Hey everybody, welcome back to Fast Tip Friday. Charlie Hauck here, giving you some of that Growth Dynamics voodoo before you check out for the week.
I want to burst a bubble for some people. I don’t know how many of you this is going to impact, but I think more people will be affected by it than are willing to admit. I’ll take my best shot with this, and I’ll tell you—this is one I’ve learned from personal experience. I don’t think I’m the only one in the world who believed this: the idea that “I do my best work under pressure.”
You know, when it comes down to the last minute, we tell ourselves that’s when we’re really in the zone, knocking it out, showing just how committed we can be. But honestly? I think that’s a pile of crap. If I wanted to be blunt, I’d use a different phrase that starts with “BS.”
Let’s talk about it for a minute. A lot of people I’ve met—especially high-drive entrepreneurs, decision-makers, and successful folks—have somehow convinced themselves that when the lights are brightest and the clock is ticking down, that’s when they do their best work. And that just isn’t true.
What’s really happened is that they’ve mastered the art of fooling themselves into thinking they can get away with it. But I don’t think you can honestly say it’s your best work. It may be good. It may be passable. But it’s not your best. And if someone is counting on you—whether it’s a client, a team member, or a partner—they deserve better.
When we do our work with time, planning, preparation, commitment, attention to detail, and enough space to be fully engaged and present, that’s when our best work happens. It’s not when the deadline is seconds away, the alarms are going off, and your hair’s on fire while you’re snapping at people who could help you. That’s not excellence. That’s survival mode.
Sure, you might finish and say, “See? I got it done.” But is that really what you want to be known for? Just getting it done?
Here’s my advice: start earlier. Set a schedule that lets you chip away at the work bit by bit. Give yourself enough runway to review, reflect, and even improve your ideas. Maybe you’ll catch a better way to say something. Maybe you’ll discover a stronger deliverable. What you had may have been fine—but was it your best? Probably not.
If you learn to plan, to schedule, to discipline yourself—and if you set real deadlines that leave room to breathe, to think, and to refine—your reputation for quality will rise. Not because you finished in a frenzy, but because you delivered something excellent.
So break the habit. Break the belief. Stop trying to shove five pounds of crap into a three-pound bag and acting like everyone should be happy with it.
You’re better than that. You know it. I know it. So prove it.
Take care, have a great weekend, and a better, more calm week next week.
Be your best.