorating social relationships can affect our focus and energy for work thereby affecting our productivity.
All this goes to say you cannot underestimate the power of play, recreation, and relaxation while you talk of productivity. Sounds counterproductive, but it is what it is.
How to Identify Unnecessary Tasks
I am not trying to minimize the fact that some people genuinely have a lot of work to do. But will you still have the same backlog of work if you removed the unnecessary tasks?
There are jobs you have passion for, and there are others that you are proficient at. Doing a job you love but lack proficiency at will make you less productive and vice versa. So, why don’t you delegate it to another team member better suited for it? Also, how often do you say no to more work? Accepting everything that comes to your table inadvertently leads to more work for you.
My Personal Takeaway
Like I said earlier, it is not about doing more thing, but about doing more of the right things. When the lessons of this book were out into Practice, the folly of the time I spent watching life hack videos on YouTube, trying to scheme off minutes from every task became apparent to me. It definitely won’t be the worst thing for you to try reading too.
Put into Action
- Start a to-do list
- Then, a not-to-do list
- Create rituals and habits that will help bring structure and organization to your day.
- Learn to say no to unnecessary tasks.
- Set yourself up in the optimal working environment, away from distractions.
You should consider buying this book if…
The knowledge in this book is useful for anyone looking to hack life once and for all. Time is something we all want more of, but somehow, it now seems we have enough.
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