This article shares six wholesome tips for different personalities to maintain productivity and work well under pressure. Whether you are a stress-avoidant person or someone who thrives working in stressful environments situations, these will help you work better with your team members to deliver the work expected of you.
Did you know that some people thrive under stressful work conditions? In fact, they are motivated by challenging tasks, tight deadlines, or even the possibility of failure. According to this article, there are stress avoidants and those who thrive on stress in the workplace. If your boss or team members thrive on stress-inducing work and you are a stress-avoidant person, it may affect your emotional and mental health creating even more pressure for your work. Fortunately, we have six tips to help you maintain productivity and thrive, especially when things get hot in the workplace.
Tip #1: Plan to research beforehand for unclear tasks
Depending on your stress appetite, unclear tasks can either be motivating or frustrating because they require research. This is because research is generally overwhelming since you have to learn a lot of information quickly. One of the ways to make this work easier is to plan and schedule your research. To maintain productivity, do not mix the research with doing the actual tasks because it's likely to drain you.
Tip #2: Keep communication between you, the team leader, and team members open from start to finish with any task
This tip will keep you grounded and realistic as you work. It will also keep you out of your head so you can deliver what is required, not what you think is needed. Write down the feedback you receive so you can always refer to it as you work.
Tip #3: Establish and communicate boundaries
Tempers might rise when the stakes are high, and you may find yourself burning the midnight oil as you work or receiving late-night calls. Establish what is okay with you and what isn’t. For example, working till late might be okay, but late-night calls might be where you draw the line. Shifting goalposts may be okay but shouting at you may be triggering. Communicate your boundaries to the team members. This helps you protect your emotional health, remain consistent, and maintain productivity without being resentful.
Tip #4: Anticipate needs and deliver earlier if possible or even automate some tasks
One of the ways to cut back on pressure is to anticipate what the team needs from you and possibly deliver before they ask. You can also automate some tasks to maintain productivity without over-exerting yourself.
Tip #5 Be flexible and delegate
Flexibility has more to do with when work priorities change. If you remain flexible, you focus more energy on the work you are expected to deliver instead of frustration because there are new changes. Also, being able to delegate allows others to take on tasks you do not necessarily have to be present for, making you more available for the high-pressure parts of your work.
Tip #6: Keep looking for better opportunities
Whether you thrive in stressful work conditions or prefer to avoid them, regularly evaluate if you’d still choose your workplace with its current culture. One of the ways to evaluate your work situation is to check the going market rate for your skills, work cultures in other workplaces similar to yours, and your ability to maintain productivity when the work is stressful. If you still find it a better job than the ones out there, keep at it. If things have changed, move on to what would be better.
I hope this article helps you design better work systems for yourself and your team members to have a better work-life balance and be more productive.
