What do you do if you're a late-career product manager struggling to find work-life balance?

Consider putting personal well-being ahead of professional advancement. Late in your career, the returns on extra hours may diminish compared to the value of time spent on health, hobbies, or with loved ones. It’s not about doing less work but about choosing work that aligns more closely with your values and life goals. This shift in focus can lead to a more fulfilling balance, challenging the notion that constant career progression is the sole path to satisfaction.

Ask yourself if the thing you're working on is the most important thing? What would happen if it didn't get done on time or at all? Sometimes the answers are surprising. Being able to see above the noise floor and understand what's really important is a valuable skill that's worth refining.

In product management, mastering prioritization is key to work-life balance. It's vital to balance work tasks and personal priorities equally for overall well-being. Each day, I identify three main goals for work and life. At work, this might be conducting an important meeting, researching a key topic, or completing a crucial report. Personally, it can include exercising in the morning, attending my daughter's soccer game, and doing graphic design for a non-profit I support at night. This method ensures I fulfill my responsibilities while also valuing what truly matters.

As an experienced Product Manager, prioritize finding a pleasant environment where your vast knowledge and experience are essential. Place your well-being in front of a chaotic atmosphere that undermines your skills and experience. Also, by accessing your value, you can start delegating and promoting an environment where everyone can learn from your experiences. You can also listen to great input and prioritize it. Encouraging a culture of a more balanced lifestyle benefits your team members and enhances their productivity. By fostering an environment where everyone can recharge and work more energetically, you're contributing to the creation of true products, projects, and features that will bring value to your company and users.

As an aspiring PM, I may not have years of experience under my belt, but through numerous networking calls, interactions with industry leaders, extensive reading and witnessing my own working professional parents, I've gathered valuable insights to share: 1. Prioritize personal goals: Apply the same prioritization techniques you use for products to your personal life. 2. Set boundaries: Disconnect from work after a certain time each day. Communicate this to your team. 3. Seek feedback from loved ones: Ask if you're spending enough quality time with them. Use their "no" as motivation to reassess priorities. 4. Lead by example: Demonstrate the importance of balance and encourage your team to do the same.

Delegation of task along with the training and monitoring is the best way to the humanity as new people grow under your guidance. At times we just don't trust people and try to do things ourselves and this stops our and other's growth as well. A good manager trains people and delegate them responsibility and monitor them tightly and appreciate and reward people and where ever people going wrong handhold them.

Easier said than done. It is less delegation of tasks and more continuous focus on value creating activities. Not exactly the same thing.

As a seasoned product manager, you possess invaluable experience and strategic expertise. However, you shouldn't be bogged down with tactical tasks that can be effectively handled by others. Identify opportunities to delegate responsibilities to your team members, empowering them to grow and freeing up your time for higher-impact activities. It is always challenging at first to delegate when you know you can do it better. But the skill that you learn is, when you delegate, how to trust the person while keeping him accountable!

Recognize that you don't have to do everything yourself. Delegate tasks and responsibilities whenever possible, both at work and at home. Trust your team members, colleagues, or family members to handle certain tasks, allowing you to focus on high-priority activities that align with your skills and expertise. Effective delegation not only reduces your workload but also empowers others to grow and develop. Walk the thin line between delegating and giving your work to others when you should be doing it. Underdo it and you'll compromise on hitting deadlines or your work's quality. Overdo it and you'll be looked at as someone who does not want to put effort in.

I think Delegate tasks is the most important attribute of a PM to manage time (and stress too) To start with, Identify which tasks are not deal breakers and start delegating them to team...this will help in developing team's skills and sense of ownership in team. As a PM you also need to need to start trusting capabilities of team...become a coach and guide and let team own some pieces while to do the quality check.

- Ruthless Time Management: Embrace time management techniques like time blocking to dedicate focused sessions to specific tasks. This minimizes distractions and helps you achieve more in less time.

Implement effective time management strategies to optimize your productivity and balance competing demands on your time. Prioritize your tasks based on urgency and importance, and allocate dedicated time blocks for focused work, meetings, and personal activities. Use tools such as calendars, to-do lists, and productivity apps to organize your schedule and stay on track. Be disciplined about setting boundaries and saying no to non-essential commitments that detract from your work-life balance.

What has helped me is: -Breaking down my calendar into chunks of what part of the day will go where be it stand-ups, UAT, ideation etc even lunch! - Planning the next day before hand, as most of the time we as PMs can guess where we are gonna get work from - Clearly estimating time for each task and communicating to whoever you’re supposed to - Prioritization plays the key role. Do the P0s first where you have clear dependencies and need your urgent attention - Don’t over estimate, have a clarity on what is possible and what is not

- Multitasking is a myth. Even computers eventually do only one thing at a time, albeit very fast. - Focus on a single task at a time and do it well. - Schedule enough time to work on that task and block any distractions that will cause you to lose focus on the task.

We all need to take mindful breaks to be able to focus better. Time management is also a skill to learn to control the hours of the day.

Recognize that achieving work-life balance may require flexibility and adaptability in your approach. Embrace remote work options, flexible scheduling arrangements, or alternative work arrangements that accommodate your personal needs and preferences. Communicate openly with your employer or clients about your work-life balance goals and explore mutually beneficial solutions that meet both your needs and the demands of your role.

Try to organise 1day home working if possible, organize meeeting online during that day.Optimize the travelling if you have too, sometimes we travel too much for no real impact, with experience this can be used to plan better. Manage the stress ina better way, with experience it should be become easier to remove the stress doing sport or cutting e-mails on Sunday for example, I did it and so far so good.

You might be willing to talk to your boss and agree that Friday would be a day for work-from-home, you can use this time to sort out routine tasks, do the planning, learning, team management and light operations, and softly slide into the weekend. If you have a family they will be super happy to have you at home, even though you are still busy with some work duties.

Evaluate properly project or work requirements Delegate tasks making sure that targets are achievable and clearly defined Avoid micromanagement Review the progress in regular intervals Allow flexible type of work Time management of is crucial for all. Focusing on personal and family well being during the off-working hours may lead in a satisfying work-life balance.

Flexibility is the key to both being more efficient & happy @ work. Going to office earlier to deal with urgent tasks while no one else is there yet to contact you / ask you a question, and getting back home earlier to enjoy your family allows more efficiency, & less stress. Remote work is also, for me, the perfect fit when I need to concentrate / think on complex subjects, being less disturbed by chit chatting.

- I always found categorising task on 2 parameters Urgent and Important. - By focusing 80% of my time on important task I found that in the long term the Urgent tasks reduce because if you keep focusing on Urgent then the important tasks become urgent and this vicious cycle continues.

Allocating a daily one-hour meeting in the calendar focused on sports and well-being allows for dedicated time without guilt or excuses. Establishing new habits typically takes at least three weeks, so this method should be tried for at least that duration. The benefits, such as clarity of mind, improved focus, and increased energy, will naturally follow and encourage adherence to the new routine. While this practice may seem daunting for many professionals, the time invested in self-care will ultimately return significant gains!

Prioritize your physical, mental, and emotional well-being as essential components of achieving work-life balance. Make time for regular exercise, nutritious meals, adequate sleep, and relaxation activities to recharge and rejuvenate your body and mind. Practice mindfulness, stress management techniques, and self-care rituals to reduce stress and enhance resilience in the face of work-related challenges. Seek professional support or counseling if you're experiencing significant levels of stress or burnout.

1. Establish Clear Boundaries: Define specific work hours and stick to them as much as possible. Use technology to create boundaries, such as setting up email filters and silencing notifications outside of work hours. 2. Prioritize and Delegate: Identify the most critical tasks and focus on completing them during work hours. Delegate responsibilities to team members to avoid overloading yourself. 3. Take Breaks and Vacations: Schedule regular breaks throughout the day to recharge and prevent burnout. Take advantage of vacation time to fully disconnect and rejuvenate. 4. Practice Self-Care: Prioritize sleep and ensure you get enough rest to function effectively.

The Mind/Body connection has been known and appreciated for millennia. Take care of your body and you are taking care of your mind. Work out and dial your carbs way down. A few random wellness tips: - Don't drink in a work-related context - stay sharp. - Don't drink when you travel - it takes your energy and dehydrates you. - Take an aspirin if you have to sit for more than a few hours (flying). - Learn how to pack, eat on-the-run, and compensate for jetlag. - Get folding, over-the-ear, noise-cancelling headphones - they will pay for themselves on your first flight next to a crying baby. - Learn how to meditate anywhere. - Don't stop exercising just because you're travelling.

Invest in your personal and professional development to enhance your skills, knowledge, and capabilities as a late-career Product Manager. Stay curious and open-minded, and seek out opportunities for learning and growth in areas that interest you. Attend workshops, conferences, or online courses to stay updated on industry trends, emerging technologies, and best practices in product management. Leverage your years of experience to mentor and coach junior professionals in your field, fostering a culture of continuous learning within your organization.

Kindly ensure to maintain your health by resting when need be. We are not robots and we definitely need rest if we want to be more productive. Rest doesn't necessarily mean sleeping all through, can embark on meditation, yoga, taking a walk, watching favourite movie among others. Another way to maintain health while ensuring work-life balance is to watch your diet by eating enough fruit and taking enough water as well as eating food that will boost your immune system and reduce your stress level.

It certainly depends on how committed you are to your task and how interested you are in the product or its technology. Especially with technical products, you are involved in an application technology that is constantly evolving. I was always interested in getting involved in standardization, for example, and I still do that today.

As a Product Manager regardless of the field or sector you’re in, you always have to identify new skill sets you could pick up through continuous research which is fuelled by our ever present curiosity The thirst to know more and consistently looking for ways to optimise your solutions/product so as to consistently anticipate your users needs and meeting those needs before the user realises there was ever a need This would drive your continuous learning, growth and evolution as a product manager

Even in the later stages of your career, continuous learning can rejuvenate your professional life and help maintain balance. Explore new methodologies, technologies, or soft skills that can enhance your productivity and effectiveness as a product manager.

? Reflecting on my journey, I realized that as responsibilities grew, so did the need for effective time management. I began by prioritizing tasks and setting boundaries to ensure work did not encroach on personal time. ?? I implemented scheduling techniques such as time blocking and setting aside specific hours for work-related tasks, allowing me to allocate dedicated time for family, hobbies, and self-care. ?? I explored opportunities for delegation and collaboration within my team, empowering them to take ownership of certain tasks and projects, thereby lightening my workload.

It's outcomes that matter not out put! Make sure you are doing the right things and dont waste time and energy on work that has no value.