Free to Focus Book Summary

Book Summary

15 min

Brief Summary

We live in a world full of distractions. Paring down and focusing on what’s important is an essential yet rare skill in today’s businesses, as well as our personal lives. While the constant enticement of social media and disruption of technology, from emails to cell phones, can prevent us from being productive, even ordinary business work can fall into the category of distraction and perpetual busyness. In Free to Focus, Michael Hyatt provides new perspectives. He puts emphasis on not-to-do-lists and teaches that good business leadership includes delegating and automating as much as possible. This ensures there is ample time for leaders to focus on their passions and proficiencies because this is where he or she will substantially outpace their previous limitations. A productivity system is explained beginning with the three simple steps of stop, cut, and act.

About the Author

Michael Hyatt founded the Michael Hyatt & Company leadership firm based in Tennessee. Ranked by Inc. as one of Nashville’s top businesses in 2018, Hyatt has used his success to also become a popular blogger and podcaster with the title, “Lead to Win.”

Topics

Management & Leadership

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Key Insights

The well-known adage, “Less is More” is not typically applied when speaking of business and work. Productivity is often gauged by the length of the to-do lists and the number of check marks on them. But in Free to Focus: A Total Productivity System to Achieve More by Doing Less, Michael Hyatt introduces the revolutionary idea that not-to-do-lists are actually more valuable and useful. In his book, Hyatt teaches a productivity system that outlines three elementary steps to achieving simplified success. They are: stop, cut, and act.

Step One: Stop

In today’s society, we live a fast, busy, and preoccupied pace. While time is a premium, the way it is spent is often not measured by the level of quality activities, but more by the quantity of what we get done. Without realizing it, the amount of busyness we allow into our lives by the hour robs us of accomplishing what’s most important. We are easily distracted by what is right in front of us, what the world tells us is pressing, and by the addictiveness of the platforms we use for business and communication, i.e. social media.

The first step to regaining control of our time and its potential success is to stop, analyze, and recognize that our time may not actually be as productive as it feels. For example, when we let work time carry over into the weekends and even our vacations, which seems almost inescapable with the remote access (i.e. technology such as cell phones) that is constantly with us, our well-being pays the price and, by extension, the quality of our accomplishments.

Business leaders should take time to stop and assess how their time is being used and to evaluate their goals against how well their current activities support those objectives. Part of this analysis is considering both what they are proficient at as well as what is a passion. Being clear about what elements of the job mean most to them, along with the overall mission, will help business leaders know what activities to prioritize.

Step 2: Cut

Hyatt asserts that cutting is at the heart of productivity. In the rush of daily tasks, it is most important to identify what not to do, above what needs to be done. This is an innovative way to look at time management, but because of the nature of our modes of communication and information, controlling what doesn’t make it onto our desks can be the bigger challenge. Since time isn’t a renewable resource, it’s essential we are intentional about not wasting it.

Too often people have difficulty saying “no” to the demands put on their time, but by not saying “no” to certain things, they are unwittingly saying “no” to what could have filled their time, which may have actually been more important. This is an important perspective to keep when fulfilling Step Two… Cutting!

When the task is reducing the amount of work to contend with, there are three approaches. One is to cut the activity from the schedule or workflow completely....