Panel discussion on time management for product managers (sponsored by Heap)
Heap organized this panel discussion on time management and prioritization for product professionals. I joined Heap Senior PMs Connie Yuan and Josh Roberts to share insights about developing greater balance and efficiency. We also touched on transitioning from individual contributors to people managers, and suggestions on how to navigate that change.
Highlights:
“Voltaire taught us that ‘perfect is the enemy of the good.’ and a lot of us as product managers are perfectionists. My advice is, before we react to a question by working on something bespoke, ask yourself, do I have something that's pretty close. Rather than spending 18 hours on something that is perfect, can you save yourself that time and provide something that is suitable and decent.”
--Rich Mironov
“We apply a lot of rigor to forecasting and planning engineering capacity as PMs, but we don't apply the same rigor to our own calendars and our own capacity as PMs.”
--Connie Yuan
“When you allow yourself to be consumed by your to-do list, as a PM, and do all the work yourself, you are potentially robbing folks on your broader team of opportunities to develop their own skills”
--Josh Roberts