Work like a maker, not a manager

I first came across this story and quickly shared it in my newsletter in 2015. Since that point, it’s been something that I want to fold into my system.

Jeremiah Dillon, head of product marketing at Google Apps for Work, sent out an email to colleagues indicating that they were scheduling themselves all wrong. They didn’t have time in their schedule…and it was their fault for this lack of focus that they scheduled in.

Of course a video was made detailing the original email.

Granted, the rhythm of my week is often framed by my schedule of classes…and the needs of my family. As such, it takes a lot of work to embed many of these philosophies into my own schedule.

Take Time to Make

Stop looking at our schedules as a way to manage our time…and instead carve out blocks to allow us to make. By focusing on an agenda of implementation intention (a goal setting behavior) we build in times for creation and making things that align to our goals.

We also need to stop overscheduling ourselves and protect this make time on the calendar.

Dillon gives the following guidance on how to organzie your week:

Monday: Energy ramps out of the weekend — schedule low-demand tasks like setting goals, organizing, and planning.

Tuesday, Wednesday: Peak of energy — tackle the most difficult problems, write, brainstorm, schedule your Make Time.

Thursday: Energy begins to ebb — schedule meetings, especially when consensus is needed.

Friday: Lowest energy level — do open-ended work, long-term planning, and relationship building.

Always bias your Make Time toward the morning, before you hit a cycle of afternoon decision fatigue.

Hold the late afternoon for more mechanical tasks.

My new challenge to you: create and protect your Make Time, and before you “steal someone’s chair,” consider whether it’ll be disruptive to their Make Time.