Time management for hands-on Product Leaders

As a product leader, have you ever felt like you're constantly working two jobs? Meetings by day, real work by night. You're not alone. In this post, we'll look at why and how to fix it.

As a product leader, have you ever felt like you're constantly working two jobs? Meetings and emails by day with the hope of getting "real work" done by night. I know it well — that oddly satisfying feeling of watching people leave for the day hoping I'd have a couple of hours of deep work ahead of me.

But, it rarely works out. After a day of bouncing between meetings, rapid fire Slack messages, and putting out fires, I don't have the headspace to do the critical thinking that needs to be done. Maybe tomorrow.

I'm not alone. This challenge has come up repeatedly in my recent conversations with product leaders — and it's just gotten worse with hybrid work, smaller teams, and bigger goals.

Today's product leaders often find themselves straddling two very different demands on their time: the deep thinking required to set the direction and the rapid context switching necessary to lead the team in that direction. It's like being asked to simultaneously play chess and juggle.

You might find yourself in this position if:

• You're making the transition from individual contributor to manager

• You're leading a product team at an early-stage startup

• You're working with a smaller team that's been impacted by layoffs or a reorg

• You're working on a complex product that requires deep UX thinking

• You're at a strategic juncture and need to figure out the right path forward

In each of these situations, you must balance deep, focused work with the demands of leadership and coordination. This balancing act requires mastering two different approaches to time: the Maker's Schedule and the Manager's Schedule.

Understanding the problem: Makers vs. Managers

In his classic essay, Paul Graham introduced the concept of Maker's Schedule vs. Manager's Schedule. He talks about the fact that makers and managers have very different demands on their time.

Makers — like engineers, designers, and writers — need long, uninterrupted blocks of time. They often get into a flow state where their mind is completely dedicated to a particular task. It takes time to get into that flow state — like warming up the engine on a vintage car. For makers, three blocks of an hour each, spread throughout the day, are not the same as a single block of time. The best maker work requires focus, context, concentration, and depth of uninterrupted thought.

On the other hand, managers need to switch context constantly. Elon Musk once said of his time:

"I don't have a lot of open space. It's generally back-to-back meetings and it's insane...my days are like insane torrents of information. I don't recommend it. I've been thinking, how long can I keep this up? Because I don't want my brain to explode, and the meetings that are scheduled are not just nice-to-have, they're meetings that are essential."

Managers typically switch context every 15-30 minutes. Their time is optimized for absorbing and disseminating rapidly changing information across dozens or even hundreds of people.

The challenge? As a product leader, you need to do both. You need maker time to dive deep into product strategy, analyze complex data, or design intricate user flows. But you also need manager time to coordinate with your team, align stakeholders, and keep the product development machine running smoothly.

A day in your life

Let's look at closer look at how product work falls into these two different categories.

Product leaders are responsible for many activities that require rapid context switching:

• Running spec, product, and design reviews

• Conducting 1:1's with teammates

• Leading daily stand-ups, sprint planning meetings, and retrospectives

• Reviewing and providing feedback on the team's work

• Mentorship and performance management

• Interviewing candidates and participating in hiring decisions

• Coordinating with cross-functional stakeholders

• Keeping leadership up to date

• Planning and goal setting meetings

• Meeting with customers and conducting user research

• Participating in board meetings and management reviews

• All-hands meetings / broader updates

That's not all. Important “maker work" needs to get done that requires deep thinking:

• Writing detailed product specs / PRDs

• Analyzing complex data & research

• Drafting product strategy documents

• Thinking through and wireframing complex UX

• Writing documentation

• Detailed review of product deliverables like specs, designs, and prototypes

• Creating product roadmaps

• Drafting and preparing for high stakes presentations

You need to excel at both categories of tasks. But, switching between them isn't just a matter of changing your to-do list — it requires a fundamental shift in how you approach time and focus.

Finding your Manager/Maker balance

Let’s look at a four step approach to designing an approach to time management that enables you to excel as both a manager and a maker:

Step One: Audit & Plan Your Time

The first step in balancing maker and manager time is to understand how you're actually spending your time versus how you should be spending it.

The Maker vs. Manager Time Audit

Start by pulling up your calendar right now. How much of next week is already booked? Are those the right things to focus on?

Most product leaders find there's a significant gap between how they are spending their time and how they should spend their time. Your calendar should reflect your priorities, not everyone else's. And your calendar should be proactively focused on the most important things, not reactively allocated to fire drills and squeaky wheels.

It's helpful to map out how you're spending your time with a simple grid organized by Reactive work vs. Proactive work and Work driven by your priorities vs. work driven by other people’s priorities:

This framework helps you identify:

1. Where you're spending most of your time

2. How much of your time is driven by your priorities vs. others'

3. How much of your work is reactive vs. proactive

Planning your ideal schedule

Once you've audited your time, you're in a much better position to rethink your schedule:

• What key priorities aren't getting the attention they need?

• What squeaky wheels are getting too much grease?

• Over the past couple of weeks, when did you feel really in the zone? Why was that time fulfilling and productive?

• Where do you spend time without getting much back?

• What meetings could be better handled via email, Slack, or Loom?

• What meetings can others attend in your place?

• What meetings are run well and feel uniquely productive?

• What meetings are run poorly and not a good use of your time (and everyone else's)?

Map out your next couple of weeks. What do you want to spend more time on and where do you want to cut back?

Step Two: Implement your Plan

Now, you're ready to get a few steps closer to your ideal schedule. This means culling unnecessary meetings and blocking off the time you need to achieve your priorities.

Blocking off maker time

A Manager’s Schedule doesn't take much effort to create. In fact, other people will be happy to make one for you. You'll have lots of help blocking off your time for daily stand-ups, weekly status meetings, 1:1's, impromptu catch-ups, interviews, morale events, and a few high-stakes leadership reviews to keep you on your toes.

Many product leaders find that 20-50% of their time is allocated before their week even starts. And, it's not just a matter of quantity. When your day is a swiss cheese of calendar events, it's hard to do quality work in the gaps remaining.

A Maker's Schedule requires constant vigilance. The first step in being able to balance the different demands on your time is to **demand your time back**.

Understanding your peak energy periods

Pay attention not just to the quantity of time that you are blocking off, but the quality of that time. Consider when you have peak focus and allocate that time to deep work slots. Some people love to work in the morning when things are quiet — before the kids wake up and the first meetings start. I'm a night owl. I like to start deep projects when I know I'm not on a deadline that ends sharply when the kids wake up.

You can also increase the quality of time by batching similar work. This reduces context switching so you can get into the flow and get more done.

This can be an iterative process — auditing, planning, and allocating your time is a continuous journey of improvement.

Step Three: Protect your Time

The real challenge is sticking to the plan. It's very hard to redirect when someone suggests setting up a meeting or to reply "no" when a well-meaning colleague sends over an invite to a meeting you know won't be the best use of 30-60 minutes.

Master the art of saying "No"

Saying "no" is hard, especially at work. Lenny Rachitsky has a great post On saying no where he provides an exhaustive set of techniques and templates.

Personally, I've found it helpful to reframe “yes” and “no”. “Yes” isn’t necessarily positive, and “no” isn’t necessarily negative. Every time I say “yes” to something, I'm jeopardizing every other commitment I've made. Time is finite, and saying "no" sometimes — even to your boss — is the only way to deliver reliably on the most important things.

Remember, "No" is a complete sentence. You don't always need to explain or apologize. Make those trade-offs consciously.

Create systems to stay on track

Ironically, managing your days and weeks often comes down to what you do in the moment. It's way too easy to hit "yes" on a calendar invite even though the agenda isn't clear. Or to agree to a time slot that works for the other person, but cuts into deep work time. My personal curse? I start saying "no" and end up saying some form of "maybe" or "yes" by the time I'm done writing the email.

I've found it incredibly helpful to create systems that help me stay on track. For example, I have a set of text replacements that help me quickly say “no” without being short or dismissive. For example, “nnoevent” helps me politely decline an event invite:

Thanks so much for the invite. I'm currently heads down on a project that requires deep work so won't be able to participate. Good luck with the event!”

In addition, I use Calendly whenever anyone asks to setup time with me. My default Calendly link only has availability on Tuesdays, the day I prefer to do meetings. For important meetings that can't wait until the next Tuesday, I have a "morning" link where I've allocated a few time slots each morning for meetings. For urgent, critical meetings I have a flex link that provides my full availability, but still protects my most important time blocks (afternoons later in the week).

I have text replacements (for example, “mmorning”) for each Calendly link:

• Standard link: Only has slots available on Tuesdays, the day I've allocated for most 1:1's and syncs.

• Morning link: For important meetings that can't wait until Tuesday.

• Flex link: For urgent, critical meetings. Provides full availability, but still protects sacred time blocks.

Set clear boundaries

Communicate your availability clearly. Let your team know when you're in "maker mode" and when you're available for "manager mode". Use your calendar to block off focus time and treat it with the same respect you'd give any other meeting.

This may be hard at first, but gets easier over time. People will respect your boundaries if you also stay true to those boundaries.

People will only respect your boundaries if they see you respecting those boundaries.

Coordinate schedules

Encourage your team to coordinate their schedules, for example agreeing on a specific "no meeting" day. This can help create larger blocks of uninterrupted time for everyone and make respecting boundaries a team effort.

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Remember, taking back your time isn't a one-time event. It's an ongoing practice. You'll need to regularly assess and adjust. But with each step, you're creating more space for the deep, focused work that drives real impact.

The goal isn't to eliminate all meetings or collaborative work. As a product leader, you need to balance maker and manager time. But by taking control of your schedule, you're ensuring that balance is intentional, not accidental.

Step Four: Create Mental Space for Deep Work

Here's a crucial point many product leaders miss: it's not enough to just block off time for deep work. You need to create the mental space for it too.

Switching from manager mode to maker mode isn't like flipping a switch. It takes time for your brain to downshift from the rapid context-switching of management to the deep focus required for maker tasks.

Transitioning Between Modes

Here are some strategies to create that mental space:

• Warm Up: Start your maker time with a 10-15 minute warm-up task. This could be reviewing your notes, doing a quick sketch, or even some free writing. Why is this important? Transitioning to deep work is hard and your mind will resist / procrastinate (“I’ll just check email real quick!”) if you don’t reduce the friction to getting started.

• Manage Your Energy: Schedule your most important maker tasks for when your energy and focus are at their peak.

• Create Transition Rituals: Develop small rituals that signal to your brain it's time to switch modes. This could be as simple as making a cup of tea, taking a short walk, or putting on specific music. There’s a great Flow State playlist on Apple Music that works for me every time.

• Buffer Time: When possible, add 15-30 minutes of buffer time between manager activities and maker activities to give your brain time to switch gears.

Remember, the goal isn't just to have time for deep work — it's to make that time truly productive.

Time management is a journey, not a destination

Mastering the balance between maker time and manager time isn't easy, but it's a crucial skill for today's product leaders. By understanding the different demands of these two modes and implementing strategies to switch between them effectively, you can dramatically increase your productivity and impact.

The exact balance will be different for everyone. Some weeks you might need more maker time, others more manager time. The key is to be intentional about how you structure your time and to create systems that support both modes of work.

Remember, mastering this balance is a journey, not a destination. Be patient with yourself, experiment, and keep refining your approach.

What strategies have you found effective for balancing maker and manager time? I'd love to hear from you!