Palmer, Bellingham, Saka, Toney, Trent, Pressure? What Pressure?
Pressure is for tires. This is a different generation. They don't feel it. How confident were they? They had the belief. They somehow found the energy to get themselves into the semi-final.
Lol, I know I know.
The minute I decided to write about “Pressure“ particularly work pressure (especially since the year is coming to an end) that was the first reference that came to mind. I’m not the biggest when it comes to following football, but those lines are pretty good and they stuck with me.
Also, if we are talking about work pressure, athletes are pretty much the OGs in that field. So you get me.
Watching that again kind of gave me chills but it’s time to come back to reality. We may not all be athletes, but we also get pressured one way or the other.
Anyway…
Hey there, how are you doing today?
I don’t know if it’s just me who’s feeling some kind of pressure to do more than I have been doing all year, but I know a bunch of people around me who also have a similar experience.
Engineers and PMs launching new features at work
Students going back to school.
Students writing exams.
Sales teams and other staff trying to meet their Q4 target.
Fresh graduates looking for jobs and so on.
I’m even being generously specific when honestly, I don’t need to. Being in Nigeria alone is enough pressure.
Imagine waking up hoping you would have a productive day only to hear that:
The National grid has collapsed and,
Fuel is now 3 million Naira per liter
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With all of this happening on a regular basis, and with even the basic things in life being a struggle, it’s no surprise that extra stress or expectations in school or at work can cause the average human being to cave.
Companies need to hit their goals so naturally everyone has to contribute to that. Individuals also have to step up their game no matter what it is they are working on.
But do not worry, it’s because of times like this that I write to you.
Before I go on, I have to ask, what are you currently feeling pressured by?
Work
School
Family
Thoughts of the future
Nigeria
Your goals
I need you to try as much as you can to be specific about your biggest stress/pressure point. Now that you have done that, the first thing I have to say is,
You are not alone. Neither are you uniquely cursed with a specific brand of shege.
What this means is that someone somewhere has gone through the same thing you are going through at some point in their life no matter how messed up you think your situation is. I’m saying this because I want you to be consoled. I want you to try and calm down on your anxiety.
I know it’s quite old-fashioned and insensitive to base your gratitude on “There are others that have it worse. I’m grateful for where I’m at“. But, it’s true and if it does make you feel better about whatever you are going through, go for it.
Now that I have established that life is equally committed to screwing up other lives as it is committed to messing with you, I hope I have been able to take that pressure down a few notches.
I’m going to share how I have been coping with all the things I have to do and my hope is that you can apply it to your pressure point too.
Now, let’s talk about how you can make it out of this alive.
How to Manage Pressure at Work
When it comes to managing pressure, in my case work pressure, there are a few tricks I have picked up over the years that have worked for me, and I would like to share that with you.
1. Prioritize and organize tasks: In the past few weeks, I must have organized and reorganized my tasks management board at least 4 times. It is important to me that I figure out what deserves my time so that I don’t crash. That’s one thing I have been doing and it’s one thing I want you to do too.
2. Set realistic goals: Because tensions are high right now, there is a tendency for you to want to over stretch yourself. Please, calm down. If you can’t do it, don’t set it. The time to be ambitious is over. If your boss gives you a take you can’t finish, don’t claim you can.
3. Learn to delegate or ask for help: Once you have found out that is it realistically impossible to finish all the things you need to, start asking for help. Q4 means things have to get done but if you can’t do them alone, you can ask for help.
4. Stay organized: The more chaotic things are, the higher your chances of being stressed out. Use a to-do list, set a timer, stay as sane as you can.
5. Practice self-care: Sleep when you need to. Eat when you need to. The keep to being productive under pressure is a sound mind, not a stressed mind.
6. Stay calm under pressure: Whatever you do, don’t panic.
7. Focus on one task at a time: I personally do not like to multi-task but yeah, don’t do that.
8. Know when to say no: Especially when it does not align with your core goals, don’t push yourself.
9. Seek feedback: The faster you are able to close on a task the better for your stress level. Please don’t sleep on any task.
With all these things I have said, you are likely to still be stressed and feel the pressure. The important thing to note is that you need to prioritize your mental well-being and that would in turn put you in a better position to do what you need to get done.
Please do not crash.
Do not lose yourself.
Do not let the pressure of this world destroy your peace.
I have one more thing that might help. My company is hosting a webinar addressing a similar topic. If this connected with you in any way, register and come ready to put that pressure under.
Cheers.
In summary
I know you planned to do a lot but focus on the major things for now. It’s Q4 already
Ask for help. Please. Ask for help.
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