How to have more time as a leader

You can't manage time, you can just spend it wisely.

Aug 21, 2024

It’s common for product leaders to have their calendars like this: back-to-back meetings sprinkled with double (triple?) bookings and some lonely “Focus Time” (already booked by other meetings).

A lot of movement doesn’t necessarily mean significant progress, though. A full calendar might make one feel important, but it is rarely a sign of effectiveness.

Time is a leader’s most scarce and finite resource

“Time management” is a whole discipline. All sorts of freaky effectiveness gurus tell you about waking up at 4 am to exercise and whatnot. But “time management” is a funny name. Because time is unmanageable.

You can’t make time run slower or increase it. The day has just so many hours for everyone. You can’t manage time or earn more of it. You can only manage how you spend it.

Time is the ultimate non-renewable resource. Once spent, there is no going back.

And it is odd that product leaders, so attuned to the prioritization in their products, end up with calendars like this:

Given free rein, all leaders’ calendars in a sufficiently large organization will always drift toward being insanely full. Leaders have to take it back. Actively and periodically.

Calendar Audit technique to the rescue (of time)

I like the LNO Framework proposed by

Shreyas Doshi

. The short version is that you have to separate your tasks into 3 buckets: Leverage (10x return over effort), Neutral (1x), and Overhead (<1x). I do something similar with my weekly Watchtower Reflection, so I focus on the most important things I want to achieve the following week.

However, no plan survives the contact with stakeholders.

Instead of just looking forward (planning), you must also look back (reflection) on how you used your time.

To that end, I picked up the “Calendar Audit” technique from an old Peter Drucker book called “The Effective Executive.” It’s from the 1960s, so the language is very dated—case in point, I am the least woke person you can find, and I got pretty bothered by how he uses “men” to refer to “people” or “executives” throughout the book.

Drucker suggests a straightforward process: audit your calendar. Here's how you can do it:

Track Your Time: For a few weeks, record everything you do. Yes, everything. Meetings, emails, coffee breaks—capture it all. You might be surprised at where your time actually goes.
Analyze the Data: Once you've got a good amount of data, sit down and analyze it. Look for patterns. Are there recurring meetings that don't add value? Tasks that could be delegated? Identify the time-wasters.
Make Changes: Armed with your newfound insights, it's time to act. Cut out the unnecessary meetings. Delegate tasks that don't require your expertise. Block out time for deep work. This isn't a one-time fix; it's an ongoing process. Regularly revisit your calendar to ensure you're staying on track.

By auditing your calendar, you can free up time for what matters. It's not just about cutting back; it's about making deliberate choices that align with your goals.

Prioritize your time spent like you prioritize your product.
(Unless you live in a product development hell where all prioritization happens by HiPPoing and the loudest stakeholder/client).

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