How to Maximize your Output While Studying Under Pressure
Start Predicting And Planning For Crunch Times
You know you - and your business. To work better under pressure, take 10 minutes to identify "crunch times." Crunch times consist of an intense, overwhelming period of work.
Create A Prioritization Strategy
Assess each task on your list. Is the task important to you? Will it relieve pressure or clear space in your day? Does it move you or your company forward? If not, ask whether you can delegate to someone else, or if that task can be postponed or eliminated.
Forget The Future, Focus On The Present
One way to be better under pressure is to pull back, slow down and stop thinking about the future deadline or work that needs to be done. Make a quick checklist of the three things you need to do next towards the deadline and do them.
Break Your Tasks DownAny project or task can seem overwhelming when looked at as a whole. It's critical to break it down into milestones or steps that can be easily attained.
Ask Yourself What Needs To Be Done Right Now
Under a deadline - or in a river, as Sun Tzu of The Art of War would say - ask yourself, "What needs to be done now?" When the stakes are high, roll up your sleeves and focus on the most important tasks. Bogged in a marsh? Get outside help.
Stop ProcrastinatingPressure almost always comes because you have failed to prioritize and act. You likely procrastinated and now are paying the price. Procrastination is simply a habit and can be broken. First, ask yourself what you are resisting.
Change How You Think About Pressure
The hardest part of working under pressure is coping with the perception of pressure. More often than not, we worry about some imaginary catastrophe that never happens, and that tends to render us powerless.
Take Contrary Action With Purposeful SlackingWhen under pressure, our first response is to work harder and grind through it. But you can't get out of the problem by doing what got you into the problem.