Adjusting Productivity Expectations During An Ongoing Global Pandemic

by Megan Sandwick | Jan 31, 2021 | Productivity Mindset

WOW! I think it is safe to say last year was not as any of us planned!. I know I certainly did not have COVID-19 shut down on my 2020 BINGO card. As Entrepreneurs and business professionals this stressful roller coaster of an experience has been a powerful reminder of the importance of how we can take control of our productivity. Setting realistic productivity expectations for what you’re able to do in a day or block of time is the best way to reduce stress when the world is recovering from a global pandemic!

One consistent conversation I’ve had with ALL of my coaching clients over the last year has been the need to cut our productivity expectations in half when scheduling our time. How we live our professional, personal and family lives has been disrupted, changed unexpectedly and drastically. The reality of what worked a year ago to get stuff done is not working now, so we need to understand what adjustments to make to take control of increasing our productivity, TODAY! It is time to be honest with ourselves and say this is a chronic situation and we need to adjust our productivity habits accordingly.

At first several clients raised a bit of an eyebrow when I said to reduce expectations (as you may be doing now). After a quick reminder to my clients that as business professionals and entrepreneurs we already set extremely high expectations for ourselves they began to see the value of making an intentional adjustment to scheduling their time.

Would you agree that you set very high expectations for yourself? Have you been intentional to adjust what you expect for yourself to accomplish on a daily basis?

As the world changes your productivity habits must change as well. Adjusting the expectations you set for yourself is about taking control of how you can be your most productive, right now! When dealing with uncertainty we must be intentional to set realistic expectations of when we will complete tasks.

Does this sound good yet you are wondering how to do this? Good news, with one easy tip you will build the habit of setting realistic productivity expectations for your day. Here is 1 easy tip…

1 Easy Tip To Adjusting Productivity Expectations

Assets Needed…

Current Actions/To Do List
Planning Calendar

Setting realistic productivity expectations…

Add the estimated task completion time when adding an action to your Current Actions / To Do List.
Use the estimated task time to determine what actions you will be able to complete during a specific block of time.
Determine additional adjustments, resources or assets needed if you consistently have more tasks to complete then time in the day.
Be prepared to communicate adjustments to your schedule and expectations to deliverables as needed.

A few helpful hints to take control of setting realistic productivity expectations…

Be intentional to schedule a block of time to complete an activity if you have a task with a deadline.
Build productivity habits specific to your work style and adjust as needed.
When you have an unexpected time on your calendar use the estimated task time to guide your decision process on what you can complete during this time.
If you find you are not getting to tasks that take over an hour to complete schedule dedicated task time on your calendar.
Use your outstanding task time to make prioritization and asset management decisions so you are taking control of your productivity.
Use this information to readjust expectations of others when you will not be able to complete what they are expecting.

True Story! In this world where disruption and change seem to be occurring regularly, taking control of setting realistic expectations needs to remain consistent! The key to adjusting productivity expectations is estimating task time so you can realistically plan what you will complete. Try this for 1 month and watch your stress level decrease because you have a realistic plan to take control of your productivity.