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By Lenny Rachitsky · lennysnewsletter.com · @lennysan on X · YouTube · LinkedIn
Lenny Rachitsky shares five practical time-management tactics for product managers, who often lack clear deadlines and drown in shallow work. He argues for scheduling protected deep-work blocks, keeping a trusted to-do system, minimizing friction to start focused work, using a prioritize-and-communicate approach to incoming asks, and staying ahead through preparation.
Subscriber post — summary only01Key takeaways
- Schedule recurring two-hour deep-work blocks and clearly protect them from meeting bookings.
- Distinguish shallow work, like logistics and email, from deep work that creates lasting value and skill.
- Keep a trusted to-do system with concrete next actions and a list of people you are waiting on.
- When handed new work, prioritize it against existing commitments, then communicate the resulting order to your manager.
- Being prepared, including reviewing your calendar and anticipating blockers, reduces last-minute scrambling; saying no is a valid option.
02Frameworks mentioned
Summary and takeaways written by PM Atlas; quotes are short excerpts. © the original author.