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Be A MAKER In The Morning …

For Impact Ideas | | Tom Suddes

I finished THE ONE THING over the weekend and author Gary Keller provided this wonderful nugget that will help make me much more productive:

    Be a MAKER in the morning …
    And a MANAGER in the afternoon.

Keller mentioned an essay Paul Graham wrote in 2009 called ‘Maker’s Schedule, Manager’s Schedule’. Paul Graham is one of the Founders of Y Combinator, and a very contrarian thinker and doer.

This might not effect you the way it did me, but Graham (and Keller) make a really big deal about taking the most productive time of the day (which for most of us is usually in the morning) and devoting it to MAKING stuff.

That could be thinking, creating, writing, business development, sales, etc.

Then, schedule all of your MANAGEMENT stuff (meetings, etc.) in the afternoon.

This is now going to be the third part of my productivity plan.

    1. “MANAGE YOUR ENERGY, NOT YOUR TIME.” Jim Loehr wrote this. It’s the guts of his amazing book, THE POWER OF FULL ENGAGEMENT. It changed my entire thinking from to do lists and filling up the day … to ensuring that I had the maximum energy when I need to do something BIG.
    2. FOCUS DAYS/BUFFER DAYS/FREE DAYS. I can’t remember where I actually got this. I know it was more than 25 years ago. I think it was a Canadian speaker. Talked about FOCUS DAYS and BUFFER DAYS and FREE DAYS.
    FOCUS DAYS are exactly that. Full energy. A command performance (a speech or a big sales call or a major presentation) or just a commitment to FOCUS on The One Thing .
    BUFFER DAYS are meant to be for prep or follow-up. I treat buffer days as days to get stuff done that has to get done.
    FREE DAYS are exactly that … FREE! It resonates a lot more today than it did 25 years ago. Having an actual day that is FREE of work is worth its weight it Bitcoins.
    3. BE A MAKER IN THE MORNING. I know this works for me. I just haven’t stated it as such. Will do my best to be a MAKER in the MORNING.