john zeratsky

John Zeratsky is a co-founder and general partner at Character, bestselling author of Sprint and Make Time, and former design partner at GV. Previously, John was a design leader for YouTube, Google Ads, and FeedBurner, which was acquired by Google in 2007. 

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CONNECT WITH JOHN ZERATSKY

• Twitter - https://twitter.com/jazer
• LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnzeratsky/
• Website - https://johnzeratsky.com/

CONNECT WITH ME

• LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jayneil 
• Twitter - https://twitter.com/jayneildalal 

Show Notes

• 1:22 — Ian welcomes John to the show.
• 2:39 — John talks about what has changed since the book came out in late 2018 that makes the topic of time management more important.
• 6:01 — John discusses how the need to work from home during the COVID-19 lock down has changed the routines for nearly all of us.
• 8:44 — The different way we perceive time now that we are spending all our time at home.
• 10:15 — The effect of adding more intention to your days.
• 15:25 — John talks about the circumstances in his life that led to the creation of Make Time.
• 19:26 — How John’s time management habits have changed since his transition from a full time employee to entrepreneur.
• 22:19 — John discusses the importance of finding the things in life that give you energy.
• 24:22 — How the use of social media affects our in-person interactions and why it’s important to be conscious about it.
• 29:07 — John offers some new tips that he’s discovered since writing the book including the use of a “calendar template”.
• 30:01 — John shares what’s on his personal “calendar template”.
• 33:10 — John discusses the concept of “iceberg yes” and how to use it to avoid getting overwhelmed.
• 38:30 — John explains what a “charge cabinet” is and
• 40:33 — The importance designing your physical space to reinforce good time habits.
• 41:22 — Using “social jujitsu” to increase the quality of your social interactions.
• 43:40 — The reality that many of structures and routines that we have relied upon in life are no longer there and we need to find new ways to support healthy routines.
• 45:40 — How the news can be a source of acute anxiety and the importance of moderating one’s news consumption.
• 50:35 — John shares his tip for the single biggest quality of life improvement you can make.

Mentions

• 📖 Book: Make Time: How to Focus on What Matters Every Day by Jake Knapp and John Zeratsky
• 📰 Article: MakeTime.blog
• 🎙️ Podcast: The Better Show Episode 19: Nourish Your Mind with a Better Media Diet

Order your copy here: Make Time by Jake Knapp and John Zeratsky

Show Notes

• 1:42 — The authors’ backgrounds and why they were uniquely qualified to write a book about focus.
• 3:31 — Ian discusses why this book, in particular, is a valuable resource in helping you make improvements in your system of focus and why the method in this book is different than other productivity methods.
• 8:30 — March discusses his personal strategies for maintaining his focus including the way he uses his calendar and estimating the time required for each task on his to-do list.
• 12:52 — Darren reflect on his favorite tool for maintaining focus — The Productivity Planner — and some of the similarities between its method and the method outlined in Make Time.
• 14:45 — Ian talks about his desire to be more intentional in the way he spends his time.
• 15:59 — Ian provides an overview of the 4-step Make Time process beginning with the highlight of your day.
• 18:41 — What is the “busy bandwagon” and what is an “infinity pool”?
• 23:40 — Setting new defaults for yourself starting with selecting your daily highlight.
• 28:10 — What are the characteristics of a good daily highlight?
• 30:50 — Ian describes several of the methods offered in Make Time for how to make time for your highlight.
• 32:50 — How to get (and stay) laser-focused on your highlight during your day.
• 34:17 — March’s tip for using YouTube’s “watch later” list to batch his distractions.
• 35:10 — Ian describes a super-tip offered in Make Time called “random question time.”
• 37:02 — The importance of staying energized to reinforce your focus and productivity.
• 39:30 — How the Make Time method uses the scientific method for continuous improvement.
• 44:01 — Darren, March and Ian’s key takeaways and the things they are going to incorporate in their lives.
• 39:30 — We identify the “better next step” for listeners who want to incorporate one key thing from this episode.

Mentions

• 📖 Book: Make Time by Jake Knapp and John Zeratsky
• 📖 Book: Sprint by Jake Knapp and John Zeratsky
• 📦 Product: Productivity Planner by Intelligent Change