Article · Long-form newsletter post

Time management techniques that actually work

Lenny Rachitsky · Lenny's Newsletter Freemium Intermediate

A collection of what founders and operators actually do to protect time, including treating the calendar as a strategy document and blocking the important work before the week fills up. You will find specific, copyable rhythms like mornings for building and afternoons for calls. Concrete enough to redesign your own week the same day you read it.

  • Block the work that matters before meetings claim the calendar
  • Separate days or halves into build time versus reactive time
  • Audit recurring commitments and kill the ones with no reason to exist

The question it answers

  1. How do I keep shipping weekly when I am building solo and constantly interrupted by support, sales, and admin?

Read with it

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  3. Basecamp's battle-tested, opinionated system for shipping meaningful work in fixed cycles without endless backlogs, a primary... Basecamp / 37signals Book · free online book Shape Up: Stop Running in Circles and Ship Work that Matters Ryan Singer
  4. A punchy, contrarian classic on building a lean, sane, profitable company from the founders of Basecamp. It's the antidote to... 37signals Book · ~288 pages Rework Jason Fried & David Heinemeier Hansson
  5. The definitive manifesto for building a 'calm company', remote-friendly, sustainable, and free of chronic overwork, from a team... 37signals Book · ~232 pages It Doesn't Have to Be Crazy at Work Jason Fried & David Heinemeier Hansson
  6. The essay that explains why one badly-placed meeting can destroy a founder's entire day of building, and what to do about it.... paulgraham.com Article · short Maker's Schedule, Manager's Schedule Paul Graham
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