AI for Software Product Management with Tanny Ng

Confessions of a Recovering Perfectionist: Overcoming the Perfection-Procrastination Loop with AI from a Product Manager

This talk is a candid exploration of the perfection-procrastination loop that many professionals face, particularly in high-pressure environments like product management and software development. Drawing from personal experiences as a recovering perfectionist, this session will offer practical strategies to break free from perfectionism, manage procrastination, and leverage AI tools to enhance productivity and learning. The talk will blend insights on overcoming mental barriers with actionable tips on using AI to streamline tasks, accelerate learning, and reduce the cognitive load that perfectionism often brings.

Key Concepts:

Perfection-Procrastination Loop

• The Trap of Perfectionism: How striving for perfection can lead to procrastination, creating a vicious cycle that hinders progress.
• Eat the Frog: Tackle the hardest, most dreaded tasks first to build momentum and break free from the loop.
• Agile Approach: Break tasks into small, manageable units of work that feel easy to start, reducing the mental burden.
• Time Boxing: Use short, focused time periods to get over inertia and make incremental progress.
• Fear Setting: Confront fears head-on, acknowledging and planning for worst-case scenarios to reduce anxiety and move forward.

Leveraging AI to Combat Perfectionism

• Streamlining Documentation: For those who dislike documentation, AI language models (LLMs) can help organize and structure content, reducing the cognitive load and making it easier to maintain comprehensive records.
• Accelerated Learning with AI: When new to a domain and feeling like an imposter, AI can aid in rapid learning by curating resources, summarizing complex information, and providing tailored learning paths.
• Rationalizing Decisions: Use AI to categorize and segment data, providing objective justifications for decisions and reducing the need to over-explain or second-guess your rationale.
• Gap Analysis with AI: Address blind spots by using AI to conduct gap analyses, weigh pros and cons, and ensure that all critical aspects of a project are considered.

Takeaways

Ms Ng has 9+ years in B2B Product Management, building seamless products at the intersection of people, data and efficiency.

Are you ready to break free from perfectionism and leverage AI as your catalyst for action? Come hear our first meeting featuring Tanny Ng, but I think you will request, not our last.