Sleep is extremely important, yet often not given the time it deserves. I’m often surprised when I talk to Product Managers about how little sleep they’re getting. The rule of thumb I like to use for a day is “8 hours for work, 8 hours for play, and 8 hours for sleep.” If you want to do more in any of these categories, you have to take time from one of the others. And yes, commuting to/from work is part of the 8 hours for play.
When mentoring a new Product Manager, it’s important to talk about sleep. Find out how much they’re getting, and if it’s less than 8 hours, ask if it’s due to work. Asking about sleep shows that you care about their health and well-being, and questions some of the common stereotypes that sleep must be sacrificed to be successful. If it does turn out that sleep is being lost due to too much work, it may be worth talking about how to say “no” more often to work requests and deprioritize tasks of little value.
If you’re not getting enough sleep, try getting at least 8 hours for a week and see how you feel. Be careful that you may feel great after one or two nights, and be tempted to get little sleep on the third night. Stick with the 8 hours for a week, and note how your health, energy, motivation, and creativity improve. If you think there’s no way you could try such an experiment, do an assessment of your work tasks, and stop doing the least important items. You’ll be surprised about how you’ll get creative about delegation and delay to make it happen, leading to better energy to focus on those items that are the most important on your list.
If you’d like to read about the origins of the 8/8/8 rule of thumb I use and where the 8-hour workday comes from, as well as why rest is so important, check out “The Origins of the 8 Hour Workday and Why We Should Rethink It.” It may also inspire a different experiment you want to run for approaching your days.