Day 7/30: Effective time management for PMs
⌚ Experiment, adjust, and refine your time management system
Most broadly, our time on Earth is the most valuable thing we’ll ever have.
We don’t know when our time is up.
We can’t rewind time.
I’ve tried using multiple time management tools or systems in the past, such as:
To-do lists
Time blocking
Pomodoro technique
The approach I take now works for me because it’s inherently more flexible and doesn’t enforce a strict way of managing my time:
Craft a personal mission statement and call out my core personal values.
Assess my skills to identify where my highest-potential growth opportunities are.
Make a rough plan with milestones and projected timelines for hitting them.
As I’m working towards on my personal roadmap, I also take care to pay attention to where my energy or curiosity is naturally inclined to go.
Other tactical things I do that work for me:
Block off my work and personal calendars for focused time to work on an initiative or learn.
I’m also trying to set and maintain personal boundaries with work, so I shut down my work laptop by 6pm at the latest.
Every Friday, I do a quick temperature check of the week, where I reflect on:
How do my energy levels feel?
Do I question or second-guess any of the time I spent this week on working or learning? Why?
In an ideal world, what do I wish I could have spent more time on? What’s stopping me?
Make use of asynchronous communications and documentation effectively as possible.
Building out your personal time management system is a fun and creative way to also hone your mindset around experimentation.
Most importantly, enjoy the journey while you’re on it! 👣