I met an Associate Product Manager at #ProductTank last night, who asked my advice about staying sane in what he could see what becoming a stressful job.

I'm the spirit of #WorldMentalHealthDay I'll share my advice:

Product management is one of the most stressful roles.

You're outnumbered by developers, support, sales, and everyone else... often the only one of your kind on the team.

Start by acknowledging how tricky it'll be, and be prepared to be forgiving of yourself

Figure out where pressure is coming from:

Is it coming from yourself, as you're constantly pushing yourself to be the best PM you can be?

That's okay, there's some ways you can help get a healthy balance, hopefully helping you to ease up on the internal pressure.

Is it coming from above and around you? For example, being expected by execs to constantly deliver to a timeline roadmap is undoubtedly stressful, and downright bad for business.

Sidebar on why: https://twitter.com/simplybastow/status/1168531672335343616

If you're in a toxic workplace, get help or get out. You can't perform miracles as a product manager, and don't let other stakeholders make you feel bad for doing your best and asking lots of questions.

Often though, and as it was with the APM from last night, it was internal pressure! I kinda wanted to give him a hug and just tell him it'd be okay.

Some things I suggested:

Move away from his delivery mindset, and open up for more discovery. Outline the big hairy problems, and chip away at them at a sensible pace.

Progress is progress, and the big problems take time to solve! Setting arbitrary deadlines won't help your product quality *or* sanity.

Build in time to tackle "organisational debt". At @ProdPad, we have 2 hours of scheduled time at the end of each week to tidy up inboxes, consolidate to-do piles, set up automations, clean desktops, and whatever other admin.

Means you begin on Monday with a fresh mind

Schedule time for downtime, like a walk in a park. Do this in the middle of your afternoon or whenever it makes sense. It's work time. It's your time to think, and be creative, and it's incredibly important for your headspace

And surround yourself with other product people. Get to @ProductTank, which is basically group therapy for product managers!

Your mental health is so important, and to last the distance as a product manager, you'll need to prioritise your mind.

If you ever want help, advice, or fun GIFs from me, just reach out. My DMs are open, and I believe in you

#WorldMentalHealthDay