The 10 Most Valuable Ways to Spend Your Time as a Product Manager
Learn how I spend my time as a PM for maximum productivity and well-being
Like most PMs, my days are busy with a lot of work to do.
It can be hard to focus and work on what matters.
For this reason, I do a time audit on a regular basis to remind myself to focus on the right things.
This article is a list of the 10 things I try to spend my time on as a PM.
1. Start your day with intention
Whenever possible, I try not to open Slack or email when I begin my work day. I sit down with a pen and paper and write down my top three priorities of the day.
Then, I choose the most important one and try to complete it as early in the day as possible.
This means no matter what happens the rest of the day, I know I’ve accomplished my #1 priority.
2. Spend less time in meetings
This is one of the hardest things to do.
PMs have a lot of meetings to attend to. It’s the main way most teams communicate (besides Slack of course).
Every Friday, I look at my calendar for the next week and I try to decline or cancel as many meetings as possible.
If there is a meeting without an agenda, I’ll ask the organizer what the meeting is for before I decline or accept it. If it is something we can discuss via email or Slack, I'll start a thread and decline th meeting.
The point here is to protect your calendar at all costs. You have to learn to say NO.
3. Spend time with your users
One of my favorite things to do is to read app reviews (even the negative ones).
It’s critical to keep tabs on customer feedback regularly. This includes app reviews, survey results, and support tickets.
If you work at a small company and can talk to your customers directly, that’s even better.
Spending time with customer feedback is always a great use of your time. PMs are the voice of the customer after all!
4. Spend time looking at data and insights
Another important thing to spend time on is data. Besides customer feedback, data will tell you how your product is doing.
I’m lucky to work at a data-driven organization where access to data and insights is quite easy.
Our amazing Data Analytics team hosts weekly KPI review sessions. They are the most important meetings of the week.
5. Spend time with your products
One of the reasons I like to work on products I’m passionate about is because I know it is important to use them.
Make sure to spend a lot of time using your products and those of your competitors.
Doing so will help you build more empathy toward your customers and improve your domain knowledge.
6. Spend time with people
It’s also important to spend time with your manager, peers, and cross-functional teammates.
If you are a manager, do your best not to cancel your regular 1-1s with your direct reports.
If you report to someone, use your 1-1 with them wisely. Tell them how things are going, what you need help with, and where you want your career to go. You should not use them for status updates (Slack is good for that).
Also, remember to spend time with your cross-functional peers and get to know them as people.
Building great relationships with your partners will help you become more successful.
7. Spend time alone
I love taking walks alone in nature as often as I can. It’s my chance to unplug and let my mind relax.
I’ll usually listen to a podcast or music but walking in silence is actually underrated (and often hard to do).
8. Spend time learning, doing, and thinking
Block time in your calendar for learning.
This can be for your job or personal interests.
Earlier this year, I identified a couple of weaknesses I wanted to turn into strengths.
One of them is writing so this newsletter is my vehicle to learn how to write better.
9. Spend time with your family
I don’t think it needs to be said but make sure this is one of if not your number one priority.
10. And finally, take care of yourself!
Spend time and money to improve and take care of yourself.
Besides my regular walks, I block time for the gym, vacations, staycations, and to just relax.
In Summary
Everyone knows time is a non-renewable resource yet most of us waste it.
Remind yourself to audit your time regularly and make sure it’s spent on the right priorities.
If things get hectic and you go off the track, it’s fine.
Time management is not a one time exercise. It’s an ongoing habit.
Action Steps
Every day, outline the top 3 priorities or tasks of the day. Focus on completing the most critical one before getting distracted by other people’s priorities.
Review your calendar every Friday and minimize meetings as much as possible.
Schedule regular 1-1s with your manager, colleagues, and cross-functional peers.
Block time every week to review:
Customer feedback
Data Analytics
Reports or UXR studies
Did you find these tips helpful? I’d love to hear about how you spend your time.
Send me an email. I reply to everyone.
See you next week!
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