Carolina de Arriba

You're just communicating how you work best.

Most managers, good managers at least, will respect that if you're clear and confident about it.

Because good managers want you operating at your highest level, and they know that that requires focused time.

Step number three, when they want to schedule something, offer alternatives proactively.

When your manager comes to you and says, can we meet Tuesday at 10?

And that falls right in the middle of your genius zone work time.

Don't just say, I'm not available.

Say, I'm not available Tuesday morning.

That's my focus time, but I completely open Tuesday afternoon or Thursday morning.

What works better for you?

You're still being helpful, you're still collaborating, you're still available, but you're protecting your time at the same time.

Then step number four, after a month, point to the results.

Once you've been protecting your focus time for a few weeks, connect it with the outcomes.

In your next one-on-one, mention something like, since I started protecting my Tuesdays and Thursday mornings for deep work, I've been able to complete whatever project or specific outcome.

It's really helped my productivity and the quality of my work.

When your manager sees the tangible value, they're going to be more likely to continue to support you.

and be more respectful of that time that you're blocking.

Now, here's the hard truth that I need to tell you.

If you do all of this, you have the conversation, you're clear about your boundaries, you offer alternatives, you demonstrate the value, and your manager stills consistently disrespect your focus time, that is not a calendar problem.

That's a manager problem.