The Fine Art of Staying Calm under Pressure

The clock is tick-ticking away. Everyone is chattering at super speed, each with a different idea, a different plan. The pressure is on in a big way, but you know you’ve got to pull it together: if you don’t, a zombie is going to eat your face.

Unfortunately, we can’t all stay as pathologically calm as Benedict Cumberbatch in Sherlock in the face of stress (or zombies).

But you’ve only got 45 minutes to escape Krakit’s game rooms—which is definitely not enough time to have a nervous break down before getting on with it. So what are you going to do?

Master the fine art of staying calm under pressure, of course. 

Easier said than done, but here are a few tips to get you started before your next Krakit adventure.

Breathe

“Just breathe.” Obvious, right?

But more than a way to slow down your heart rate and blood pressure, a few minutes of focused breathing provides a steady sound to concentrate on. You can use this sound to pull yourself out of a stress spiral and block out distractions, allowing you to concentrate on solving the task at hand

Create an Anti-stress Trigger for Yourself

When the clock is ticking down the seconds, your thoughts can start racing faster than you can process them. Honestly, who can take time to breathe when you’ve got a mad doctor to escape? Before you find yourself locked up in Krakit’s Asylum, take time to develop an anti-stress trigger for yourself.

This could be a certain song lyric or a specific memory of a place, or even a scent, that you use to force-stop your racing thoughts and gain back control, like placing a finger on a roulette wheel.

Visit Your Mind Palace

When you know ahead of time you’re going to be overwhelmed with too much information, take a page out of Sherlock Holmes’s book and setup a Mind Palace (learn how here). 

By being prepared, you can break down and master information before it even has a chance to stress you out.