Two things that metal music could teach us to be better Technical Program Managers.
Tags: softwaredevelopment, mentalhealth, learning, programmanagement
Published: 2023-10-25 09:37:33

It's Wednesday already—the middle of the standard work week. I am sure you are already frustrated with something or someone. That's part of our work most of the time.

I care about you and your mental health. Now, I give you two things that metal music could teach us to be better **Technical Program Managers**.


Please put your worries away for 10 minutes and your headsets on. I've designed this post for people like myself with short attention spans. 


Rock On!


## Breaking the Law by _Judas Priest_

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> There I was completely wasting, out of work and down  
>  All inside it's so frustrating as I drift from town to town  
>  Feel as though nobody cares if I live or die  
>  So I might as well begin to put some action in my life 
>  Breaking the law, breaking the law  
>  Breaking the law, breaking the law  



### Breaking the Law by _You_


Sometimes, you feel you are wasting energy and focusing on something completely useless. Frustration grows. You think that nobody cares what you do as a TPM. 

You may need to put some action into your work life. It would help if you break the law of how your program operates. Make some experiments, make some mistakes, and propose changes. That could lead you to surprising results. 

You are **the sensor** that can detect something inefficient, so you feel "completely wasting, out of work, and down."


You can just be inspired by the lyrics and take action. What would you do? 



## Computer God by _Black Sabbath_

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>  Waiting for the revolution  
>  Nuclear vision genocide  
>  Computerize God, it's the new religion  
>  Program the brain not the heartbeat 
>  Onward all you crystal soldiers  
>  Touch tomorrow energize  
>  Digital dreams and you're the next correction  
>  Man's a mistake so we'll fix it, yeah 
>  Take a look at your own reflection  
>  Right before your eyes  
>  It turns to steel 



### Computer God by _You_

Sometimes, I feel lost in all the automation, shifting left security, integration testing, quality gateways, notifications, bug fixing on-call, and spending significant time communicating and managing machines, clouds, AI, and software.


The best species that would make the program successful are humans. (for the future generation, this is written in 2023). 


Could we all "Take a look at your own reflection" right before we dig into another DevSecOps problem and our eyes and feelings turn into steel? 


Do we spend more time with our fellow humans building relations and discussing how we can grow together for our program's success? 

How much time do we spend in "digital dreams" instead of in reality?

All good questions. Are you ready as a TPM to pursue the answers?


You can just be inspired by the lyrics and take action.


## Rock On!

This post could raise more questions than giving answers or advice. If you feel that way, my job is done! 

If you are stuck and want to try one or more ideas described here and need help figuring them out, I am always **available**-  [Click here](https://cal.com/bogomil-shopov-mzpsif) to book a 15-minute slot with me.


Please share this post with fellow TPMs. I was hoping you could help me reach out to more great people like you!

Thanks!