I still remember the first time I read influential tech investor Paul Graham’s 2009 essay “Maker’s Schedule, Manager’s Schedule.”
It was one of those lightbulb moments, the kind that makes you stop mid-scroll and think, “Oh, that’s why my days sometimes feel chaotic.”
In his essay, Graham explains that there are two fundamental types of schedules:
Makers and Managers.
Makers are the creators — the writers, artists, designers, coders, strategists, engineers, and scientists of the world. They live in the realm of deep work, where uninterrupted hours (“the flow”; more on this in another post 🙂 are essential. A single distraction can shatter focus, which is why makers thrive when they have long, quiet stretches of time to dive deep into solving complex problems or building something new.
Managers, on the other hand, operate on an entirely different rhythm. They keep things moving while constantly switching contexts — leading meetings, unlocking decisions, and helping teams make progress. Their work lives in the space between coordination and communication, and their schedules are often broken into neatly slotted 15-, 30-, or 60-minute blocks from morning to evening.
Here’s where it gets interesting. Most modern workplaces, especially in large organizations like Federal government agencies or Fortune 500 companies, require both. As Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella once said, “Empathy makes you a better innovator.” The best leaders learn to bridge these two modes — to honor the maker’s need for focus (and “the flow”) while embracing the manager’s duty to connect.
Cal Newport, author of Deep Work, calls this a “context-switching crisis.” When your day is sliced into back-to-back meetings, your brain never gets the chance to sink into that deeper, more productive state. His advice? Protect your calendar like it’s sacred space. Schedule at least two-hour blocks for focused, creative work — and defend them fiercely.
James Clear would add: build habits around these blocks. If your morning brain is sharpest, make that your “maker” time. If afternoons are full of meetings and calls, structure those as your “manager” blocks. It’s not about rigid separation; it’s about intentional rhythm.
And Mel Robbins would likely remind us that you don’t need motivation to make this work; you need systems. Set the boundary, shut the door, turn off notifications, and count down from five to start. 🙂
Even Tim Ferriss takes this principle to heart: “Being busy is a form of laziness—lazy thinking and indiscriminate action.” Just how true is this? What looks like productivity (endless calls and check-ins) can sometimes be avoidance of the much-needed harder, deeper, more valuable work.
So maybe the key isn’t to choose one schedule over the other, but to recognize which mode you’re in, and honor it.
If you are a maker, guard your deep work hours like gold. I personally like to batch meetings into one time block in the afternoon and try to create “buffer zones” whenever possible.
If you’re a manager, build white space into your calendar for thinking, not just talking.
And if you’re both (as most of us are), learn to move between those worlds with grace.
Because in the end, balance isn’t about doing it all. It’s about doing what matters, in its own right time.
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