Poll: Do you work better under pressure? Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
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I’m kind of a perfectionist and always put a certain degree of pressure on myself. Even so, I’m rather disciplined and my regulars know me quite well and what I can and can't do. I decline most jobs from new clients if the deadline is too tight, though I’m flexible enough to deal with it at the right price…
| | | | Iulia Parvu 
United Kingdom
Local time: 01:41
Member (2022)
English to Romanian
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It's how my brain functions - if multiple projects are lined up in a queue and the deadline is strict, I become double-focused without much effort. It's to do with my fear of letting clients down, which apparently is related to childhood trauma... 🙄🙄
| | | | Alex Lichanow
Germany
Local time: 02:41
Member (2020)
English to German
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If I find a project boring or not challenging in any way, a tight deadline does a lot for my motivation.
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Matthieu Ledoré
France
Local time: 02:41
Member (2022)
English to French
+ ...
| Toxic question | Dec 28, 2023 |
This encourages people to take jobs with unreachable deadlines and to work nights and weekends.
I work better when healthy and relaxed.
If you want 30 000 words delivered in 10 hours, please buy a DeepL subscription… and don't complain about quality afterwards.
| | | | Lingua 5B
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Local time: 02:41
Member (2009)
English to Croatian
+ ...
Pressure may also be a toxic boss, not only tight deadline. It may also be competitiveness, not quite clear what’s meant by pressure.
But if I have to give a generic answer, then my answer is no. I give my best in terms of productivity and creativity in a relaxed environment. I have one direct client who always contacts me with the same sentence “give me a tentative deadline” (they don’t care if I say 5 days or 1 month, it won’t make them run to a different translator), I ... See more Pressure may also be a toxic boss, not only tight deadline. It may also be competitiveness, not quite clear what’s meant by pressure.
But if I have to give a generic answer, then my answer is no. I give my best in terms of productivity and creativity in a relaxed environment. I have one direct client who always contacts me with the same sentence “give me a tentative deadline” (they don’t care if I say 5 days or 1 month, it won’t make them run to a different translator), I always give a special polish and gloss to their translations, comparing to other clients. ▲ Collapse
| | | | | There's a reason we have PRO in procrastination... | Dec 28, 2023 |
That rush of an impending deadline is just too good to pass.
But as to the original question: no, I do not work better under pressure.
My output will always be less than ideal without a final review, and this needs to be done with a "fresh" pair of eyes.
Not something you can do on a quick job, unless you have an editor on hand.
| | | | Gianni Pastore
Italy
Local time: 02:41
Member (2007)
English to Italian
| If you work "better" under pressure... | Dec 29, 2023 |
…I wonder what happens when the pressure is not there.
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| Procrastination | Dec 29, 2023 |
Gianni Pastore wrote:
…I wonder what happens when the pressure is not there.
I might do other things. Ride my bike, go surfing, have a lie in, read a book.
Or sit at the desk dithering over critical editing issues like whether to put little or small, or whether to remove full stops at the end of bullets.
Or come on here.
Obviously excessive pressure is bad, but a looming deadline is always a good motivator, and a tight deadline does help you focus on what really matters.
| | | | | I'm all the pressure I put on myself | Dec 29, 2023 |
No other pressure will be tolerated. I always work fast when I'm comfortable with the topic and get mad at my computer if it doesn't allow me to work as fast as I want. No pressure will make me work faster. If the subject-matter is too difficult for me, I'll keep trumpeting about it from the very beginning and will take as much time and do as much research as I need to deliver an adequate result, with or without pressure. Once a manager told me to do a B-level job (in terms of academic letter gr... See more No other pressure will be tolerated. I always work fast when I'm comfortable with the topic and get mad at my computer if it doesn't allow me to work as fast as I want. No pressure will make me work faster. If the subject-matter is too difficult for me, I'll keep trumpeting about it from the very beginning and will take as much time and do as much research as I need to deliver an adequate result, with or without pressure. Once a manager told me to do a B-level job (in terms of academic letter grades, which is a 4 over here) on a project with a tight deadline, and I thought I'd have to change something in the way I work to bring it down from the A level, which wouldn't be easy to do. Fortunately, most of my superiors, wherever I worked (the military excepted), would understand this about me and try their best not to put extra pressure on me ▲ Collapse
| | | | Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 01:41
Member (2008)
Italian to English
ProZ.com Staff wrote: This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "Do you work better under pressure?". This poll was originally submitted by Natalia Pedrosa. View the poll results »
Yes, IWBUP
| | | | | I don't know | Dec 29, 2023 |
Never thought about it, but I do know that I am working much better with my socks on. Does that count?
Can't wait for the next intelligent Poll question (lets keep modulating just for the sake of it)
[Edited at 2023-12-29 22:51 GMT]
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Kay Denney
France
Local time: 02:41
French to English
Robert Rietvelt wrote:
Never thought about it, but I do know that I am working much better with my socks on. Does that count?
Can't wait for the next intelligent Poll question (lets keep modulating just for the sake of it)
[Edited at 2023-12-29 22:51 GMT]
If you wear support socks, they do exert some pressure on your veins so it would definitely count!
| | | | Kay Denney
France
Local time: 02:41
French to English
I need a deadline or I simply won't ever get started, but I much prefer a soft deadline that leaves plenty of room to accept other work or do fun stuff.
I can work fast but it depends on the kind of work rather than the sense of urgency imparted by the client. I worry that I'll make silly mistakes when the client puts pressure on me.
Luckily most of my clients are pretty cool about deadlines. The one client who is always in a hurry is the client who pays the highest rate, so I remi... See more I need a deadline or I simply won't ever get started, but I much prefer a soft deadline that leaves plenty of room to accept other work or do fun stuff.
I can work fast but it depends on the kind of work rather than the sense of urgency imparted by the client. I worry that I'll make silly mistakes when the client puts pressure on me.
Luckily most of my clients are pretty cool about deadlines. The one client who is always in a hurry is the client who pays the highest rate, so I remind myself of that any time they call in a panic. And even they have realised it's better to be organised! ▲ Collapse
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