Maker Time Vs Manager Time

In 2009, Paul Graham, the renowned founder of Y Combinator, published a thought-provoking essay titled “Maker’s Schedule, Manager’s Schedule.”

In this piece, he explores the distinct differences between the time management styles of managers and makers. For managers, the focus is on coordinating activities, attending meetings, engaging in conversations, and overseeing projects. Their role is to keep everything running smoothly. In contrast, makers—such as coders and programmers—require uninterrupted time to do deep work. Makers are individual operators and creators.  

What I’ve observed is that most of us as professionals have to alternate between these two roles, depending on the situation. We are both managers and makers.

We juggle meetings and responsibilities, but we also need long stretches of uninterrupted time to get “in the zone” and engage in meaningful, deep work—tasks that move us forward on our goals and agendas.

Unfortunately, we end up short-changing our role as makers and tend to postpone or procrastinate on the deep work-related tasks because we lack those uninterrupted blocks of time.

Inspired by Graham’s insights, I made a significant mental shift in my approach about seven years ago. I now clearly differentiate between maker time and manager time in my daily schedule. During my maker time, I eliminate all meetings and distractions, allowing myself the freedom to do some deep work.

This change has profoundly impacted my productivity, transforming the way I work. It has helped me write high-quality proposals, create product visualizations, solve complex problems, write my daily blog, and generally enhance my effectiveness in everything I do.

Thinking of my days in terms of manager time vs. maker time has helped me find a balanced and productive way to navigate the demands of both management and creation.