The Effective Executive by Peter Drucker

Know where your time goes, decide what to contribute, and do first things first.

Three takeaways for AI PMs

• Log your time before you redesign it: Drucker insists that memory lies about where hours go, so you record them first.
• Define your contribution, not your task list: Ask what result the company should expect from you in six months that would not happen without you.
• Keep a posteriorities list: First things first only works if you also decide what comes last, and say so out loud.

Do this Monday

• Starting tomorrow morning, keep a time log in 30-minute blocks for two weeks, then cut or delegate every recurring block that did not need you.
• In your next one-to-one with your manager, state in one sentence the contribution the business should expect from you by the end of the quarter, and ask whether they agree.
• Before the next roadmap review, write a posteriorities list of three things the team will deliberately stop or not start, and put it on the first slide.