In stressful times, these approaches work:

1/n work in smaller batches and shorten planning horizons. Shift quarterly goals to 4-6w goals, break up efforts into smaller efforts.

Why? “Crunch” time at the end of a quarter (for example) can push people over the edge.

2/n related (and a necessary compliment) ... the always important “start finishing, stop starting” / reduce WIP / and lower levels of busy-ness.

Why? Juggling concurrent efforts is extremely hard in normal times ... and even harder when your decision quality is inhibited.

3/n both #1 and #2 make it way safer for someone to take an unplanned day off (or week off) for mental health.

Why? You don’t want someone “toughing it out” because of their teammates or a goal hanging over their head.

4/n make sure everyone in the org understands the idea of fixed length / variable scope efforts. If in doubt, ask the folks planning these efforts to lay out a “de-scoping” plan (Including a plan to not add stress/hours).

Why? “finishing” is great for morale. Not finishing hurts

5/n you’ll need to figure out how to have non-in-person crucial conversations.

Why? Teams that only share good news and rosy updates, will make it very hard for people to speak about the tough things. “We’ve been SO PRODUCTIVE!”

6/n In an ideal world, it helps to have these conversations as a group, not always 1:1.

Why? Similar reason. It helps to hear from other teammates and gain other perspectives, and not just filter through their manager.

7/end ... this is all to say that there is much out of our control. But taking care of the “easy” things ... the shape of the work, the cadence of introspection, lowering WIP, goal-setting can have a big impact.