Focused work

For a little over a year I have been shifting from a maker’s schedule to a manager’s schedule.

Where I was once only a doer, spending my time making, I have pushed my way into higher level discussions.

This means more recurring and spur-of-the-moment meetings throughout my days. This means more chaotic days but also more opportunities to expose my opinions and influence the business.

But, I am not a manager. My predominate role is still that of a maker. My company expects, and needs, me to produce work at the same rate as I was before.

While I have enjoyed the increased responsibility it has not come without loss in productivity.

I’m seeking to get that back, while maintaining some exposure to the business I have enjoyed.

What I going to experiment with, and it’s not exactly original, is blocking off chunks of my day to do focused work.

For each day of the week, I have set a meeting with myself from 1:00–5:00. I’ll get a notification when it’s go time. I’ll put on my headphones, put on some soft but engaging music, and get to work.

I’m going to leave the mornings open for meetings and conversations. If I’m needed to weigh in, this will be the time to do it. Once lunchtime comes I’m going to transition from a manager schedule to a maker’s schedule.

Time will tell if this is enough. It’ll take some learning on my part on how to focus again as well as on others to leave me alone during this time.

My expectation is a boost in productivity and focus, big gains in my skills, and more value delivered to our customers.