As a kid I loved shooting baskets in my backyard. ⛹️♂️There was something therapeutic about shooting by myself and watching the ball go through the net. One thing I hated the most though was when you release a 3pt shot that has the right trajectory, arch and backspin then all of a sudden… the wind takes it and is blown sideways. Brick. 🌬🏀
Despite logic telling me otherwise, I still expected to make the same number of shots with the wind blowing as I did with no wind 🤦♂️. As you would imagine this just got me more frustrated. It is difficult shooting baskets in bad conditions like wind 💨 rain 🌧 or snow ❄️. After some time I would stop the suffering by moving closer to the hoop.
Although I was unable to work on everything I wanted to practice, I knew I should get something done and be somewhat productive with my time. I couldn’t control the weather so I was forced to adjust what I practiced and my expectations. I stayed away from shooting long distances and stayed in close focusing on my shooting form or ball handling.
Right now with COVID-19 we are dealing with unfavorable conditions. What you had in mind for your business or work probably has been blown sideways. For me, I WANT to get as much done as I did before the virus but now that I share office space with 5 crazy kids I am interrupted every 5 minutes. Kids, A.K.A. my crazy coworkers, don’t respect office hours. I am figuring out that if I want to keep my sanity and not beat myself up then I need to change my expectations. It is unrealistic to think I can be as productive as I was before the pandemic.
So what I am getting at is don’t be too hard on yourself with these conditions. You can’t expect to be as productive, hit all of your goals or projections you had for you or your business at this time. Keep your sanity by adjusting your goals to something manageable or achievable.
I’m not saying you should do nothing and be lazy all day, but just lower the bar or change it up. For example, I’m going to see how many books I can finish. Typically I don’t take time to read during the day. I am going to make the most of the extra time I spend with my family. Perhaps for you it’s a spring cleaning project like a junk drawer or the garage. What will your adjusted goals look like?
“That was the thing about the world: it wasn’t that things were harder than you thought they were going to be, it was that they were hard in ways that you didn’t expect.”
― Lev Grossman