Make Before You Manage
On creative time, admin tasks, and why boredom is good for you
The more I build my podcast, the more small tasks pop up. Creating social accounts, making clips, guest outreach, scheduling interviews, writing descriptions, booking studios. Then add all the usual life admin: answering messages, paying bills, scheduling that doctor’s appointment I’ve been meaning to make for weeks. Suddenly, the carefully carved-out morning “creative work” block in the calendar is… gone.
That was my morning routine for months. Block out time before work for the podcast, then watch it disappear into a black hole of admin tasks.
A few weeks ago I was listening to Tim Ferriss interview Brandon Sanderson when I heard him say "make before you manage." It’s super obvious but it has changed everything for me: always put your maker time before anything else.
First thing in the morning, make it the priority to move ahead creatively by one millimetre. For me, that means writing or editing the podcast. No emails, no booking appointments, just working on one small creative task for 10 minutes before the rest of the day starts.
The key is making creative-time intentional and non-negotiable, and I've found there's a huge psychological impact to keeping things moving even slightly.
Your creative work deserves your best energy, not whatever's left over after you've managed everything else.
It’s a very small change, but it’s been hugely impactful for me. So if you’re reading this first thing in the morning, I hope you close it and go do something creative!
On the pod
If you missed it, last week's episode with Toni Finnimore is about what happens when you stop trying to fix things from the inside and go build something better instead.
Coming next week is a chat I had with filmmaker Michael Box on why having ADHD might actually be a creative superpower, and how he makes indie films while working full-time and raising kids. Excited to share it soon!
Worth your time
📖 Maker's Schedule, Manager's Schedule — The original essay that you may already know, by Paul Graham. This is what inspired Tim’s Make before you manage slogan.
🗞️ Smart People Don’t Chase Goals; They Create Limits — Why constraints shape better lives than goals - work within carefully chosen limits rather than toward brittle predictions about the future.
📱 Why Everything is Making You Feel Bored — Really like this video from Johnny Harris explaining why boredom is pain we try to numb with phones, and how embracing it leads to more purposeful, creative life.
🎧 Mental Models for Complexity - I randomly stumbled across this podcast episode with Scott Page where he dives into mental models, what they are, and how they can help us navigate complexity. I’d never heard of the “Wisdom Hierarchy” before.