Community Manager’s Schedule: Maker’s Schedule, Manager’s Schedule 2.0
“Community [is] the most valuable form of social capital…being a connector is not about managing transactions, but managing relationships.” — Keith Ferrazzi (Never Eat Alone)
I’ve never been a fan of fluff when it comes to reading, let alone writing. So I’ll do my best to keep this article simple for you, my rockstar Community Managers (CMs).
Quick note: If you want to speed through, scroll down to The Community Manager’s Guidelines. If you want to understand the theory, keep reading.
I’m gonna assume you’re here for one of two reasons. You either want to learn how to become a more effective Community Manager (i.e. doing the thing right) or a more productive Community Manager (i.e doing the right thing).
If I assumed correctly, you’re in the right place.
If not — welp…it be like that sometimes *Kanye shrug* 🤷🏾♀️
Recap of Maker’s Schedule, Manager’s Schedule by Y-Combinator’s Paul Graham (2009)
In 2009, Y-Combinator co-founder Paul Graham wrote about the famous Maker’s Schedule, Manager’s Schedule that explains how to optimize your time based on how you’re characterized professionally.
Makers are considered programmers, writers, or “people who make things;” and Managers are “bosses”, those whose job is to oversee makers (requires tons of meetings).
While the content is still relevant today, a 13-year-long gap does create an opportunity for an updated version — especially when it comes to Community-Building as a go-to-market strategy.
You see — human capital has always been a form of currency.
And with boosts in remote work, life, and play, in addition to the introduction of web3, brands with the strongest (and most loyal) communities will be the ones who survive and thrive.
Soon enough, CM roles will evolve into Chief Community Officers, VPs of Community, Global Directors of Community, and Community-Builders in Residence. Thus, an updated, more relevant lens is required.
As Community Managers, we’re not solely makers nor are we solely managers — we’re both; and that’s why I thought it valuable to write The Community Manager’s Schedule.
Through these insights, my goal is that you not only become a more effective CM, but that you master the art of optimizing your time so as to not burn out before you reach your KPIs.
For the sake of not overloading you, I’ll to break this up into several different sections.
⚠️ Warning: It’s lengthy.
But by putting my thoughts into an organized format, my intention is that you use this over time and refer to it when needed.
Part I of this series will focus on the Theory and Methodology Behind the Community Manager’s Schedule.
In Part II — I’ll teach you how to implement it. Let’s get to it.
Community Managers Demystified: Makers who Manage
One reason why Community-Builders and Managers burn out so quickly is because we are expected to be “on” and in front of people 24/7.
This is a fallacy and it’s harmful.
Publicly-facing, we’re the go-to resources in our respective orgs. And technically, we’re supposed to be — after all, that is the purpose of our job.
But the truth is, being “on” all the time (whether virtually or IRL) is not realistic nor is it sustainable.
In 2009, Paul Graham reminded us that not everyone operates on the same frequency. And this rings especially true for CMs in 2022.
So what do you do when you’re a maker who’s also a manager?
What do you do when your responsibilities include: being a resource, creating content, facilitating intros, meeting with stakeholders, managing a team, and forging genuine relationships that ultimately lead to conversions?
You create your own damn schedule — that’s what.
Secret to the Community Manager’s Schedule: Relearn Boundaries and Priorities
Community has always been in my blood.
Apart from growing up in a tight-knit West Indian family of endless uncles and aunties, playing sports, serving in SGA, and pledging a sorority (shoutout to Z Phi B), over the last five years I’ve:
- Grown one of the largest female-focused communities in Tampa from 0–300 members in less than 3 months.
- Built a global founder network (extending to five continents) of 3,500+ founders in the midst of a pandemic
- Become an X in Residence at Brex (one of the top fintech companies in the world) and am part of a kick-ass team that brings our product to market through Community
- Launched Rezilyent Capital — an angel syndicate that allows for accredited and non-accredited investors to invest in dangerously resilient founders building in Future of Work & Community
I literally live and breathe this sh*t.
But the downside is that through all of this, I’ve burnt myself out. And after doing that, I promised myself I would never get to that point again.
The truth is —Building community requires boundaries that help you protect your time, energy, and mental health.
I’ll assume that at some point, you’re juggling at least half of these weekly:
- Increasing reach by way of social media engagement
- Attending external events and internal meetings
- Back-to-back Zoom or IRL meetings with multiple stakeholders
- Domestic and/or international travel for work
- Planning and executing intimate & large-scale experiences
- Creating content (written, audio, and video) that drives conversions
- Answering hundreds of emails and DMs across multiple platforms
The list goes on.
And on top of all of this, your job, at its core, requires you to:
- Reach (and exceed) KPIs
- Validate assumptions through viable data models
- Develop tech-enabled solutions that grow your community at scale
It was with all of this that I developed the Community Manager’s Schedule Guidelines. Let’s make one thing clear — these guidelines are not for the weak of mind. They were written for those who were serious about become top-performing CMs, who yield top-tiered results.
I understand that everyone’s circumstances are different and that can sometimes be limiting. But you have to decide whether you use your circumstances as an excuse, or whether you figure out a way to make them work in your favor.
This is not a one-size-fits-all prescription, but it damn sure is a start.
Community Manager’s Schedule: 6 Key Guidelines
1. Designate at least one day for uninterrupted work (no meetings)
Uninterrupted, focused work boosts productivity. Period.
No meetings equals no distractions — just you in your element, alone with your creativity. Blocking off time gives you the space to produce your best work (creating content, planning, strategy, etc.) without interruption.
Mondays are my designated no meetings day. It’s an all-day recurring time block in my calendar that I refuse to break with myself unless I absolutely have to. Block this time and do your best to protect it. You’ll be grateful you did.
2. Save calls/meetings for your least productive hours
Same theory: focused time drives results. Having to be everywhere leaves Community Managers with limited time to do the admin side of the job.
Blocking off mornings helps me do my most important things first (meditating, working out, creating, strategizing) and allows me to use my strongest brain power when I am most productive.
Identify your most productive time and block that time off. I avoid scheduling anything or talking to anyone before 1pm. Figure out what works for you.
3. Limit meetings to 2–3 days per week
It is not sustainable for anyone to have back-to-back meetings every day of the week — that’s a sure way to burn out. Before creating the Community Manager’s Schedule, I used to give everyone access to my calendar link and meet with an average of 20 people 4–5 days a week. Nah — not anymore.
Now, I vet people before I give them my link, ask them to fill out a form so that I know the intention of the meeting, and then I send them the link that best fits who they are and how I can help. I can dive deeper into this approach in Part II Executing the Community Manager’s Schedule.
The point is, energy is required to meet with people; and though renewable, energy is a limited resource. When I saw my admin work suffer, I went from 4 days to 3 and from 3 to 2. I designated Tuesdays & Thursdays as my regular meeting days — 1:30pm-5pm with a 30-min walking break.
4. Block off time to prioritize your physical and mental health
Because we pour so much into people (through intros, meetings, dinners) it is pertinent that you, in turn, pour into yourself. Go for a walk or run. Chop it up with your therapist. Get a massage. Do what you have to do.
Do not — I repeat — DO NOT sacrifice your physical and mental health to get work done (telling you from experience). No one benefits if you’re burnt out and exhausted. If your health suffers, your work suffers. If your work suffers, your performance suffers. And if your performance suffers, your entire community suffers. No one wins.
5. Limit social drinking turned consistent raging
Y’all, this is a safe place 😂. I’m telling you this because I’ve been there. The infamous “I’m only gonna have one drink” happy hour can often turn into a 2am rage at E11even, ending in a McDonald’s drive-thru. This is absolutely fine and sometimes is exactly what we need to take the edge off.
However (and it’s a BIG however),
What I’m cautioning against is making it such a habit that it interferes with your work; those consistent mornings where you can’t get up and show up. As a CM, when you make social-drinking-turned-raging a consistent habit (key word consistent) — you risk losing focus.
Don’t get it twisted, I love a good time but when my work starts to dip, that’s a sign I need to make an adjustment.
6. Designate one day of sheer indulgence
This is your day to do what you want to do. Binge watch Netflix. Go to the beach. Do bottomless mimosas with the crew. Eat a fancy dinner. Do something for yourself that rewards you for your hard work.
I love “doing nothing” for one day because traveling months at a time and being visible requires me to be “on”. This is one of the few times during the week where I can just sit, be still, and exist.
Be Flexible: These Are Guidelines — Not Laws
This exact approach may not work for everyone. And that’s okay. I respect that everyone’s lifestyle, environment, and circumstances are different.
But, if you want to be a top-performing CM, I would highly encourage you to be intentional about exploring your own version of the Community Manager’s Schedule, and pinpoint what optimal productivity looks like for you.
Community Managers have an infinite love for what we do, and a finite amount of energy with which we do it.
Although Community is about managing relationships — not transactions, we’re still required to demonstrate that the work we’re doing in the market actually translates to value and results.
Thus, we as Community Managers must create our own schedules and guidelines so that we’re not just “bringing people together” — but being effective and intentional in producing results toward our greater goals.
Go get ’em tiger. You’re gonna kick ass.
Follow me on Twitter @Jeaninesuah for more updates
