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.”

Stack Rank Your Life

Batch the Little Stuff

but there’s a surprising satisfaction that comes from catching up. And when you catch up all at once instead of constantly trying to keep your inbox or to-do list empty, you supercharge that feeling of satisfaction.

Just don’t do it every day. This is a once-in-a-while tactic, a way of dealing with the necessary chores and tasks that otherwise invade our days

the real power of this tactic on the days you don’t use it: knowing you can safely ignore small, nonurgent tasks, letting them pile up while you focus on your Highlight.

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.