Strategies for Managing Meetings and Maximizing Output

From: alexhormozi

Productivity is defined as the amount of money gained for the time invested [00:00:00]. An individual’s success can be significantly impacted by how effectively they invest their time [00:09:00]. Maximizing returns on time investment is crucial for success, especially in business [01:05:00].

Understanding Work Schedules: Manager vs. Maker

There are two primary types of work schedules that entrepreneurs and professionals often adopt: the Manager Schedule and the Maker Schedule [01:11:00]. Individuals may switch between these roles throughout their day or week [01:13:00].

The Manager Schedule

The Manager Schedule is characterized by dividing time into many small chunks, often 20 or more per day, ranging from 5 to 90 minutes [01:30:00]. For managers, an empty time slot is considered a lost opportunity, representing time that did not yield a return on investment [01:43:00]. They treat time as a currency, with the primary cost being coordination with others’ calendars [01:51:00].

Managers engage in various tasks throughout the day, including collecting and reporting data, persuading, leading, training, encouraging, and making decisions in one-on-one or group settings [02:17:00]. Their day typically starts with meeting preparation and ends with their last meeting, meaning the duration of their day is directly proportional to the duration of their meetings [02:32:00]. The main objective for a manager is to use up all available time chunks to maximize their time investment, with a fully booked day indicating maximum productivity [02:55:00].

The Maker Schedule

The Maker Schedule is utilized by creators, entrepreneurs, and individuals who build “big things” and require deep work to achieve high returns on their time [03:13:00]. This schedule is dedicated to tasks that are crucial for long-term progress, often referred to as “deep work” [03:37:00]. Examples include developing software, editing videos, or writing books [04:15:00]. These tasks create something new that did not exist before [04:34:00].

Unlike managers, makers require a few large, uninterrupted chunks of time (e.g., 4-6 hours) [04:51:00]. Interruptions, such as a short meeting, can disrupt an entire block of work, making it difficult to re-enter a state of flow [05:01:00]. The Zeigarnik effect, where open loops like upcoming meetings consume mental energy, further hinders a maker’s ability to focus and create [05:17:00].

For makers, their output is the tangible “stuff” they build, rather than decisions or coordination [05:44:00]. They work on projects that cannot be completed in short increments, often lasting weeks or months [05:56:00]. Makers typically have a set start time but variable end times, working “open to goal” to maximize their flow state [06:06:00]. An empty time slot for a maker is not a lost opportunity but the opportunity for significant returns [07:48:00]. An empty calendar signifies a maximally productive day for a maker [08:14:00].

The Conflict Between Schedules

The fundamental problem arises when managers and makers need to interact [08:48:00]. Managers often assume makers can work on demand, viewing an empty calendar as a lack of work [09:06:00]. While a short meeting costs a manager one unit of their many daily work units, it can cost a maker an entire work block, or even their whole day, if the topic is sensitive [09:28:00]. This means a manager’s productivity gain can destroy a maker’s productivity [07:15:00].

When makers consistently find their time disrupted by meetings, they may feel their time was spent without any meaningful return [07:21:00]. This cycle can prevent businesses from growing and entrepreneurs from advancing, leading to stagnation [07:32:00]. Managers checking in on makers can inadvertently prevent the work they are trying to monitor [10:09:00].

Makers face a dilemma: refusing a meeting can offend the manager and damage relationships, while accepting it can destroy half their day [11:10:00]. Often, these impromptu meetings lack a clear agenda or plan, yielding little value for the maker’s lost time [11:42:00]. Ruthlessness with time is a key predictor of success, allowing makers to maintain progress and ensure future opportunities remain available [12:37:00].

Solutions for Managers

Managers can adopt a three-pronged approach to better manage meetings and maximize output across their teams [15:30:00].

1. Understand the Costs to the Maker

• Dual Disruption: Recognize that engaging a maker costs twice: first, during coordination, and second, during the meeting itself [16:00:00].
• Work Block Impact: Understand that a meeting consumes an entire maker’s work block, costing them significantly more (e.g., 1 of 10 weekly slots vs. 1 of 100+ daily slots for a manager) [16:20:00].
• Prioritize Urgency: Only schedule impromptu or ad hoc meetings if truly necessary and urgent; otherwise, defer to scheduled communication cadences [16:42:00].

2. Value a Maker’s “No”

• Avoid Offense: If a maker declines a meeting, do not take offense [17:12:00].
• Support Commitment: View their refusal as a commitment to getting crucial work done for the company and other stakeholders [17:15:00].
• Strategic Meetings: If a maker’s insight is truly vital, clearly communicate the meeting’s importance and give them time to prepare [17:41:00].

3. Ask Your Team for Ideal Days

• Collaborate on Structure: Inquire what an ideal, maximally productive day or weekly calendar looks like for your team members [17:52:00].
• Implement Preferences: Follow their suggestions to the greatest extent possible, such as batching all meetings on specific days to free up other days for deep work [18:01:00].
• Decouple Work: Recognize that not all work needs to be done simultaneously; focus on deadlines and overall completion [18:51:00].

Solutions for Makers

Makers also have a responsibility to manage their time effectively and communicate their needs [19:10:00].

1. Communicate Your Work Style

• Educate Managers: Inform managers about how you work, sharing resources like this content to help them understand the maker schedule [19:14:00].
• Strategic Flexibility: Accept that some meetings are unavoidable and part of team collaboration [19:24:00].
• Adopt Manager Schedule when Interrupted: If a meeting interrupts a large block, switch to a temporary manager schedule for that period. Use the disrupted time to knock out other ad hoc meetings [19:43:00]. The goal is to align your calendar with the nature of the work, not to identify as one type over the other [20:10:00].

2. Establish Standard Meeting Times

• Designate Meeting Blocks: Propose specific days or afternoons (e.g., Monday and Thursday afternoons) when you are available for meetings [20:30:00].
• Push Non-Urgent Meetings: Encourage others to schedule non-urgent meetings within these designated blocks [20:53:00]. This increases efficiency organization-wide [20:50:00].
• Allow for Ad Hoc: Leave some empty time slots within these designated meeting periods for inevitable impromptu requests [21:07:00].

3. Communicate Response Times

• Set Expectations: Inform colleagues and clients when you will be slow to respond, particularly during your maker blocks [24:54:00].
• Prevent Misunderstandings: People typically get upset due to unmet expectations; clearly communicating your availability prevents questions about your work ethic [25:04:00].
• Be Responsive When Promised: If you designate time for responsiveness, ensure you are indeed responsive during that period [25:21:00].

4. Deliver on Your Work

• Respect the Time Given: If your time is respected, make sure you use your maker blocks productively [25:34:00].
• Build Trust: Failing to work when you have uninterrupted time confirms managers’ suspicions that you are not being productive [25:39:00].

Evolution of a Maker’s Schedule (Personal Example)

The speaker shares their journey through different phases of managing maker time:

• V1 (Early Days): Working nights, weekends, and early mornings for maker time, while managing fires during regular business hours [21:21:00]. This was essential for building systems and assets when time wasn’t highly valued externally [22:04:00]. This involves working “double” – the current job for income and the next job to escape the current one [24:04:00].
• V2 (Intermediate): A 50/50 split, with the first half of the day dedicated to maker work and the second half to manager tasks [24:16:00]. Meetings are scheduled from back-to-front (e.g., 5 PM to 4 PM, then 4 PM to 3:30 PM) to preserve the largest possible uninterrupted morning block [23:03:00].
• V3 (Current): Dedicating entire days to maker work (e.g., 2-4 days a week) and stacking all meetings, introductions, and coordination tasks into a single “manager day” [24:25:00]. This ensures that manager days are maximally productive for meetings, without the expectation of deep work [24:46:00].

Recognizing Personal Work Cycles

Makers should assess their energy levels. On days when creativity is low, it might be more productive to schedule meetings, as deep work might not happen anyway [28:34:00]. Conversely, on highly productive days, it’s worth rescheduling meetings to maximize creative output [28:48:00]. Most people are understanding if you communicate you are “in the middle of something” [29:03:00].

Organizational Strategies

For organizations, integrating these principles requires a systemic approach to foster a culture that respects both work styles [26:19:00].

1. Implement Mandated Quiet Time

• Designated Periods: Establish specific times, either daily or certain days of the week (e.g., Wednesdays), where entire teams cannot message or meet [26:45:00].
• Targeted Application: This quiet time should specifically apply to teams with makers (e.g., engineers, developers, copywriters, editors, writers, presenters) who require intense, uninterrupted work [27:11:00].
• Remote Work Consideration: In remote environments, where visual cues of work are absent, quiet times become even more important to signal and protect deep work, as constant slack messages can be highly disruptive [27:29:00].

2. Foster Trust and Measure Output

• Extend Trust: Managers must extend trust to remote makers, allowing them to work independently for longer periods toward deadlines [28:18:00].
• Focus on Deliverables: Measure productivity based on output rather than perceived “busyness” or immediate responsiveness [28:21:00].
• Address Missed Deadlines: If deadlines are missed, openly discuss the reasons, which may involve personal challenges [29:22:00].

3. Explicitly State Your Role

• “Wearing Hats”: Leaders and entrepreneurs should clearly communicate whether they are operating in “maker hat” or “manager hat” mode [29:40:00]. This mental cue helps set expectations for team members and defines the rules of engagement for that period [29:52:00].

4. Audit and Eliminate Meetings

• Relinquish Control: As an entrepreneur grows, they must learn to relinquish control to gain freedom, extending trust to others while setting guardrails and measuring outputs [32:51:00].
• Post-Meeting Audit: After every meeting, ask two questions:
  • Does this meeting need to occur again? [33:37:00]
  • Can someone else or a system eliminate the need for this meeting? [33:44:00]
• Quarterly Review: Conduct quarterly reviews of all recurring meetings to identify opportunities for combining, eliminating, or reducing attendance [34:01:00].
• Cost of Meetings: Recognize the high financial cost of meetings (e.g., a 10-person, 1-hour call at $50/hourperpersoncosts$500), which is often overlooked but significantly impacts business profits [34:42:00].
• Empower Disengagement: Create a culture where employees feel comfortable leaving a meeting if they are not adding or gaining value [34:31:00].

5. Standardize Language and Distribute Information

• Shared Lexicon: Spread content and promote a shared understanding of maker and manager schedules throughout the organization [35:34:00]. This common language helps identify and prevent waste [35:40:00].
• Competitive Advantage: Organizations that effectively manage these different working styles will achieve higher returns on human capital, resulting in happier, more engaged employees, increased output, and higher quality work, providing a competitive edge [35:50:00].
• Reduce Maker Meetings: Actively work to remove makers from meetings, and managers should also be absent from meetings where they are not essential [36:13:00].

By understanding and implementing these strategies, organizations can significantly improve time management and maximize work output, leading to greater success and employee satisfaction [36:05:00].