tl;dr:The following behaviors help engineers avoid the trap of the manager’s schedule. Engineers should be: (1) Defensive of their time. (2) “Pay themselves first” - deciding how to allocate time in advance. (3) Defend the time of others. (4) Clearly designate interrupt-driven work and batch it. (5) Designate low-leverage work, and time-box it. (6) Communicate with candor. (7) Prioritize ruthlessly.