How to Work Under Intense Pressure and Succeed?

We all know that being calm and composed under stress and pressure is not an easy task. Most of the times, we worry ourselves by thinking about all the little things and activities that we could do under such a limited time.

At the same time, we try to be cautious of ourselves so as to make sure that nothing goes wrong. But trying to be calm and keeping your cool under pressure is not always hard. All it takes is a bit of preparation and planning and you can easily tackle such stress and pressures.

The following points include tips and tricks that will help you to be cheerful and happy, even if you are subjected to pressure. These are the secrets that any individual could follow to achieve a blissful working life even under strenuous conditions.

Here are the following ways you can stay cool under pressure, and face any emergency, no matter what happens:

How to Excel or Thrive Under Pressure:

1. Go through the fundamental topics:

• Whenever you are given a job to do, such as doing a demo or leading a presentation, try to go through your work, a large number of times so that you can learn and know the material thoroughly and completely. Try to run through your works until you know more than half of it by heart.
• This is done, so that you can smoothly sail and do your job in an auto piloted manner instead thinking what to do next. This is necessary since you can focus equally both on the crowd that you are presenting and also on your own performance.
• Another factor that you should keep in mind is that to take notice of the various interruptions that can happen during your presentation or demo and take notice of it beforehand. This is done so that, you won’t get flustered or distracted by any sudden questions or doubts.
• The only solution to this dilemma is to rehearse and practice your whole demo or presentation, as if you were going to present to the client themselves. Rehearsing is a great method to remove any last minute fear and enables to take better grasp of the situation. It also enables you to be better prepared and allows you to take matters in your own hands.
• Practicing also allows you to prepare and plan better at your work and also helps as a stress reliever for many. Employees can either practice by looking at a mirror or with the help of a third person.
• Also, try to make sure that whatever job you do, avoid trying to make it too formal and stiff as this can be uncomfortable for both the client and the employee. So try to be a bit informal and be professional at the same time.

2. Make a list of all your disadvantages and fears:

• Try to be well prepared and ready for any kind of challenge that will happen during your day of presentation or demo. If you are afraid that you might forget a line or sentence during the demo, then it is advisable to write down all the worries and fears that you have regarding this process.
• This is a great way to recognise the areas that you feel are inadequate and need more practice and rehearsing. This is also a great way to ensure that you are doing a good job and you are able to provide a satisfactory results and performance.
• You can write down any types of discomforts and fears that you feel while doing your work, these can include both mental and physical fears. After writing what you fear of, the next step is to see that whether or not you are able to solve these problems one at a time. This is a necessary step, so that you won’t feel scared by the said factors.
• Another method that you could do is to dissect the whole tension filled situation into smaller components and focusing on each component one at a time. This makes you feel more comfortable about the whole scenario and enables you to give an insight on how you could improve more and perform better without falling or succumbing to high pressure.
• All these process will enable you to be ready for any kind of emergency and be prepared, even if anything happens.

3. Try to get advices and opinion from people who you trust:

• Make sure that for whatever work you are doing or you are going to do, ask from honest and trustworthy people for feedback. Getting an opinion or a feedback regarding your performance is a great way to constantly check your weak points and also helps in strengthening their confidence by giving attention to those aspects.
• Constructive criticisms acts as a form of encouragement to many rookie workers , since it helps them to look back into one’s own performances and see what was right and what was wrong with their behaviour, performance, their way of speaking, their voice and so on.
• Positive encouragements are also necessary so that the person feels boosted and happy and enables them to enjoy in doing what they are interested in.
• Another factor of asking a loved one for an advice is that, most of them would give examples where they also had to face such similar dilemmas and they would give instances on how they had solved their problems in the past. This makes the employee more energised and help them to develop their problem solving skills and abilities. This also helps them to concentrate and focus more on the job rather than being tensed about the whole situation.
• Having people, who are well-wishers around us, also helps us to remind us of the times where we were our best and this helps us to perform better and encourages us to do give our best.

4. Try not to think too much about it: 

• Sometimes over thinking a lot will result in poor performance, no matter how much the individual had practiced beforehand. This can be very faltering especially for new employees. Even seasoned professionals have a hard time to perform well by over thinking and over critiquing their results.
• The best method for such a dilemma is to keep a calm and composed aura. Having a clear state of mind is necessary to think about how one should perform. Try not to have any unwanted and unnecessary thoughts about failure and rejection. Try to be cool about the situation and try to handle it in a mature manner. Inadequate trust in oneself is also another reason why people always have second thoughts about their performance and work.
• Try to follow various tricks and tips which allows you to have a clear state of mind and achieve a calm aura. One of the main tricks that many athletes and sportspersons do to avoid last minute jitters is to meditate and reach a flow state. A flow state is a state that is achieved by the human mind where there is maximum calm and concentration and allows athletes to stay focused and do their jobs effectively.
• Having a stable state of mind is necessary for any individual to love what they are doing and also helps them to focus fully into their work and helps them to show a better performance.
• A fun method to prevent any distractions from entering into our minds before doing something important is to play games or listen to relaxing music. Basically, do what you love to do and make yourself relaxed and be at ease. Not only will this help you to do better at your work, but also helps you to have a bright personality and provides the necessary confidence boost.

5. Try to enjoy what you do:

• One of the main reasons why many employees feel anxiety just before an important event is that, more than half of them do not enjoy in what they do. They are just simply doing their jobs just for the sake of completing it. This is the main reason why most of them get second thoughts and doubts when doing something important for their careers. It is an inevitable fact that people who do not love in doing their tasks often end up either half-baking the job or may not even complete the job at all. This will create disagreements between the employee and the employer.
• The best way to tackle such an unenthusiastic approach is to try to condition your mind and personality. Alter your behaviour and mind and try to see the challenge as a blessing rather than a curse. Try to see the work that you have to do as a fun activity in your profession rather than a threat.
• Masking your mind into seeing challenges as platforms to learn, enables you to become more ambitious and also you will feel less fearful while dealing with such inconveniences.
• If you feel that your positive behaviour is slowly fading away, then remind yourself that you are the boss of the situation and that you are the one in control. Remind yourself that you are controlling the situation and not the opposite.
• If you try to keep this behaviour up, in the end you will come to realise that you are the ones who have the power and control to shape the result of any kinds of situations and dilemmas being thrown at you. Moreover, you can also advice this method to fellow colleagues who are in need of encouragement and support in their work.

6. Just know that failing sometimes is okay: 

• Keep in mind that we are humans, and that it is okay to fail sometimes in a task. Like the saying goes ”failures are the stepping stones to success”, failing in a task is a good method to know your limits and boundaries and helps you to give an insight on what all you can achieve when subjected to high pressure and tension. Failures are necessary in one’s life and failures acts as positive reminders that there is room for development and improvement.
• Moreover, know that failures are an inevitable part of life. What makes failure a “failure” is how people try to perceive disappointments. Sometimes people see failures as career threatening and the end of the world and some others see failures as a chance to be even better and explore more choices and factors.
• Failures indirectly help us to lower our tensions and pressures and help us to be more prepared and alert for the next challenge that comes our way. So, the nest time you fail an interview, remember that there are lots of other interviews just waiting for you and you can prepare more for the next one coming.

7. Carry a good luck charm with you:

• Though, it may sound stupid, but having a good luck charm can increase your chances of performing better. Recent surveys and studies have shown that people who tend to carry any type of good luck charms have seen an increase in development of their performance and their productivity. This might be because, good luck charms helps to boost one’s moral confidence and also gives them the necessary push to perform better.
• Another factor being that good luck charms is always seen by the user as a reminder of their happy times and instances where they were the best. This enables many individuals to tackle many challenges under pressure effectively.

Another factor that enables an individual to keep their cool during stressful situations and tense environment is experience. Having the right kind of experience and knowledge helps you to perform better with every challenge that you face. So, try to see stressful and pressured conditions as a platform for developing yourself, your work culture and your confidence level.