Concept by Paul Graham distinguishing between two types of schedules: makers who need long uninterrupted blocks for creative work, and managers who operate in hour-long appointment blocks throughout the day.
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Paul Graham's essay 'Maker's Schedule, Manager's Schedule' distinguishes between two fundamentally different ways of using time. Makers (programmers, writers, designers) need long, uninterrupted blocks for creative work, while managers operate in hour-long appointment blocks throughout their day.
A single one-hour meeting can blow an entire afternoon for a maker, because they need time to ramp up into deep focus before and after. What seems like a small interruption to a manager can destroy a maker's entire productive window.
Office Hours: Makers batch meetings into specific times
No-Meeting Days: Dedicate certain days for maker work
Meeting Blocks: Schedule all meetings together
Async Communication: Use written updates instead of meetings
Core Hours: Protect morning hours for maker work
With remote work and async collaboration, protecting maker time has become both easier (fewer interruptions) and harder (always-on culture, Slack notifications).