Do you perform better under pressure?

[SquarePeg]

When I was in the UK I had a pressurised job and loved it. I don´t work well as part of a team and preferred it when it was just me and my boss.

I was a legal secretary, basically audio and copy typed hundreds of pages of legal stuff. (the first two years I was at various companies training for this, and I wasn´t very good and was "let go" quite a few times).

anyway for me I didn´t have to think any more about what I was doing as basically it was various combinations of the same legal phrases. My boss thought I was fantastic (I lived in fear of him finding out the truth) and he assigned my tasks the whole time. THerefore I never had to prioritise my own work or really think for myself. I work best being told what to do and know what is expected of me.

I wasn´t good at the social stuff and and work if my boss asked me to make travel or lunch arrangements, I would delegate it do somebody else, I can´t organise. I hated talking on the phone and was in the habit of letting voicemail pick it up.

SO more often than not I was under pressure to work quickly, often working all night and weekends, skipping lunch but I loved it and thrived.

After my second child I worked part time and found that on my days not working I couldn´t focus, no motiviation, felt stressed, didn´t clean the house and felt overwhelmed.

It seems I need to be under pressure to be productive. I suppose it´s a stimulant really.

I have a different job now, part time in a different country. I find if something needs to be done urgently I can do it but more time I have to complete something, the more chance there is that it will never get done. If there is no motivation then forget it.


Hope I am making sense. thanks

[spunkysmum]

It depends. I was thinking about this the other day.

When it comes to work, which in my case is a clerk in a store, I actually do become better the busier it is, and the longer the line at the counter is. The thrill of the challenge kicks in and I get a charge out of seeing how quickly I can reduce the line of rush-hour customers to a trickle of a straggler or two. But this comes from a place of confidence in knowing that I am good at my job whether the pressure is on or not. It just matters less how fast I am when it is not busy.

But the thing about leaving deadline projects to the last minute - I'd be lying if I said I could produce something as high-quality in a few last rushed minutes as something I could produce over a period of time. Pressure may motivate me more to get done, but I don't know that if makes me perform better, in this type of case. The kind of pressure I perform well under is the unplanned kind, the crisis thrown at you from out of left field.

[ADDinHDefgHi?!]

most of the time I do, without a doubt. it's the adrenaline rush that comes when I realize what's at stake. however there have been time where due to extreme lack of preparation I failed miserably.

but I can remember as far back as elementary school I could manage to do well on an oral report even though I never wrote a report, I just improvised and the pressure of being in front of the class helped me remember everything I needed to say but was too lazy to study.

I almost need pressure to really perform well most of the time. I think I enjoy working under pressure as long as I'm working at something I'm good at.

[SquarePeg]

spunkysmum, hi, yes I totally agree that it comes from a place where I am confident and know I am good and what I do. We would have an overflow tray of work that needed to be done by other lawyers and we could choose what we liked from it. I would always try and get the longest most complicated document.

AS regards to meeting urgent deadlines, I didn´t explain properly. I was referring to minor stuff like getting copies of docs together and filling in an application for something. No anything important now and I would freak out!!

[SquarePeg]

ADDinHDefgHi, take out that word "lazy" from your post!! yes I get what your saying, pressure is a motivation only if you are doing something you are good at.

[fracturedstory]

Yes. Less adrenalin for me more anxiety. I get so worried about not being able to get things done that I'm desperate to start. Some days when I'll more calm and optimistic I'll actually not be able to start, though not be as anxious and still get nothing done.

[Lisa_Mac]

Yes, definitely. I work best under pressure and if it's doing something I'm good at. If there is a specific job with a beginning and an end I will get it done efficiently and quickly.

In my last job, before I started freelancing, my boss always used to say that "Lisa is a very busy lady so give her the job and she'll get it done." Like you I hated the side of the job where I had to deal with clients or organize anything social. I just wanted to do my job. I wasn't even very good at organizing my dept in my opinion. I would follow up on the work that had to be done, but my staff took total advantage of my laid back attitude and I found it very difficult to manage the people side of running a dept. I expected them to behave as adults, and of course that isn't always the case. My staff liked me a lot, but other depts used to point fingers and say my staff weren't disciplined enough. BUT, the work got done nevertheless.

Our clients were always impressed with our service and I got a kick out of turning things round quickly and efficiently, and producing good quality.

It's the same now. When I have a job to do which is mainly CAD's and textile prints for the clothing industry, when I have a job to do, I love it and get totally focused on the job. I hate the part where I have to try and find new clients. It totally freaks me out.

I do not function well under sudden pressure, but as long as the pressure is not too obvious, I just slog away and get the work done. I try not to ask if there's a deadline, because I prefer to just do things as quickly as possible to get it done, as though the deadline is imminent. When the deadline IS imminent, I tend to get totally focused on the job, to the point that everything else gets forgotten. My son will never let me forget the time that I let him wait for over an hour because I was so busy working I forgot to fetch him from school.

If I have no work to do and it's just normal housewife/mom type of routine, I'm pretty aimless and unmotivated. I have to give myself a kick in the butt regularly.

Lx

[Zoom Dude]

We generally do well when the goal is clear, the focus is "right now" and it's assumed there's no time to sweat the small stuff. Let's face it - it's kind of exciting to ride into town with your six-guns a-blazin', then ride out of town when the job is done. (And let someone else clean up the mess.)

When we get all the synapses firing we can be amazing, keeping all the balls in the air better than a circus juggler. If it's a low pressure job where we have plenty of time but we're expected to get it all done "just so", that's when we fall flat. No endorphin high, no organizational ability.

One thing I've noticed is that businesses tend to operate today much more in the six-guns a-blazin' mode. No one wants to spend the money to have everything done just so. This is good news for people with ADHD. Companies may make a big stink when stuff falls through the cracks, but at some level they know they're doing it to themselves. They think operating efficiently costs too much, so they cut the resources that would allow efficient (and cost-effective) operation and instead go for lowest possible cost.

So getting a job is hard because layoffs are up and hiring is down (ask me how I know ), but an ADHDer who gets a job might be more likely to keep it.

ZD

[SquarePeg]

Thanks Zoom Dude, very nicely put, sums me up exactly.

Sadly with the advance of technology my job changed drastically. It used to be that only the secretaries could type but now, everyone can type, from trainees, junior lawyers to full partners. Plus docs can be emailed and amended by the other side on a deal so my job got pretty boring and looking back that´s when I remember the start of my problems.

Hey I´ve just realised that, it´s another epiphany!!

[stef]

yes definitely - unless it gets to this point of just TOO MUCH pressure

This depends a lot on several factors -if it's something easy for me or not; for example yikes if it involves "calling people" ; but, complicated diagrams in slides for a presentation tomorrow morning? no problem!

And, if the people asking me for whatever at work, remain reasonable or not. If they are completely freaking out themselves I will get upset.
I've never had to work overnight; we had a night staff where I used to work; and now I don't actually work on big legal documents.
(I also work in a law firm )

[Ipsofacto]

I would call what works best for me, structured pressure. Work was always a pain for me until my mid twenties when I took a job that was mostly structured around completing projects. I remember my boss asking me at the interview, if I knew what a project was. I said yes, but had no clue. At first it was a total shock to the system. Then I found I liked it. I could become totally focused on meeting the deadline. Thinking fast, problem solving snags, finding efficiencies, all under pressure; loved it.

It wasn't just the pressure of a deadline. Having to structure the project work to meet the deadline was the most important lesson. Planning how to get it done in time became a part of the thrill.

Here's the rub. This only works for me when there is tight deadline. If there is plenty of time, I really struggle.

[Zoom Dude]

Originally Posted by stef

And, if the people asking me for whatever at work, remain reasonable or not. If they are completely freaking out themselves I will get upset.

Yes, reasonableness is key.

This was a hard lesson for me, but I finally learned it. Your boss can't know all the details of what you do. He/she has to keep track of you and all your colleagues. You might have everything under control and know what to do when the unexpected happens. But your boss doesn't know that.

I've seen a situation turn bad and the boss just freaks out. Since he's the guy in charge he feels he needs to "take action" so he fires off a list of things to do, hoping with parallel solutions one will actually work. He doesn't care that he's just tripled or quadrupled everyone's work at the worst possible time.

If you know which solution will work, or at least the most promising direction to take, do this. First and foremost, let him know you understand the severity of the situation. Too many times I've been the only one in the group who knew the solution, but because I was calm and not panicking, I got labelled as "not having a sufficient sense of urgency" - in other words, not running around like a crazy person. Since when is being level-headed a problem? When you are and your boss is not.

Then calmly make your case for your solution and diplomatically point out the time risk of ineffective actions. Bosses are people too, and a big part of their job is to appear managerial. Some do it better than others. Help them out and you can be their hero (though some will never admit it).

ZD

[rockydaydreamer]

I finish my college papers under pressure.. although not without a lot of grammar mistakes... lol

[SquarePeg]

Originally Posted by Zoom Dude

If you know which solution will work, or at least the most promising direction to take, do this. First and foremost, let him know you understand the severity of the situation. Too many times I've been the only one in the group who knew the solution, but because I was calm and not panicking, I got labelled as "not having a sufficient sense of urgency" - in other words, not running around like a crazy person. Since when is being level-headed a problem? When you are and your boss is not.


ZD

In my case it was the perfect working partnership. My boss was such a panicker, like a headless chicken it times and I was the complete opposite (well on the outside anyway, on the insider was a different story). So at times I was the only one he trusted, panicky people made him nervous.

ha ha at times he would call me in his office and say something like, "I need such and such, do you know where it is" "yes sir" I would say. I would calmly walk outside, shut the door and say "oh sh**t what the heck is he talking about. But because he always trusted me 100% I always came up with the goods.

[gatorADDe]

I think pressure and stress are forms of stimulation for me. It's when I'm not stressed or not under pressure when I have problems getting things done.