No. 139 · Work · General Thinking
Manager’s Schedule vs Maker’s Schedule
One meeting costs a manager an hour, and a maker half a day.
In the Almanac
“Trollope before breakfast”, 1850s–1870s · “Citigroup”, 2021
Both stories in full, three ways to use it and where it misleads.
Get the AlmanacQuestions
What is Manager’s Schedule vs Maker’s Schedule?
The Manager's Schedule vs. Maker's Schedule explains why interruptions cost creative people so much. Managers move between hourly meetings, but makers like writers and programmers need long uninterrupted blocks to do deep work.
How do you use Manager’s Schedule vs Maker’s Schedule?
Use it by clustering meetings into one part of the day, protecting long focus blocks on your calendar and asking before you interrupt someone deep in a task. The goal is not to ban meetings, but to place them where they cause the least harm.
When does Manager’s Schedule vs Maker’s Schedule matter?
Manager’s Schedule vs Maker’s Schedule is one of the 43 mental models for work, the situations where you ask: How do I get the right things done? Within that, it belongs to “Focus and priorities”, alongside Bikeshedding, Law of Diminishing Returns and Leverage.
What is an example of Manager’s Schedule vs Maker’s Schedule?
Two stories show it at work: Trollope before breakfast (1850s–1870s) and Citigroup (2021). Both are told in full in The Mental Models Daily Almanac, which has two stories for each of its 365 models.
Which mental models are related to Manager’s Schedule vs Maker’s Schedule?
Top of Your Mind, Parallel Processing and Information Overload. Manager’s Schedule vs Maker’s Schedule itself comes from general thinking.