Suggestions on Working Better Under Pressure?
Hi All,
Just wondering if anyone has any suggestions on how to work better under pressure, when those fire drills are going. My team is very unorganized, one minute it's "this is good, just make these formatting changes and send back" when I send back, "all numbers are off, we need to push back the meeting and do this over". Any suggestions on how to handle this stuff better would be much appreciated (techniques, organizational skills etc...)
Thank you
Not gonna lie, giving less shit has helped me a lot. When I’m under a fire drill, I just flip my mindset to “just get this shit done” and separate any emotions. It sounds confusing and hard, but really, just give less shit.
Makes a lot of sense actually
This is a really good advice and actually it makes you a better analyst - reason being is similar to dating in a sense where:
This goes hand in hand with my experience as a professional golfer, there’s obviously hardos on here who say dumb stuff like “you have to feel the pressure and get it done, otherwise you were never meant for this”
When I was a pro/collegiate golfer I’d play my best and notice others playing their best when you detach yourself from the end result and on what is at hand. It’s easier said than done, busy getting jacked up and thinking this is the be all end all doesn’t do anything.
Another sports example: MJ and Tiger Woods looked like they brought the intensity, but in reality they were as calm as they could be. Lol more then happy to break into the neuroscience which supports this.
Wanting to still do good work but caring a lot less about what people thought of me and realizing we weren’t saving lives helped me mentally adjust back when I was an analyst
The job is a lot easier when you don’t have the added mental baggage of living in fear of the people senior to you
I have a feeling this thread is going to turn into a therapy session.
That’s what happens when you asks some bullshit like this. What else do you expect?
Btw a good aspect of IB to realize that by being medicore and average, you are actually not going to get fired in your first 2/3 years because economically speaking, the firm has invested too much into you to fire you on the spot. Of course your bonus might take a hit, but in a situation like this, it is good to realize that your job is not in danger just because your EBITDA figure in page 56 does not match that of page 21.
The struggle comes from competing priorities causing a mental clog. Do I do A first? Or B? Or C? When priorities are unclear, here is what I would suggest.
- Keep a running list of tasks others asked of you, even the seemingly trivial ones. This will ensure you don’t miss anything (thus avoid others from yelling at you, which worsens the situation). At the same time, it’ll free up your mental capacity as you’re not having to rely on memory to track a list (might be easy when list is short, but takes a toll over time especially when you’re getting crushed).
- Prioritize list on a quadrant if you can (urgent vs non urgent, important vs unimportant). This can be tricky as it’s hard to tell earlier on in your job, but you will get the hang of this over time. Quadrant might seem dumb when you’re absolutely getting crushed, so in that case just throw it on your list.
- When you’re not in an “I needed this yesterday” level fire drill, take a couple minutes to kill some bs items that can be done in 5-10 min to shorten your list. This will have the effect of releasing some endorphin so you’ll feel you accomplished something. Quick way to recharge “mana”. This is also called productive procrastination.
- The best way to get the hang of this is to keep an open, robust dialogue with your team members. Urgent might mean different things to different people. Is it next hour, or sometime tonight, or overnight, or tomorrow morning? Are they asking for shit that they don’t need for 2 weeks? Only way to find out is to build a good relationship with the person and have the leverage to ask / manage expectations upwards. When you start to consistently get them what they need, when they need it, it builds goodwill. Goodwill is leverage.
- On that note, help your fellow analysts when you have some downtime. Many of them will be more than happy to return the favor at some point when you need it. Not saying it’s transactional at all. Just neighbors helping each other storing back the recycling bins or plowing the snow on the sidewalk. In a place supposedly full of high adrenaline a-holes, it could help stand out by leading with a good example. Ok, maybe too much? Reality is sometimes this works, sometimes doesn’t. Just depends on the person. You’ll know who your friends are fairly quickly and where you get the best ROI. Me and a few buddies in my class consistently helped each other. We managed to pull zero true all nighters in 2 years. Some luck obviously but could not have done it without my guys having my back and vice versa.
- Some nights can be tough. You might pull an all nighter, or have a rough week, or just get staffed on back to back projects. Just chip away at your list as much as you can, even gamify it. It’s perverse but will keep you going. When you do have some downtime, be sure to rest so you’re ready for another fire drill.
- Might sound odd, but the above doesn’t necessarily contradict the earlier comments about “don’t give a shit and just get it done.” It’s all habit, muscle memory, and mechanical efficiency = less shit given from emotional perspective. Once you have your system going you’re good.
Best of luck soldier.
This is great, thank you very much for taking the time to lay this out
No problem bud. We’ve all been there. Believe me you’ll laugh about it some day despite the PTSD.
Nihil qui vel laudantium molestiae tenetur. Ex laboriosam sapiente amet omnis modi illo. Et vero in rem incidunt omnis quo quis. Rerum nihil quam saepe amet modi est nam.
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