But Steve! I do my best work under pressure!
I hear this often–and sometimes my performance peaks under pressure, too! It’s one of the reasons why procrastination can seem to be our friend.
If procrastination works for you, and you are getting done what you want to get done when you want to get it done, and getting the results (course grades, we’re talking here), then keep that working for you! It ain’t broke, so don’t fix it!
How can stress be good? What is going on?
If you’re curious about how pressure can improve performance, the link was described by a couple of psychologists, Yerkes and Dodson, who came up with the Yerkes-Dodson law. Think of an upside down U-curve–at the beginning of the curve, no pressure, no stress, no motivation, no performance. Put on a little pressure and you move up the curve–a little pressure, now some desire to perform, some focus, and some performance. Keep going up the curve–the more pressure, the higher motivation to get at it, keep at it, and keep focus.
Up to a point. At the top of the curve, the good burn is on, you’re in the zone, focussed, efficient, effective. It feels great! You rock!
But this is an inverted, upside down curve. Past that peak point, as pressure increases, it really is down hill. You are running out of time. You start to panic. You don’t have time to add in the really great video clips, check the footnotes, and proofread. There’s a fire drill and your internet went down! Your focus is gone, you rush to the end and do something stupid you’d never usually do but it’s too late you posted it in the drop box. Or you missed the deadline and just went down a grade.
My work with students involves finding the particular procrastination management that works for their particular work style. The key here is managing procrastination so that you are almost always on the way up the curve, or near the peak. The tweaks are different for everyone. Here are some of the pointers that I have my students begin with:
- Outline the project the day you get it. But don’t start it yet.
- Put the project and outline in a folder and start a folder on your computer.
- Put the actual deadline on your calendar, and a target deadline that is one week in advance of the actual deadline. Put the day you are going to start on the project on your calendar.
- Where possible, do the dull stuff first, keeping the fun parts for later–but not too much later.
If you’re a pressure junkie, these steps can keep the thrill of peak performance while at the same time allowing you to apply tools of time and project management. It can be win-win a reduced chance of running out of time to get the result you’re really after.
Horror stories? Success stories? Let me know! [email protected]