The Productologist

In my experience, a Product Manager’s workload is cyclical, primarily revolving around product releases, but there are other factors, too. For example, I recently had maintenance releases for two products, a Beta program for our next-generation release and managing a special project all going on a the same time. For some of you, that may be a lot happening at once; for others, it may seem like a lull, but for me it’s more toward the former than the latter.

Everyone handles stress differently. Some folks feed on that kind of energy and get into a manic state of super-productivity (or super-distractability). Some shut down entirely and have to go sit in the corner and gently rock themselves back-and-forth until they find relief. In some instances, people negatively channel their stress at others (co-workers, family, strangers in a bar) in an attempt to relieve the pressure.

For those of you who know me personally, you know that I am not someone who shows stress externally. When my hair is on fire and there is no water to be found, my demeanor is pretty much the same as when I am sitting on the beach (with the exception that I tend to talk faster when I am under a lot of stress). That’s not to say that I am not FEELING the stress, which I certainly am, but I just don’t process my stress in the moment. BW would argue that’s a problem unto itself, but I won’t open that debate here.

So, how do I channel my stress, you may ask. Well, I used to just bottle it all up and wait for it to dissipate, which seemed to work at the time, but I realized that it wasn’t really dissipating. I was just ignoring it, which caused other problems like disconnecting from friends, family and co-workers and job/life dissatisfaction. So with much support from my family, especially BW, I figured out what I needed to do.

Part of the solution was to share my stress. Not give my stress to someone else, but rather to talk about my stress and what was causing it. I started by talking to a complete stranger. That stranger was (and is) a wonderful therapist, who helped me to first identify and name the stress and stressors and then helped me figure out how to communicate about it in a productive way. Over the two years that I worked with her, this therapist helped me examine what worked and what didn’t and gave me the tools to manage the stress on my own.

Note: Whether you think you need it or not, I recommend spending some time working with a therapist. It is an eye-opening experience and you may find immense benefit in the process.

That led to the next phase, which was finding a way to channel the energy that developed from my stress. What I figured out was that I needed a physical release. I was always an active youth and even in college I maintained an active life by playing intramural sports and skateboarding around campus, but as a “responsible adult” and especially after my family began to grow, my activity level pretty much plummeted.

So I started running at work during my lunch hour. At first, it was primarily motivated by my lack of general fitness, but I soon found that the process was cathartic, too. It gave me time to think, time to listen to my music (which in my family, is not appreciated by others), and time to take all of the stress energy and funnel it somewhere productive.

When I got a new job last year, one of the things I did as part of my due diligence prior to accepting the offer was to scope out places to run and to find out whether the building had shower facilities. It passed on both accounts. At first, I was a bit nervous about what my new co-workers would think about me running out the door at noon most days and coming back freshly showered, but after a few weeks, it just became part of my daily routine. About 3 months after starting the new job, I found an even better alternative to my lunch time run—lunch time soccer.

As a kid, I hated running. I tried to get into many times, but I always found it boring and I wasn’t motivated to stick with it. And growing up in Texas, it was always HOT, which made it difficult to even think about running outside! But I LOVE soccer. I have played soccer in some form almost all of my life, since age 6. In fact, the one summer that I gave up playing after our first child was born was one of the hardest times of my life. I know it sounds ridiculous, but think about your favorite activity, one that you have done since childhood and think about how you would feel if you had to give it up.

Back to lunch time soccer…it was only by chance that I happened to spy two people from another office dressed in soccer gear headed out to the parking lot. I ran outside to ask where they played and if they welcomed other players. As it turned out they told me about their weekly game and some others. Slowly, I went from running 3-4 times per week and playing soccer once a week, to running 1-2 times per week and playing soccer 4-5 times per week. And to be honest, I’ve never felt better. Even when work gets hairy with multiple projects and competing priorities and deadlines, I try to find time to get out on the soccer field and clear my head. I can then come back and tackle the challenges of the day with renewed energy and focus.

I have been lucky enough that my manager gives me the freedom and autonomy to do this, but it’s because my work doesn’t suffer. And my work doesn’t suffer because I make the time to find the balance I need in order to keep my stress in check. Is your stress in check? It could be if you figure out how to balance.

Popularity: 51% [?]

This entry was posted on Saturday, August 4th, 2007 at 1:15 pm PT and is filed under Best Practices, Work/Life Balance.You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.