Balancing the roles of maker and manager proves challenging, as many professionals juggle both responsibilities throughout their day. By implementing a few simple scheduling tweaks, individuals can carve out dedicated time for meaningful work while still accommodating necessary meetings and urgent tasks. For example, creating focused time blocks for creative endeavors can mitigate the overwhelming interruptions of managing. Key Information: - Two scheduling categories: Makers (who create) and Managers (who oversee). - Most people struggle to balance making and managing due to frequent interruptions. - Small scheduling adjustments can help prioritize important tasks alongside necessary meetings. - Focused time blocks enhance productivity for creative roles such as design, writing, and development.
This article matters for Engineering Leaders as it addresses the common challenge of balancing management responsibilities with the need for creative focus. An actionable takeaway is to implement small scheduling tweaks that allow for dedicated time to work on important projects while still managing meetings and urgent tasks effectively.
You can break down the way most people schedule their days into two categories: Makers vs. managers.
There are people who spend most of their day managing—either other people or projects. And there are those who spend their time making—writing docs, designing logos, coding apps, etc…
At least that’s how it would look in a perfect world.
In reality, most of us spend our days frantically trying to balance making and managing. We set out to focus on something big and then end up in meetings, on calls, chasing other people for tasks, and overwhelmed with “managing”.
This causes all sorts of friction and issues–especially if you’re a designer, writer, developer, or anyone hired to dream up innovative ideas and get creative.
But here’s the thing: With a few small tweaks, you can create a schedule that gives you time to focus on what’s important and keep up with meetings, calls, emails, and “urgent” tasks.