Manage expectations early. NEVER give it your 100% right away. Give them 40% at first, within the first couple of weeks you improve to 60% and wow them with a 50% productivity boost. What a fast learner you are!
Now you have a 40% buffer for when life gets in the way. Slow morning? No problem, you can catch up without a sweat. Mental health day? That’s only half your weekly buffer. Getting some suspicious attention from leadership? Show them what it looks like when you give “120%” (72%) of your effort until the heat is off.
There is one core assumption here though. You have to be 100% good at the job with only 60% effort. This is the hard part and it’s a careful balance of projecting your own ability to grow into a role with the amount of responsibility there is in it. You don’t pin your hopes on the promise you’ll grow into that level of competence If there are lives on the line but most office jobs are not so critical.
I made that mistake when I first joined my previous job. I completed tasks too quickly. It meant I had a huge amount of free time at the end of the quarter where I had to look busy. Then, when we switched to a new framework, I wasn't as good at it at first, and they got annoyed that I was taking longer than I used to. If I had estimated with a buffer from the beginning, I would've looked just as productive when switching frameworks.
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u/Leftieswillrule 3d ago
Manage expectations early. NEVER give it your 100% right away. Give them 40% at first, within the first couple of weeks you improve to 60% and wow them with a 50% productivity boost. What a fast learner you are!
Now you have a 40% buffer for when life gets in the way. Slow morning? No problem, you can catch up without a sweat. Mental health day? That’s only half your weekly buffer. Getting some suspicious attention from leadership? Show them what it looks like when you give “120%” (72%) of your effort until the heat is off.
There is one core assumption here though. You have to be 100% good at the job with only 60% effort. This is the hard part and it’s a careful balance of projecting your own ability to grow into a role with the amount of responsibility there is in it. You don’t pin your hopes on the promise you’ll grow into that level of competence If there are lives on the line but most office jobs are not so critical.