Working Under Pressure

Are you one of those people who work well under pressure?

Teach me your ways, master…! :)

I remember a time in my life when it seemed cool to include on my curriculum vitae that I work well under pressure. Don’t get me wrong, I think it can be an asset, and in fact, most of us have had to work under pressure at one point or another. You also probably did it well.

“Pressure“, sometimes, is inevitable because crises happen. We can prepare for them but even with preparation, we can still find ourselves having to function under immense pressure. Other times, pressure is a result of poor planning and this happens on either side - client or contractor.

Thinking back on the times when I included work well under pressure on my curriculum vitae, I can say that there was some apprehension. Even back then, I questioned whether it was realistic for me. It was not. The truth is that while I could and can do it, I am disinclined to pursue the kind of work that comes with very limited time for execution. Here is why: there is a cost. Stress, lost sleep, anxiety, and any number of other health challenges — and what are we without our health?

Most of the work I do requires attention to detail, and like most things, it is a learned skill. To some, it may come quicker, to others [like myself] a little bit of time can be the difference between excellence and subpar delivery. Sometimes, clients will be flexible though you cannot always rely on this. You are only ever in control of your end of things - your time, the tools or skills you possess etc.

When we offer to do more than we can realistically deliver, we risk:

• Delivering substandard work.

• Sabotaging future opportunities.

• Losing current income.

• Reputational damage.

To help us choose the best possible fit, we could learn and consistently revisit the following:

• Do I have the capacity for this task?
  Here, I am checking if I have the time or availability to sufficiently complete the task. Perhaps I need an extra day for a third or fourth read of that report. Be honest with yourself.

• Communicate honestly with your [potential] client.
  Being honest with others can be daunting perhaps because we do not want to disappoint them, or hurt them, or have them think negatively about us. These are all assumptions since we really do not know how people will respond to our honest communication. More importantly, there are polite ways to turn down opportunities for which you feel ill equipped to take on. For me, my go to has been simple: “I do not have the capacity for this task“, other times I go with, “Can I come back to you on this in the next hour or tomorrow?“ which gives me a chance to consider my options.

• The last thing I would add here, however, is that you can also check with the potential client if there are possibilities for extensions. Negotiate a more realistic plan or timeframe for a win-win outcome on a task or project. You get to do the work in a reasonable amount of time while delivering excellence to the client.

Thumbnail image by Mat Brown