How To Work Comfortably Under Pressure

By Miles Lacoste Podcast 0 Comments

Before we get started in this episode, let me ask you something – how do you perform under pressure? This is the common question that I always get from Instagram and other social media platforms.

How do you stay focus on a project even under pressure? Closing a deal or you are about to deliver a project will squeeze your creative ideas.

In this episode, I will break down three different techniques on how to work even under pressure. Study shows that delivering something and you are pressured by time and even by your boss will decrease the quality of output reproduced.

In the past, I am always stuck with pressure when I am editing videos for a client and here comes the deadline. I always ask if I miss something or if my work is good enough. You get nervous and anxious. We’ve all been there.

So, I did some research that would help me cope up with pressure.

Get excited

We always hear people telling us to calm down. The problem with calming down is that it will send a signal to your brain to relax and control your adrenaline not to produce more.

But what if you tell yourself to get excited? For example, the adrenaline rush will make a person carry a fridge during a fire or jump from the fourth floor to the ground floor.

When you shift your mindset from calming down to getting excited, you are taking advantage of the adrenaline rush. You are making it as a fuel to deliver your one-of-a-kind idea – pouring out your creativity for a project.

More often than not, time and tasks are not issues. The main problem is actually our mindset. So, the next time that you have a deadline for a project, get excited.

Equate

Let’s say you are a realtor – selling houses and you’ve never closed a big deal before. One day, one of your previous clients recommended you to a good friend who is selling his house for $66 million.

Your first reaction would go wild about marketing because you want to sell the house with justice. You want it to be perfect as this would do good to your portfolio and a big opportunity. Then, you end up being pressured.

Most people think that dealing with small things only requires little pressure while big things require huge pressure. However, the pressure is the same. The only difference is the price tag that comes with it. It’s easier to sell high tickets than low tickets.

I remember the days when I started making videos that I used to charge clients $500 to $1,000 for a whole day wedding, including photos. Then I found out that a photographer charges $2,000 for photography only for 8 hours.

Then I asked how they charge that amount for photography alone. There must be something that they are doing differently. Then, I realized that the amount of work that I do for clients is the same. That no matter what I charge for the client, I still do the same thing – capture, edit, and deliver it to the client.

The only two things that the photographer did was to price his work and position himself as the best in the market. I jacked up all the pricing and my clients seemed to comfortably agree with my pricing and work.

The best part is, I attract the clients that I want to work for with little to no hassle, giving me their creative decisions without micromanaging me. So, the moment you step into the next level, remember that you are doing the same thing. Just shift your mindset.

Control

I live in Vancouver and the weather is very unpredictable, especially when filming for clients outdoor. When I thought that it’s a great day to shoot because the sun is up, as soon as I get to the location, it gets cloudy and cold.

This has been happening most of the time and I realized that these are the things that I can’t control. Why would I bother giving my attention to these things that give me issues?

So, I started taking my attention to the things that I can control like my camera, lighting, or the quality of questions that I asked my clients. I also stop expecting my team to do the things I exactly want them to do.

Instead, I trust them that they will do the things that they think can help me deliver the best work to the client. When you stop spending time on the things that you can’t control and focus on the things that you can control, you will do a lot of bigger things.

How To Work Comfortably Under Pressure