Poll: Do you work better under pressure?
投稿者: ProZ.com Staff
ProZ.com Staff
ProZ.com Staff
サイトのスタッフ
Dec 27, 2023

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 »



Tom in London
 
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida  Identity Verified
ポルトガル
Local time: 09:21
2007に入会
英語 から ポルトガル語
+ ...
It depends Dec 28, 2023

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
Christopher Schröder
 
Iulia Parvu
Iulia Parvu  Identity Verified
英国
Local time: 09:21
2022に入会
英語 から ルーマニア語
+ ...
Yes! Dec 28, 2023

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... 🙄🙄

Christopher Schröder
Helena Chavarria
Juan Jacob
 
Alex Lichanow
Alex Lichanow
ドイツ
Local time: 10:21
2020に入会
英語 から ドイツ語
+ ...
It depends Dec 28, 2023

If I find a project boring or not challenging in any way, a tight deadline does a lot for my motivation.

Christopher Schröder
Helena Chavarria
 
Matthieu Ledoré
Matthieu Ledoré
フランス
Local time: 10:21
2022に入会
英語 から フランス語
+ ...
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.


Patricia Prevost
Christine Andersen
Philip Lees
Michele Fauble
Beatriz Ramírez de Haro
Kay Denney
 
Lingua 5B
Lingua 5B  Identity Verified
ボスニア・ヘルツェゴビナ
Local time: 10:21
2009に入会
英語 から クロアチア語
+ ...
Pressure Dec 28, 2023

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
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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.
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Matthieu Ledoré
Aline Amorim
Philip Lees
Beatriz Ramírez de Haro
 
Bartosz Kurkiewicz
Bartosz Kurkiewicz
ポーランド
Local time: 10:21
英語 から ポーランド語
+ ...
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.


Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Christine Andersen
Philip Lees
Beatriz Ramírez de Haro
 
Gianni Pastore
Gianni Pastore  Identity Verified
イタリア
Local time: 10:21
2007に入会
英語 から イタリア語
If you work "better" under pressure... Dec 29, 2023

…I wonder what happens when the pressure is not there.

Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Kay Denney
 
Christopher Schröder
Christopher Schröder
英国
2011に入会
スウェーデン語 から 英語
+ ...
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.


Kay Denney
 
Denis Fesik
Denis Fesik
Local time: 11:21
英語 から ロシア語
+ ...
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 meCollapse


 
Tom in London
Tom in London
英国
Local time: 09:21
2008に入会
イタリア語 から 英語
Yes Dec 29, 2023

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


Baran Keki
Christopher Schröder
 
Robert Rietvelt
Robert Rietvelt  Identity Verified
Local time: 10:21
2006に入会
スペイン語 から オランダ語
+ ...
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]


 
Kay Denney
Kay Denney  Identity Verified
フランス
Local time: 10:21
フランス語 から 英語
. Jan 2

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!


Robert Rietvelt
 
Kay Denney
Kay Denney  Identity Verified
フランス
Local time: 10:21
フランス語 から 英語
. Jan 2

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
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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!
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Christopher Schröder
 


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Poll: Do you work better under pressure?






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