As 2015 comes to a close, I’ve got New Year’s resolutions on the mind. There are many articles the days talking about setting Product Management resolutions, like keeping a neater inbox or setting goals. Personally I found this article from Slate the most inspiring – Leave It At The Office.
The article challenges us to make a resolution to avoid the temptation of an ever-connected work environment and put boundaries on work. Give work the time it deserves, and make sure you give yourself the time you need too. The author lists a couple great reasons, such as the power of having more time for hobbies and better health. There are many others too, such as setting a good example for co-workers who are also tempted to work late.
For me, it’s especially important to not work outside normal hours because it’s too easy to say yes to unimportant requests otherwise. If someone asks for a favor or a meeting, it often can mean that it pushes important items into after-hours work if I say yes. If I let this happen, I easily get into a habit of working later and later to keep up with all the little favors and requests that come in over a day. I like to use the phrase “death by a thousand paper cuts” when this happens. Instead, if I keep the 8 hours a day at work precious, it makes prioritization of time all the more pressing leading to nos to requests that really aren’t important. This limit on time cascades down to me focusing only a small number of items a day or week, and doing them really well.
For yourself or a new product manager, I encourage you to make the resolution to work less in 2016. Either as a skilled PM or a new one, it is very easy to get into a habit of working late and not having a boundary on your precious time to recharge and grow personally. Use the New Year as a time to reset your work/life balance to start the year off at your best both at work and at home.