Are there any productivity hacks or tools that help you stay organized and on top of everything going on as a product manager?

PM work life is a firehose of Slack/Teams message, customer emails, meeting requests and deadlines. Here is what I find helpful to make sense of the chaos and stay on top of the key things. Capture, Organize, Get Shit Done. Resist the urge to jump on every message or email the same moment - you may find yourself exhausted while still behind on your goals. Instead, find a tool which lets you to quickly “capture” a thing which require your attention - and move on. Organize these to-dos thoughtfull ...Read More

Not sure I would call them hacks, but I have various things I do to manage both my workload, product execution and overall team management. ToDo List Goes without saying. Be organized and find a system that works for you. Pen and paper? Go for it. Trello board? Do it. Adoption Notion? Fire away. For me, it's been about finding what system works for me and being relentless with it. My memory is generally solid, but our roles as PMs mean we shift a lot ,and keeping track of things is the only way ...Read More

Like anything in technology, iteration is key. There are constantly new tools, apps, and best practices coming out to help your productivity -  so you need to stay agile to continuously improve your own system.  That being said, it's easy to get overwhelmed and overcomplicate your workflow. Having a baseline system that you fall back on can ensure nothing falls between the cracks.  For me that is using a repeatable framework in how I approach problems, and managing a surprisingly simple and unst ...Read More

I stay organized by setting half-yearly goals aligned with my manager. I like to break them down into monthly goals prioritized by impact, and track weekly progress, plans, and problems. This ensures alignment and helps me spot early signs of deviation from the original plan. You can use a simple spreadsheet or leverage tools your company provides, but the core idea is to maintain visibility into progress and continuously tie short-term actions to long-term objectives. This practice keeps me foc ...Read More

Time management is essential as a PM, and the tools I use have changed over the years as I find what works. Here are some tips: Use a project management tool: A project management tool, such as Asana or Trello, can help you keep track of tasks and progress you have for yourself. I always found it hard to follow up on tasks I delegated to others until I had a specific column in my Trello board dedicated to them. Make use of templates: Use templates, such as meeting agendas or project planning doc ...Read More