I work VERY well under pressure, but I don't really like having to work under pressure ...... I do my best to make sure things don't end up in the ... If I don't get it done in the next _______ minutes/hours etc. than something bad will happen - pile .... but of course none of us gets total control over that pile. So frequently someone else (who has some right to control your time and/or efforts) comes along and creates havoc in your world for a brief period of time while you have to scurry about getting the URGENT project(s) done and set everything else aside. And then there are those days (as you are asking about) when there are multiple URGENT projects .... In that situation, I usually take 1-2 minutes to do some deep breathing and mental sorting to determine which has to be done in the next 10 minutes, hour, etc. usually that sorts it down to 1 or 2 that need to be done NOW and then I consult the person who gave me the tasks on which they want to have done first ..... the thing that always amazes me is how once you finish those URGENT projects, how few of them really are URGENT and how many are about another person setting deadlines just so things keep moving along. I had a boss who did that all the time, it was urgent that it be done by the end of the day .... then I'd give it to him and it would sit untouched in his office for weeks...... grrrrrr

Oh well, now I'll relinquish my time on the soapbox!