With many online resources providing theoretical knowledge on what Product Management is, this blog post acts as a guide to provide practical tips, resources, and insights that will not only help boost your productivity but will help those looking to break into this field.

In this article, we will cover

1. Daily Rituals - Habits that can help you be on top of your work and act preemptively to situations.
2. Meetings - Rituals to help you become a better host/participant during meetings.

Daily Rituals

Morning Ritual

Usually, as Product Managers, we have ownership over multiple features or products. We are responsible for making sure that we have an understanding of how things are. This checklist should help you cover all the essential things that you would need to do to understand and track the items you own. You should try and cover each of these points at your convenience to plan the rest of your day.

• Check your team communication for any blockers that your team might be facing.
• Check your email for messages from external stakeholders.
• Check for updates on the knowledge or progress of features you own.
• Communicate priority replies.
• List out all the blockers.
• Create a plan of action for the day based on the priority

Evening Ritual

1. Check for any pending tasks or communication updates needed to be delivered by the end of the day.

2. Share priorities and communicate with -

• Off-shore teams, for when you are offline.
• Localized team, for the following morning.

3. If you have a team working across multiple time zones, ensure you communicate everything properly with context before signing off for the day. It can avoid your team facing blockers the following morning.

4. Make sure you prepare for any meetings scheduled early the following morning.

Meetings

Recording Meetings

When recording the meetings, you need to ask for permission before you start recording. Make sure you record under any of these conditions -

• If you host the meeting
• If the meeting may lead to the discovery of new information
• If you need to take notes from the meeting

Hosting Meetings

1. Communicate expected outcomes from the meeting to set up the expectation

• Itemize agendas
• Provide contextual information to participants to understand the meeting and its purpose

2. Set the agenda and convey recommended readings before the meeting.

3. Ensure someone is keeping track of the feedback and minutes, especially in client meetings, and communicating action points to the right stakeholder.

4. Sending follow-up emails to communicate action tasks, so relevant stakeholders have the tasks they need on their lists.

5. Send any progress or knowledge updates to relevant stakeholders to keep a paper trail of communications.

Product Managers serve a diverse range of responsibilities, and the job descriptions can vary substantially based on the organization. The tips provided above come from experience and discussions with expert product managers and mentors.

We hope this helps you develop a routine that will be valuable for you in the long run and works best for you and your team.

For more assistance and guidance with your projects, contact us!