Book SummaryFree to Focus, by Michael Hyatt

1-Page Summary1-Page Book Summary of Free to Focus

Modern society constantly pushes us to achieve more, while at the same time offering more distractions to siphon away our time and energy. Free to Focus (2019) offers a solution to this paradox: Achieve more by doing less. Michael Hyatt argues that true productivity isn’t about how much you do, but rather how important and fulfilling those tasks are to you. His approach challenges the conventional wisdom of constant “hustle,” instead suggesting that you streamline your schedule and eliminate as many tasks as possible—leaving you free to focus on what really matters.

Hyatt brings decades of leadership experience to his productivity teachings. He served as chairman and CEO of Thomas Nelson Publishers, one of the largest publishing companies in America, before founding his own leadership development company, Full Focus...

Free to Focus Summary A Different Idea of Productivity

People generally think of productivity as getting a lot of things done, but Hyatt disagrees; instead, he defines productivity as getting the right things done.

The author begins by saying that like many people in the modern world, you probably feel like you’re drowning in an endless stream of emails, calls, and to-do lists. Changing how you think about productivity will enable you to accomplish more while actually working less. That, in turn, will finally allow you to get your head above water.

(Shortform note: Overwork is a global issue, and a deadly one. A study by the World Health Organization (WHO) found that, in 2016, more than 745,000 people worldwide died from overwork-induced heart diseases and strokes. The WHO also noted that figure is part of a worrisome upward trend: Deaths from overwork-induced heart disease increased 42% between 2000 and 2016, and deaths from overwork-induced stroke increased by 19% during that time....

Free to Focus Summary A Fundamental Tool: the Productivity Matrix

We’ve covered the goals of Hyatt’s productivity system and why it could benefit you. However, before we go into specific strategies, there’s another foundational topic to discuss: a tool that Hyatt calls the Freedom Compass, which helps you evaluate the value of the things you do.

Instead of Freedom Compass, we’ll be using the term Productivity Matrix to highlight this tool’s purpose—productivity—and its similarities to the famous Eisenhower Priority Matrix.

(Shortform note: The Eisenhower Priority Matrix is a two-by-two grid where you sort your tasks into zones according to two criteria (importance and urgency) and follow specific guidelines for handling the tasks in each zone. Hyatt’s “Freedom Compass” uses different criteria and different guidelines, but the overall concept is the same: Organize the things you need to do into four categories, then handle each category appropriately.)

Creating Your Productivity Matrix

Hyatt’s Productivity Matrix helps you evaluate tasks based on two criteria: interest and skill. Interest means that a task invigorates you—thinking about it gets you excited, and working on it makes...

Free to Focus Summary Strategy #1: Get Rid of Unproductive Activities

Now that we’ve explained Hyatt’s definition of productivity and introduced a crucial tool for identifying productive activities, you have a strong foundation to start working through his various productivity strategies. The first strategy is to eliminate as many unproductive tasks as possible from your life.

In this section we’ll discuss why it’s important to remove unproductive activities from your schedule, and how to turn down requests that don’t help you reach meaningful goals.

Choosing Your Commitments

Hyatt begins by reminding you that you can only do one thing at a time—so, whenever you commit to doing something, you’re also opting to not do other things. That may seem like an obvious statement, but staying mindful about these inherent tradeoffs helps you make better decisions regarding how you’ll spend your time.

For example, if you agree to meet a friend at the bar one evening, you can’t use that time to be with your family, prepare for work the next day, or get to bed early. Hyatt isn’t saying it would be wrong to spend time with your friend instead of doing those other things; just make sure to consider the opportunities you’d pass up by making...

Free to Focus Summary Strategy #2: Give Your Tasks to Other People

We’ve discussed getting rid of unproductive tasks in order to free up your time and energy for meaningful work. However, it’s most likely impossible to eliminate every activity outside of your Productivity Zone, which is why this section will discuss another strategy: letting other people handle tasks for you.

By delegating tedious or time-consuming responsibilities to others, you can dramatically improve your productivity and your satisfaction. While this approach is more difficult at first than handling tasks yourself—you need to find the right people, negotiate their compensation, and train them—the long-term benefits will far outweigh that initial investment of time and effort.

(Shortform note: Hyatt writes as though delegation is a simple matter, but for those who don’t have a lot of money, compensating others for such work isn’t feasible. One possible solution is skill bartering: Instead of paying people with money, arrange a fair trade where they help you with a task they’re good at, and in return, you help them with a task that...

Free to Focus Summary Strategy #3: Automate as Much as Possible

Delegation works well for difficult or complex tasks. Unfortunately, in many cases, simple tasks that you need to do regularly take up a great deal of time that you’d prefer to spend on more meaningful work. Hyatt says that automation offers a powerful solution to this problem.

In this section we’ll review three areas where automation can significantly reduce your mental load and boost your productivity: the small tasks you do every day, your communication methods, and repetitive or tedious tasks you have to handle while working.

Automating Your Daily Tasks

Hyatt’s first strategy is what he calls self-automation, which focuses on creating consistent habits and routines in your daily life. This strategy ensures that you complete simple-but-important tasks efficiently and frees your mind to focus on more meaningful issues.

For instance, if you wake up at the same time every morning, then shower, shave, get dressed, eat breakfast, brush your teeth, and leave for work—in that order—pretty soon that routine will become a habit, and you’ll carry it out more or less automatically. This means that, while you’re carrying out your morning routine, you can be thinking...

Free to Focus Summary Strategy #4: Take Care of Yourself

So far, we’ve discussed various ways to simplify your life and work. In this section, we’ll be discussing some important things to add to your routine in order to keep yourself healthy and productive.

Hyatt begins by challenging a common misconception about productivity: the idea that time is flexible while energy is fixed. In other words, people commonly think that they can work as few or as many hours as they need to, while always maintaining the same level of productivity.

However, it’s really the other way around. Time is fixed—there are only so many hours in a day—while your energy levels rise and fall based on how well you take care of yourself. In other words, in order to stay productive, you must take time to rest and attend to your needs.

Beware of Overwork

Hyatt says that staying productive in the long run requires you to take enough time for rest and other self-care needs, but how much time is that, exactly?

It may be helpful to approach that question from the opposite side and ask instead how much time you should try to work each week. There’s no universally correct answer, but research has provided a couple of benchmarks.

First of all,...

Shortform Exercise: Make Your Productivity Plan

Now that you’re familiar with Hyatt’s concept of productivity, along with his four strategies to help you focus on meaningful tasks, start planning how you’ll increase your own productivity.

According to Hyatt, productivity starts with deciding what success means for you. Choose one aspect of your personal vision of success to start working toward. Be as specific as possible. For instance, don’t just answer with “Working my dream job”—write down what that job actually is.