🏊‍♂️ Swimming against the current · The Bunker #51

Swimming against the current

I'm going to be honest with you, one of the things that I find most challenging is working under pressure.

Sounds logical, right?

The reality is that in the professional world, it's quite common to work under pressure, whether it's to impress someone, a big client, an impending deadline, a tight deadline directly, and so on.

I used to think that working under pressure was a reality, and that I simply wasn't accustomed to it yet, and that it was just a matter of time before I got used to it.

I thought it simply wasn't my thing and that it was something I had to work on, that's it. No further.

The reality is not entirely like that.

These days, I make sure not to be under pressure when I have to do anything.

Mainly because the outcome isn't the same, my focus is on what's causing me stress, not on the task itself.

But this isn't obvious, and it's the first thing I try to make clear to my clients.

1. If your idea is to deliver it in 2 days, I'm sorry but it won't be possible.

2. What you're asking for takes more time.

3. I always give a 2-week margin, in case I hit a creative block or whatever. I always say I need 4 weeks when I might only need 3. (Then it turns out to be something positive for the client because you set an expectation of 4 weeks and deliver it in 3.)

Throughout my career, I've realized that working under any kind of pressure doesn't benefit me at all.

If I'm stressed, I relax and I won't work until I'm calm.

A bit of pressure is good, because it keeps me on my toes; otherwise, you risk relaxing too much.

But definitely, talking to my clients, colleagues, bosses, etc., and helping them understand that if we don't do it in X way, things won't turn out as they expect, that's the best thing I've done.

As we always say, try everything you can and stick with what works best for you.

This is what has worked for me.

Calmness, clear thinking, and efficient work.

Until next time.

Cheers, Jordi Espinosa.