12 Proven Tactics to Protect Your Craft Time
12 Proven Tactics to Protect Your Craft Time
Free up your calendar to do deep work with these tactics from my 10+ years in tech
Dear subscribers,
Today, I want to share 12 tactics to protect your craft time and free up your calendar.
Uninterrupted craft time is a precious resource for all of us to do deep work and get stuff done. So here’s my extremely tactical guide on:
How to collaborate async
How to run better meetings
I’ve seen so many people waste their time and everyone else’s by not using the tactics below. Let’s dive in.
Five tactics to collaborate async
1. Use one doc and channel per project (avoid DMs)
Instead of playing telephone with DMs, use threads in the main project channel to discuss:
Start threads with a clear title, description, and stakeholders tagged.
Close threads with takeaways, next steps, and owners.
Only schedule a meeting if you can’t align after 20+ comments in a thread.
Avoid DMs and one-off conversations.
2. When tagging a new person in a thread, give context
Don’t force them to read 20+ comments to understand what’s happening. Provide context and explain what you need (e.g., FYI or decision) when tagging them.
3. Keep your docs short and start with the tl:dr
Don’t make people dig through pages of methodology to get to the tl:dr. Instead, start with the takeaway and keep your docs to 1-2 pages.
Think about what your audience cares about and start with that. For example, consider starting with why this project matters to users.
Provide a recommendation instead of just presenting options.
Use the rule of 3 – have three takeaways or supporting points vs. a laundry list.
4. Make your docs editable and skimmable
Do some basic formatting to make your docs easier to read before sharing them:
Open edit access to all unless there’s a good reason not to.
Make your Google Doc pageless (page setup → pageless).
Use clear headers and numbered lists for easy skimming.
5. Use AI to make your async communication more concise
Using AI to make your wall of text more “clear and concise” can make a huge difference. A simple prompt is:
I want you to edit my writing. I'll share an excerpt with you next to edit as follows:
- Make it more clear and try to reduce the number of words
- Use simple words
- Give me three variations
- If the excerpt has numbered or bulleted lists, keep the same list format but make each bullet more concise
Seven tactics to run better meetings
1. Discuss async first to decide if a meeting is even needed
Start an async thread in the project channel and tag relevant stakeholders. Only schedule a meeting if you can’t align async (e.g. if a thread has 20+ comments).
Don’t default to meetings!
2. Invite only the decision maker and a few stakeholders
It’s hard to make a decision when there are 10+ people in a meeting. Only invite people you think will contribute to the discussion (vs. listen in) – you can always update others async afterward.
3. Share the agenda and docs before the meeting
It sucks to get a meeting with no agenda and to try to build context and contribute to the discussion at the same time. Instead: