Whether you are a journalist for The Daily News or a copywriter for an ad agency, even a college student guzzling coffee and red bulls the night before your term paper is due, as a writer we have all been under pressure at some point. Handling pressure to meet a deadline can be difficult especially if is needed in the next hour or by the end of the day. There are some key things to remember as you write under the pressure of the clock ticking.
The first and most important things to remember are take a few deep breaths and relax. Chances are if you have been given a quick and abrupt deadline your boss, editor, or publisher even college professor trusts you enough that it will be efficient, detailed piece of writing. So just take a few minutes to settle in and begin writing, your nerves can be used as an advantage.
Next, you should review what you know and conduct some research. Planning is everything, it has been done but writing a term paper the night before its due is a difficult task if you don’t have any direction. When you find your direction point, continue with at least three sub-topics that relate to the direction you want the piece of writing to take. Do some brainstorming, research, generate quotes from reliable sources or databases and your writing will unfold and the pressure you felt before will be applied to rapid typing and words becoming sentences and paragraphs in front of you.
Take another second to breathe, your almost there. Conducting and gathering research is nearly as important as knowing your audience. Listen to your professor during class if he or she refers to a Kennedy historian that has a great book surrounding the assassination of JFK, it might be in your best interest to visit the library and skim a few chapters of that book. If you are writing to a predominantly liberal driven magazine it might be in your best interest to think about the vocabulary variety in your piece.
Finally, use your time wisely. Remember now the clock is ticking. Don’t waste time focusing on what you are going to eat on your lunch break or what the guy in front of you is working in, stick to the task at hand and you will be able to complete it. Another few key things to keep in mind, stay well hydrated, eat a good breakfast, and if you are still having a difficult time with writing under pressure and losing focus try to take a yoga class, it helps to relax not only your muscles but clear your mind so you can focus on one thing at a time. Right now it’s that deadline, and time is running out.