Two ways of working

Over the past year, I’ve been finding that I’m restructuring the way I’m most productive. I’ve moved from a way of “continuously generating” to embracing procrastination and “choosing times of inspiration” to work on something.

I think of continuously generating as creating a list and doing the next thing on the list. I think of waiting for inspiration as putting something off until my brain and body feels ready to solve that problem. 

Continuously generating: For me, this was characterized by setting aside specific, predetermined periods for work, regardless and working down a prioritized list. This method is often associated with disciplined work ethics and systematic productivity. Qualities of this approach:

• Discipline: When I was doing more the generating approach, it leaned into my routine and discipline side. I’d make a list, structure my work time, and just move through the list.

• Predictability: I found that it supported a predictable consistent schedule that gave me more control over what I did when.  

• Minimizing procrastination: By adhering to a structured list, I would be far less likely to procrastinate or be influenced by changes/new requests.

• Cons:

  • Quality may suffer if not enough time is allocated for each task

  • Can be less flexible and accommodating of spontaneous creativity

  • After years in this approach, I felt more burned out

Waiting for inspiration: In this method, if I don’t need to finish a task immediately, I wait until my brain and body feels inspired. That can be external cues, internal motivation, or a stroke of inspiration before embarking on a task. Here are some key characteristics of this approach:

• Flexibility: I initiate work when it feels natural and can take various forms, such as brainstorming sessions, creative bursts, or bursts of productivity.

• Procrastination as a strategy: Procrastination has a bad reputation, but I say embrace it. I sometimes delay their work until they feel sufficiently motivated or inspired. During that time of high motivation I can produce my best work in far less time.

• Speed: I actually find I can get my work done in fewer hours because an hour of inspired work time is often the equivalent of 2-4 hours of uninspired disciplined work time. 

• Reduces burnout: One of the challenges I had with my former way of working was that I would get burned out always generating output. By waiting for a moment of inspiration, that happens less often. 

• Cons:

  • Requires smart choosing of what tasks you can postpone to more inspired times and what you need to grind through

  • Can lead to irregular work patterns.

As product managers we love prioritized lists, but I find that sometimes intentionally putting something off if it doesn’t need to be done right away allows for me to do better work and take care of my well-being. I like what I do and am in it for the long haul so to be able to reduce my burnout and solve problems faster with high quality is a win-win-win. I think this shift also has some correlation with a different set of responsibilities as I’ve grown my career. Earlier in career PMs are likely more aligned with generating and as you solve harder problems later in your career I believe it more aligns with choosing the right moments of inspiration.