Maker’s schedule and manager’s schedule

The maker’s schedule and the manager’s schedule is a concept from Paul Graham’s similarly-titled Maker’s schedule, manager’s schedule.

The maker’s schedule is for people who do creative and/or complex work: writers, programmers, etc. For these people, deep, focused work is important, which requires having the ability to work continuously for multiple hours without interruption. Meetings break up this focus work and are seen as highly disruptive.

When you’re operating on the maker’s schedule, meetings are a disaster. A single meeting can blow a whole afternoon, by breaking it into two pieces each too small to do anything hard in.

– Paul Graham

The manager’s schedule on the other hand is for people in management roles, who typically spend the majority of their time attending meetings to coordinate work among groups of people.

The manager’s schedule is for bosses. It’s embodied in the traditional appointment book, with each day cut into one hour intervals. You can block off several hours for a single task if you need to, but by default you change what you’re doing every hour.

When you use time that way, it’s merely a practical problem to meet with someone. Find an open slot in your schedule, book them, and you’re done.

– Paul Graham