How can you maintain productivity during uncertain times?

1 Communicate clearly and frequently

As an administrative manager during uncertain times, one of the most important things you can do is to communicate clearly and frequently with your team, superiors, and stakeholders. Doing so helps to reduce ambiguity, clarify expectations, and provide support. You should communicate the current situation and how it affects your team's work, the goals and priorities for your team and how they align with the organization's vision, the resources and tools available for your team to perform their tasks, feedback and recognition for your team's achievements and challenges, and the channels and methods for your team to communicate with you and each other. Communication should be transparent, honest, and empathetic; you should also invite your team to express their concerns, questions, and suggestions, listening attentively.

3 Manage your time and energy

It is essential to manage your time and energy effectively during uncertain times, as competing priorities, multiple deadlines, and increased workload can drain your resources and affect your performance. Furthermore, emotional stress, fatigue, or burnout can impair your well-being and motivation. To do this, set realistic and specific goals for yourself and your team and break them down into manageable tasks. Prioritize the most important and urgent tasks and delegate or eliminate the less critical ones. Additionally, schedule your tasks according to your energy levels and preferences while avoiding distractions and interruptions. Make sure to take regular breaks and practice self-care activities like exercise, meditation, or hobbies. Finally, don't hesitate to seek help from your team, superiors, or peers when needed and offer help when you can. Managing your time and energy requires discipline, focus, and balance; it is also important to recognize your limits and boundaries and respect them.

4 Foster a positive and supportive culture

Creating a positive and supportive culture is essential for maintaining productivity during uncertain times. This type of culture can improve engagement, satisfaction, and performance among team members, as well as foster trust, collaboration, and innovation. To achieve this, you should celebrate successes and acknowledge contributions, provide constructive feedback in a timely manner, and encourage team members to share their ideas and perspectives. Additionally, you should promote a learning culture by offering opportunities to develop skills and knowledge, create a sense of belonging and community, and demonstrate that you care about your team. Ultimately, fostering a positive culture requires leadership, recognition, and empathy from you as the leader. Modeling the behaviors and values you want your team to exhibit is also key.

5 Develop your own coping skills

Developing your own coping skills is essential for staying productive during uncertain times. Coping skills are the strategies and techniques you use to manage stress, uncertainty, and change. To develop your own coping skills, you need to identify the sources and triggers of your stress and how they affect you, choose the coping skills that work best for you, practice them regularly and consistently, and evaluate their effectiveness. Additionally, seek support from family, friends, or professionals when needed and offer support when possible. Maintaining a positive attitude and outlook while focusing on the things you can control is also important. Developing your own coping skills requires self-awareness, self-regulation, and self-improvement; furthermore, be open to new experiences and perspectives so that you can learn from them.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?