Making time: Space to think, build, and create

When I started my career at IBM just over 25 years ago, the company had a cultural gem called Think Fridays. The name played on IBM’s long-time motto, “Think,” a word Thomas Watson Sr cherished as the essence of curiosity and invention. Every Friday, engineers like me were encouraged to step back from our day-to-day tasks — to think, tinker, and explore new ideas.

Those Fridays changed my career. I spent hours sketching concepts, writing invention disclosures, and collaborating on ideas that led to more than 75 patents for IBM and several open source projects. Some of that work went on to influence technologies you probably use every day — including the QWERsive and Swype-style keyboards that many of us use on our mobile devices.

Later, at Google, I experienced another version of this philosophy: Google’s famous 20% Time. Engineers and product managers could devote a fifth of their week to passion projects — creative explorations that weren’t tied to immediate deliverables. That freedom gave rise to iconic products like Gmail and AdSense, and it fueled a culture where innovation wasn’t an accident — it was an opportunity every engineer had to direct their own creativity.

Here at Chainguard, we’ve rolled out our own version of that creative breathing room. We call it “Making Time.” We’re already seeing the impact of giving our team this space, so I wanted to share our approach with the community. 

What “Making Time” means

The phrase is a deliberate double entendre: we’re both creating the time — making the space for deep, self-directed work — and making things during that time.

“Making Time” at Chainguard is a lightly structured, self-directed program for engineers to work on strategic, impactful ideas outside of our immediate product roadmap. It’s not a break from responsibility — it’s a tool for focus. Whether that means prototyping a new feature, paying down technical debt, reviewing design docs, or mentoring a teammate, the goal is the same: to invest time in activities that strengthen our long-term engineering foundation.

We’ve intentionally scaled the program to match experience and impact. Senior engineers get more “Making Time” because they’re expected to use it to move bigger levers — to build prototypes that evolve into products, to identify systemic improvements, to shape our technical direction. And yes, that time is protected. It’s accounted for in our GitHub planning cycles, so it’s not something squeezed into nights or weekends.

This is one way we’re making good on a belief we hold deeply at Chainguard: earned autonomy is a cornerstone of senior technical leadership.

A culture of building

We’re small compared to IBM or Google, but we value engineering-directed innovation just as much. Our scale gives us an advantage — ideas can move faster from prototype to production, and every engineer can see their impact ripple across the company.

One great example? Our recent introduction of zero-CVE Raspberry Pi Images. That project was born from a couple of engineers using their “Making Time” to explore something they were curious about: could we deliver a truly minimal, secure, zero-known-vulnerability image for Raspberry Pi devices? The answer turned out to be yes — and that side exploration turned into something that’s now part of our public story and our product DNA.

And that’s the point: Making Time isn’t about permission to play — it’s about creating the conditions where curiosity, craftsmanship, and creativity can thrive.

Why it matters

Our recent Engineering Reality report revealed that although 93% of engineers find writing code and building new features to be rewarding, they only spend around 16% of their week on this type of work. 38% of our 1200 respondents cited tedious tasks, another 38% called out code maintenance, and 66% said technical debt slows delivery and impacts morale. These findings highlight a growing disconnect between what engineers value most and how their time is actually spent — a gap that leaders can and should close by protecting time for creative, high-impact work.

Because when engineers have the space to think and create, everyone wins. We get better-reviewed designs, smarter prototypes, and healthier, happier teams. Innovation isn’t a side effect of overwork — it’s a product of intention.

We’re already seeing the early benefits: stronger collaboration, better technical discussions, and a sense of momentum that comes from building things we’re genuinely excited about.

For me, “Making Time” is a bridge between the best parts of IBM’s Think Fridays and Google’s 20% Time — reimagined for a modern, high-velocity, open source-focused company like Chainguard. It’s how we keep the creative flame alive while continuing to deliver at the pace our customers expect.

Making time is how we make progress

We’re using this program not just to innovate but also to attract and retain engineers who thrive on autonomy and creativity — the ones who want to build what’s next, not just what’s assigned.

Because in the end, the best engineers don’t just find time to build cool things. They make it.

Does this sound like you? If so, check out our open roles and reach out. And if you’ve rolled out similar programs at your organization, drop your advice or highlights in the comments below. 

Here’s to making time! 

Dustin Kirkland, SVP of Engineering, Chainguard

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