📖 Book Club Recap | Make Time (Part 1): Reclaiming Focus in a World of Distraction
Posted by Yogi @ EudaimonAI.org · June 18, 2025
Today marked the very first sessions of our nonprofit community book club — and what a meaningful start it was. Whether just one person shows up or many, holding space for deep reading and intentional conversation already felt like a small victory in slowing down the chaos of modern life.
Our book this week was Make Time: How to Focus on What Matters Every Day by Jake Knapp and John Zeratsky — a practical and empowering guide to taking back your attention from the endless stream of distractions that often hijack our energy.
✨ Why Make Time?
In a culture that idolizes busyness and constant connectivity, we often lose sight of what truly matters to us. We do so much, but feel like we accomplish so little.
This book challenges that — not by adding more structure to our lives, but by offering a simple daily framework for designing each day around what matters most to you.
🧠 Key Themes from Today’s Discussion
🔹 1. The “Highlight” Strategy
One of the book’s central ideas is to choose one meaningful task per day — your “Highlight” — and make it the focal point of your schedule.
“Productivity isn’t about doing more things; it’s about doing the right thing on purpose.”
We talked about how freeing it felt to focus on just one priority, instead of drowning in to-do lists. It creates space for intentional energy — and reduces guilt from trying to do it all.
🔹 2. The Enemies of Attention: “Infinity Pools”
Social media, email, endless newsfeeds — the book calls them “infinity pools” because they have no natural stopping point. Once you fall in, it’s hard to get out.
“I don’t even want to be on my phone that much — it just happens automatically.”
Together, we reflected on our biggest distractions and what boundaries or tools have helped us protect our attention.
🧲 The LASER Strategy: Creating Focus That Sticks
“LASER” is one of the book’s core mental models. It’s not a productivity hack — it’s a way of thinking about attention. LASER stands for:
Low activation energy — Make it easy to start your highlight (remove friction).
Add barriers to distractions — Sign out, turn off notifications, hide apps.
Streamline your tools — Keep your workspaces clean, use fewer apps.
Energize yourself — Protect your sleep, movement, and food choices.
Reflect and adjust — Experiment and track what actually works for you.
This method helps you design your environment and energy in support of focus, rather than just hoping to have willpower.
💬 Reflections as Host
As I hosted today’s session, I was reminded that creating space for slow thinking is itself a radical act. Even if just one idea sticks with someone — or with me — that’s enough to begin shifting how we relate to our time.
“Choosing to Make Time is about reclaiming agency. It’s not about adding more effort; it’s about making fewer, more deliberate choices.”
📅 What’s Next: Make Time – Part 2
We’ll continue reading next week! Our focus will be:
Designing your daily “Highlight”
Using tech intentionally, not reactively
Energy rhythms and sustainable momentum
More experiments from the LASER method
Join us again via Google Meet (link at eudaimonai.org). No prep needed — come as you are, with your thoughts, your curiosity, or just your presence.
Let’s keep carving out time for what matters.
🕯️ Make time. Make space. Make meaning.