I have a confession to make – I have a strange passion. From time to time, I find myself diving deep into books about productivity. Weird, right? The last one I read was Make Time by @jakek and @jazer. The thing is, as I read through their book, I realized they were summing up a lot of what I had already noticed or discovered in my own life. Still, there was one thing that really stood out to me – something simple but surprisingly impactful system: Highlight, Laser, Reflect.
Let me break it down a little.
Highlight
Every day, I ask myself: what’s my main task for today? What really matters the most to me? It’s easy to get caught up in other people’s priorities – emails, meetings, random to-dos – but this system made me realize how important it is to focus on my task. I usually pick something that takes 1-2 hours. Here’s the funny thing – once I find myself in that magical state of “flow”, I can stretch that time out and get more done than I expected.
Laser
The next step is where I had to get serious: eliminating distractions. Yeah, I’m talking about social media, emails, notifications. The idea is to really focus on the main task. I noticed that mornings are my most productive hours, so I try to tackle my Highlight task then. It’s crazy how productive I feel after knocking it out early – it sets the tone for my whole day and puts me in a good mood.
Reflect
And here’s the part I really love – reflection. This is where I adjust and improve the system. I ask myself things like: Did I finish the goal? What got in the way? Was it too big of a task? How can I make it easier next time? I keep tweaking and figuring out what works best for me. If something didn’t go right, I don’t beat myself up, I just try to understand why. It’s a bit like having a conversation with yourself about how to be better.
So yeah, I’ve been using the system for about half a year now. And let me tell you, it just works. It pairs really well with another habit I’ve stuck with for six years now – journaling. Together, they’ve not only helped me be more productive but have also boosted my overall mood.
Funny how a little focus can go a long way, huh?