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Fifteen years ago, Paul Graham of startup accelerator Y Combinator published his essay “The Creator's Time, the Manager's Program” which describes the different ways computer programmers and bosses use time. Those in the creative role — including Graham, a programmer himself — “prefer to use time in units of half a day at least” because they “can't write or program well in units of an hour,” he explained.
In contrast, managers have multiple meetings, so “by default you change what you're doing every hour.”
The patterns are still true. As president and CEO of Market circlea software company specializing in CRM solutions, I've seen creatives I hire excel when given long stretches to create and think while managers thrive, shuffling through meetings and issues.
Where do I fit in? Although I am also a programmer, as the head of my company, I have to spend time not only producing for my business (in creator mode), but also running his day-to-day business (in manager mode). If you are also a small business owner and operator, perhaps you can relate.
Context switching is taxingbut when done on purpose, it can drive business growth. Here are three reasons why.
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Do what you want, but better
Some say, “Do what you love and you'll never work a day in your life.” This joke is rarely true for owner-operators. Yes, most of us love our business, but securing it continues to generate value it's hard work – and i love it. To maintain momentum, we need to regularly switch between creator and manager modes, while accepting that we won't necessarily feel at home in either.
Over the years, I've noticed how many CEOs and founding presidents get stuck in creator mode. After all, we created our business on the premise of selling something we are passionate about making or offering. Not only has the manufacturing process proven profitable enough to start with, but it's our personal comfort zone. So, of course, it is right to feed our passion by working IN the business.
Opening a company ipso facto means that we are working IN the business. However, we also need to find time, space and long term vision to do work IN the business. This includes accounting, bookkeeping, performance reviews, hiring and firing, among other administrative activities that creatives may not necessarily be good at, but are necessary. Performing these management tasks allows us to refine processes and strategize future directions that enable improvements and innovations for the next project or the next client. This is exactly what leads to a better business.
Fine-tune your time management
Do you set aside certain times of the day for certain activities? EVER diary before the start of the working day? Are you a member of an entrepreneur group? Even if you don't label your schedule as a creative versus a manager, there's a good chance you instinctively use such categories.
Answering yes to the above questions myself, I can confirm that such methods are a demanding function for managing time between business and business work. Time blocking, for example, ensures that before a new launch, the maker in me has an uninterrupted window to fix bugs and update documentation. method empowers equally the president in me to assess how the business is doing and next steps, whether I achieve this through self-reflection or discussion with colleagues.
That said, time spent one way versus another is rarely 50/50. In fact, the relationship is itself dynamic, requiring constant tuning. In the early days of the company or during a pivotal period, we are likely to devote most of our hours to production. But as the organization grows its staff, there are simply more people and projects to lead – so the two hours we used to spend working on the business each week may have to multiply into two afternoons.
Prevent burning, create elasticity
As a small business owner, it's easy to become overworked. Some research shows that entrepreneurs are more susceptible to burnoutwhile other studies suggest we may have integrated protection against him with all the work. Either way, we want to get rid of the feeling of doing the same thing over and over with no time to breathe.
An antidote to burnout is to embrace the dual mindsets that come with being an owner-operator. In my experience, the very act of shape-shifting between creator and manager responsibilities allows me to blow off steam. This puts me in a healthier state of mind, which builds resilience when I hit a plateau and am tempted to stay in one area to avoid the pain of another.
Furthermore, each role informs the other. When I produce, I sometimes get too focused on recurring problems, so I can't see the forest for the trees. Manager mode lets me zoom in, reminding me of that bigger goals My work contributes and gives me ideas to avoid snafus. Conversely, sometimes I get carried away with the vision and worry about the what-ifs. Creator mode puts me back in touch with concrete solutions to expand profits and prospects.
Context switching is an inevitable part of a small business owner's job. Sometimes, we do it several times a day, or as the company becomes more sophisticated, we may alternate the schedules every few weeks. Regardless, being intentional about when, why, and how we engage with our maker mode and manager mode can help us achieve personal resilience and business growth.