The Punk PM #30

Hey there, punk!

My calendar’s been looking like a bad game of Tetris lately. Stacked full, no space to think.

It’s got me reflecting on what meetings really mean for product managers. We need them, sure. You can’t build great products entirely async. But a lot of what fills our diaries is busywork, or stuff we say yes to out of habit or FOMO.

And every “yes” to a meeting is often a “no” to actual progress.

Let’s dig into that.

Quote of the Week 🙊

Insight 🦉

Meetings aren’t the problem. But too many of them? That’s where things start to unravel.

As a PM, communication is the job. You’re the connective tissue. The person who moves context between people and teams. You translate strategy into stories and ambiguity into action. And sometimes the fastest way to get aligned is to jump on a call and thrash out an idea together.

But when your days are back-to-back with check-ins, syncs, and update sessions, something important gets lost: space.

And product management needs space.

It’s a creative discipline at its core. One that relies on making connections, spotting patterns, and letting new ideas emerge. That kind of thinking doesn’t happen in the gaps between Google Meet calls. It needs uninterrupted time. Breathing room. A chance for your brain to shift gears from reactive to reflective.

When your calendar's full, it’s tempting to try and outsource your creative thinking to AI. Can it help? Definitely. You can use it to riff on ideas, summarise research, even sketch out first drafts. But AI doesn’t innovate, it imitates. It draws from what already exists. The spark of something new still has to come from you.

Not all meetings are bad. But wasting your time in the wrong ones? That’s how you lose momentum. Or worse, stop solving real problems and start just maintaining the process.

So be ruthless about what you accept. Protect your “maker time” like your best ideas depend on it, because they do.

Give yourself the room to think deeply, not just respond quickly.

Because your value isn’t in always being available. It’s in being able to make the calls that move things forward.

Action 🚀

This week, block out one solid chunk of maker time; no meetings, no pings, no multitasking. Use it to think deeply about a tricky problem you’ve been skimming over. You might be surprised what surfaces when you give your brain some breathing room.

Inspiration 💡

7 Product Strategy Examples – Janna Bastow lays out what makes a strategy actually useful: it connects your vision to real customer needs, sets clear goals, and stays flexible enough to evolve. The best part? It’s packed with real-world examples to learn from. Read more

Where Is Consumer AI? – Scott Belsky dives into the next wave of AI-powered products and why the real reasons we use tech often go unsaid. Insightful take on how emotional drivers shape product success, and what big companies need to do if they want to stay innovative. Read more

The Power of the Pro Skater Soundtrack – Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater didn’t just sell games, it shaped music taste for a generation. This piece captures how the raw energy of those soundtracks helped punk and metal bands find massive new audiences. Culture meets product design in the best way. Read more

Signing Off ✍️

If this hit a nerve, I’d love to hear from you. What’s one meeting you’re cutting this week, and what are you making space for instead? And if you know someone whose calendar could use a little breathing room, feel free to forward this their way.

Play it your way,

Toby