Do you ever feel like the constant juggling of tasks, projects, and meetings is preventing you from making progress? Many of the leaders I work with struggle to balance their responsibilities as both managers and individual contributors. This can lead to burnout, frustration, and a feeling of constant overwhelm.

This described a client of mine, a leader who was starting to feel symptoms of burnout, primarily due to frustration about his lack of progress on his individual tasks. He felt like he was always being pulled in different directions, with his days a mix of meetings, tasks and interruptions and a schedule that never allowed him to get into flow.

I had seen this before and knew a solution that could help:

The maker versus manager schedule.

The maker versus manager schedule was first introduced by Paul Graham, co-founder of Y Combinator. The key difference between the two schedules is the way time is structured. Makers need long, uninterrupted blocks of time to focus on their work, while managers need to be available for meetings and communication with their team.

But it can also be adapted for leaders who do both, by structuring time based on the type of work that’s required.

When my client designated specific days for focused work (“maker days”) and other days for meetings and management responsibilities (“manager days”), everything changed for him. On “manager days” when he knew he would not make progress on his tasks, he was no longer frustrated.

This simple change had a profound impact. He started each day with a clear understanding of what was expected and was able to allocate his energy and time more effectively.

This concept is just one way to find the clarity needed to grow your business. For you, it might be something different. There are resources on my website that you can explore, or just shoot me an email with what’s holding you back and I’ll see if I can help.