TOW#584 — Working under pressure
If in an interview you get asked “how do you deal with working under pressure?”, you should respond with a question of your own: Is your company under some kind of pressure all the time or…??
Okay, it’s not exactly my point, at least not now, to analyse the types of companies or management that result in having to work under pressure, but instead to talk a bit about how to cope and give our best when we find ourselves in that kind of situation:
Pressure — First, figure out where the pressure is coming from and whether it’s real. The hardest part of working, under pressure, is dealing with the perception of pressure, because we often worry about an imaginary catastrophe that never happens, and that tends to make us feel powerless.
Predictions — Anyone with many years of experience can foresee pressure. For example, I start putting the pressure on at home before we go on a trip somewhere. I realised that it was a fault of mine and now I’m ready for trips the day before. Nowadays, there’s no longer (as much) pressure.
Focus — Leave the past behind you, focus on the present (the pressure)! It’s best to step back, slow down a bit, and stop thinking about deadlines or the work to be done. Make a quick list of the three most important things you can do to slowly reduce the pressure and bring the situation under control. It’s courageous to actually implement those things, rather than just sit in your office doing nothing!
Delays — Stop procrastinating. Pressure almost always comes because you failed to prioritise and act on certain things. You were most probably procrastinating and now you’re paying the price. Procrastination is a habit, but it can be broken. It might be because of you, or because of the management (they’re too sweet) or because of the atmosphere (if my colleague’s doing nothing and still getting paid, then so will I)! Don’t pay any attention to others, do your best and don’t keep putting things off!!!
Opportunity for progress — Feeling under pressure is a state that pushes you into a corner, makes you weak. It’s a completely natural, primal reaction. Knowing this, however, you can decide to do the opposite and resist! Take that (negative) energy that pressure carries with it and use it positively, as an opportunity for you to grow in the work you do.
Step by step — We’ve written before about multitasking and said that it’s mission impossible. Almost everyone says they can do more than one thing at a time, and that may be so, but the question is how well those things get done. Therefore, do things one by one, especially in times like this when you’re having to work under pressure.
Wishing you success with the changes to come,
@kalinbabusku
Member of the Team
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