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Warming Up to the Manager’s Schedule

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Summary

In this article, Danielle Morrill explains her transition from a technical co-founder to a manager, and how to make the switch while still respecting the "maker's schedule". She explains how Paul Graham's 2009 blog post on the "Maker's Schedule, Manager's Schedule" explains why programmers dislike meetings so much, and shares her own calendar to illustrate how she timeboxes her day to make sure she is able to get important tasks accomplished. She talks about how to make sure you are taking advantage of the manager's schedule, and how to balance speculative meetings with the rest of your schedule. She also advises to have someone help you cull your calendar and pick which speculative meetings to go after.

Q&As

What is Paul Graham's 2009 blog post "Maker's Schedule, Manager's Schedule" about?
Paul Graham's 2009 blog post "Maker's Schedule, Manager's Schedule" is about why programmers dislike meetings and the differences between the maker's schedule and the manager's schedule.

How has Danielle Morrill adapted to the manager's schedule as a technical cofounder?
Danielle Morrill has adapted to the manager's schedule by using AI assistant powered by Clara Labs to help manage her external calendar, enforcing time boxes on herself, and reserving her making time for the weekends.

What are the benefits and drawbacks of the manager's schedule?
The benefits of the manager's schedule include the ability to have speculative meetings, which are effectively free. The drawbacks of the manager's schedule include the fact that one meeting can sometimes affect a whole day, and that it is easy to sign up for a lot of speculative meetings and feel like you have accomplished very little at the end of the week.

What techniques does Danielle Morrill use to manage her external calendar?
Danielle Morrill uses an AI assistant powered by Clara Labs to help manage her external calendar, and has an underlying timebox structure.

How does Danielle Morrill prioritize speculative meetings?
Danielle Morrill prioritizes speculative meetings by vetting them with her team member Nick Frost, who is a professional "grab coffee" person, and together they pick and choose which opportunities to go after.

AI Comments

👍 This article is incredibly helpful and clearly explains how to transition to a manager's schedule while still keeping up with your maker's schedule.

👎 The article is very long and could have been condensed to be more efficient.

AI Discussion

Me: It's about transitioning from a maker's schedule to a manager's schedule as a technical founder, and how to balance the two. It's written by Danielle Morrill and published in 2015.

Friend: That sounds really interesting. What are the implications of the article?

Me: Well, the article highlights the importance of setting up a strict time-boxing structure to manage tasks, as well as enlisting help from a third-party to help prioritize tasks. It also stresses the need to make sure that weekends are reserved for maker's schedule time, and that having a meeting on the weekend should be an exception and not the norm. Finally, it emphasizes the importance of taking advantage of speculative meetings, as they can be a great opportunity, but one must be careful not to overcommit.

Action items

Schedule time for yourself to work on ambitious projects.
Ask a trusted colleague to help you prioritize and cull your calendar.
Vet speculative meetings with a trusted colleague before committing to them.

Technical terms

Manager's Schedule: A type of schedule that is common among people in positions of power, where time is divided into units of a day or more.
Maker's Schedule: A type of schedule that is common among people who make things, like programmers and writers, where time is divided into units of half a day or more.
Time-boxing: A method of scheduling where tasks are assigned a specific amount of time.
AI Assistant: Artificial intelligence software that helps manage a person's external calendar.
Office Hours: A period of time during which a person is available to meet with others.
Grab Coffee: A phrase used to propose a meeting with someone.