As a founder, I’ve learned that my best work rarely happens between back-to-back meetings. It happens in long, quiet stretches when I can think, build, and finish the gnarly projects that never fit inside 30-minute slots. That’s why I try to keep Fridays and Mondays mostly free of appointments—effectively giving myself a four-day “maker’s weekend” for deep work and long-horizon projects.
I’m not alone in this approach, and there’s solid research (and hard-won founder wisdom) to back it up.
The case for long, uninterrupted blocks
Paul Graham’s classic essay “Maker’s Schedule, Manager’s Schedule” is still the cleanest explanation of why scattered meetings tank creative and technical output: a single meeting can “blow a whole afternoon” by slicing the day into fragments too small for meaningful work. Paul Graham
Harvard Business Review has repeatedly documented the cost of meetings: in one study of senior leaders, only 17% said meetings are generally productive; newer research ties the lack of uninterrupted focus time to productivity declines, and estimates that up to one-third of meetings are unnecessary. In short: defending focus isn’t a “nice to have”—it’s operational hygiene. Harvard Business Review+1
Cal Newport (author of Deep Work) argues that meaningful output depends on deliberate, protected focus—and that you often have to “let small bad things happen” to create room for the big, compounding work. I’ve found that giving myself two bookend days without meetings is exactly how those “big, compounding” projects actually ship. Cal Newport
Weekends are already where the work gets done
Entrepreneurs have long “borrowed” weekends for heads-down time. In one well-known small-business survey, 97% of owners reported working weekends at least sometimes, with 40% saying “always” or “often.” More recent founder polling shows the load has only grown: in Techstars’ 2025 global survey, 50% of entrepreneurs said they work 60+ hours/week, and another 31% work 50–59. thealternativeboard.com+1
This pattern mirrors broader knowledge-work trends. Microsoft’s 2025 Work Trend Index notes a rise in after-hours and late-night activity; a significant share of workers now handle weekend emails and late-evening meetings as a way to find quiet, focus time. That may be telling us something: the typical workday is no longer designed for deep work—people go looking for it when the calendar finally goes silent. Microsoft+1
Fewer meetings, better output
If you can’t quite get to a four-day open block, try “no-meeting days.” HBR has practical guidance for establishing one meeting-free day per week, and adoption data from multiple companies suggests it’s a net positive for concentration and throughput (with caveats for highly extroverted roles). The principle is simple: batching “manager-mode” tasks (meetings, quick decisions) and reserving protected windows for “maker-mode” yields better work with less thrash. Harvard Business Review
The gains show up in other time-design experiments, too. Large pilots of shorter workweeks found stable or improved productivity with less burnout—evidence that compressing meetings and protecting focus time scales beyond individual hacks. The UK’s headline four-day week pilot reported reduced stress and burnout and was made permanent by most participants; professional bodies are also tracking rising adoption. The Autonomy Institute+2The Guardian+2
Why I defend Fridays and Mondays
My rationale is straightforward:
- Deep build time: Long projects (strategy docs, product architecture, complex writing, legal drafting) need consecutive hours, not slices. Fridays and Mondays are my “maker’s lodge.” Paul Graham
- Context switching is the real tax: Every meeting forces a reload. Fewer meetings clustered mid-week keep the reload tax from compounding. Harvard Business Review
- Throughput over theater: Entrepreneurs lose ~96 minutes/day to unproductive tasks and tool-hopping. Protecting two days helps me claw that time back and apply it to leverage work. Salesforce
- Energy and recovery: A four-day “maker’s weekend” gives me room for both deep work and life, which keeps my motivation and creative stamina high—consistent with what shorter-week pilots report at scale. The Autonomy Institute+1
Lessons in Focus From Astrophysics
When I went back to school many years ago, as an astrophysics major with an aerospace engineering minor, I learned quickly that excelling in highly technical, concentration-heavy fields required long, uninterrupted study blocks. At community college, I rarely had Friday classes, and had a 7 hour break between my Monday classes. After transferring to UC San Diego, and being mistakenly placed in a physics course I’d already aced, I added into engineering thermodynamics, and caught up on two weeks of material in a weekend. This drove home just how much can be accomplished in long, protected stretches.
That habit stuck with me—and today, as a founder, I protect Fridays and Mondays to recreate that deep-focus zone. My astronomy background translates into a night owl body clock: with meetings done by 6 p.m., I often work until 3 a.m. That late-night window gives me the same uninterrupted energy I first tapped into years ago.
My experience echoed what thinkers like Paul Graham (Maker’s Schedule, Manager’s Schedule) and Cal Newport (Deep Work) have written: highly analytical work demands long, uninterrupted stretches of time. It’s not just a productivity hack — it’s the foundation for excelling in technical and creative fields alike.
How to try this without blowing up your calendar
- Block the time first. Put recurring holds on Fridays and Mondays for 6–8 weeks. Treat them as real commitments.
- Cluster meetings Tue–Thu. Batch 1:1s, external calls, and internal standups.
- Create a “fast lane.” For truly urgent needs, keep one short daily slot (e.g., 2:30–3:00 p.m. Tue–Thu). Everything else queues. HBR and Microsoft data both suggest you’ll recover high-quality focus time immediately. Harvard Business Review+1
- Publish the rules. Share a one-pager: what “counts” as urgent, how to reach you, when you’ll respond.
- Measure output, not hours. Track shipped artifacts (features, documents, campaigns) and cycle time. If output rises and stress falls, you’re on the right track. The Autonomy Institute
A closing thought
Entrepreneurship rewards consistent, compounding output—not heroic calendar Tetris. The research is clear: meetings are expensive, focus time is scarce, and long, uninterrupted blocks create outsized value. Designing your week to include a four-day “maker’s weekend” is one practical way to move from reactive busyness to proactive building.
If you’ve tested a similar schedule, I’d love to hear your patterns and pitfalls. What helped you defend the time—and what did you stop doing?
Sources & further reading
- Paul Graham, “Maker’s Schedule, Manager’s Schedule.” Meetings fragment time and crush maker output. Paul Graham
- Harvard Business Review: Stop the Meeting Madness (only 17% of meetings productive) and Hybrid Work Has Changed Meetings Forever (up to one-third unnecessary; focus time is scarce). Harvard Business Review+1
- Techstars, Pulse of the Entrepreneur (2025): 50% work 60+ hours/week; 31% work 50–59. Techstars
- The Alternative Board (survey): 97% of small-business owners work weekends at least sometimes. thealternativeboard.com
- Microsoft Work Trend Index (2025): after-hours/late-night work and weekend activity are rising. Microsoft+1
- Autonomy & UK four-day week pilot results; Guardian coverage on firms making it permanent. The Autonomy Institute+1
- APA Monitor (2025): 4-day workweek adoption is growing among employers. American Psychological Association
- Cal Newport (Deep Work concepts & practice). Cal Newport
- Salesforce/Slack small-business productivity trends: ~96 minutes/day lost to unproductive tasks. Salesforce