The Warrior’s Guide to Getting Sh*t Done Under Pressure

Some days hit you like a freight train. Emails stacked up. Deadlines looming. Family pulling at your attention. And if you’re anything like me, you’re probably wondering: how the hell am I supposed to keep it all together and get everything done?

Here’s the thing, pressure doesn’t care if you’re ready. It doesn’t care if you’ve had enough sleep or if your to-do list is already overflowing. Pressure shows up anyway. And when it does, you’ve got two choices: crumble under the weight, or rise like a warrior.

I’ve spent my career—27 years in the Navy, commanding battalions, working in combat zones—learning what it takes to not just survive pressure, but thrive in it. The secret isn’t about being the toughest person in the room. It’s about grit, grace, and strategy. Let me walk you through it.

Grit: What Keeps You Moving

When people ask me about grit, I always laugh a little. I grew up in West Texas where “grit” was literally part of daily life. Dust storms. Sand in your hair, your food, your car. Grit gets into places you don’t want it—but you need it too. It’s tough, it gives you traction, and it doesn’t wash away easily.

That’s what true grit is in leadership: sticking with it when the easy option would be to quit.

When I was deployed to Afghanistan, every single day tested my grit. I had a boss who hated me and insurgents who wanted me dead. Not exactly a low-stress environment. Some mornings I’d wake up exhausted, wondering how I’d make it through another day. My answer? I’d lace up, head to our tiny gym, and crank the treadmill until my lungs burned. The alternative was running 13 laps around that tiny base to finish a 5K. It wasn’t glamorous, but it was survival, although sometimes you would lose track of what lap you were on. Those sweat sessions reset me, cleared my head, and gave me the determination to walk back out and face whatever was coming.

That’s grit. And you don’t need to be in a combat zone to call on it.

Grace: The Reset Button

Here’s the part people forget—grit alone will break you. If all you do is push and grind, you’ll end up burned out and bitter. That’s where grace comes in.

Grace is giving yourself the permission to reset. It’s saying, “Yeah, I screwed up that meeting,” or, “No, I can’t do it all today,” and letting that be okay. Grace is the reset button that allows you to come back stronger instead of spiraling into shame or frustration.

I’ve burned out before. I used to work straight through holidays, pushing past my own limits, believing I was invincible. Spoiler: I wasn’t. What I’ve learned is that setting boundaries early is the only way to protect yourself. Write them down. Stick a Post-it on your desk if you have to. For me, it’s things like: no emails on Christmas morning, no matter what. Or: quit at a reasonable time so I can have dinner with my husband.

When you give yourself grace, you also model it for your people. And let me tell you—nothing creates loyalty faster than a leader who has your back when you mess up. Warriors protect, but they also forgive.

Strategy: How You Actually Get Sh*t Done

Now let’s get practical. When life feels like a tsunami of deadlines, how do you actually move forward without drowning?

Here’s my system:

1. Break down the mountain.Launching my book wasn’t just one task—it was hundreds. Reviewing the order page, checking the email sequence, approving videos. If I looked at the whole mountain, I’d freeze. So I broke it down into pebbles. Every time I checked something off, I got that dopamine hit, and momentum carried me forward.

2. Prioritize reality, not emotion. When everything feels urgent, I ask: what’s actually urgent? Is there a downstream impact? My video editor in India needed feedback overnight—so that got bumped to the top. My “nice-to-do” tasks could wait.

3. Build in float. In the construction world, we call it “float.” Because here’s the truth: emergencies will come up. A client will email you in panic. If your day is packed to the brim, that one curveball will derail everything. Schedule margins so you can flex without losing it.

4. Match tasks to your energy. I know my best brainpower is in the morning. That’s when I tackle the hard stuff—like rewriting speeches or editing emails. Afternoons? That’s for lighter lifts. Forcing deep work when you’re running on fumes is just wasted effort.

5. Delegate like your life depends on it. I’ll be honest—I’m not the best at writing polished email sequences. But Barbara on my team? She’s a rockstar. So why would I hog the work and do a mediocre job when I could delegate to her and free myself up for strategy? Leaders don’t do everything. Leaders empower.

Tough vs. Strong

A quick note for my fellow women leaders: you don’t have to be “tough” to be taken seriously. I fell into that trap too—believing I had to be as hard as the guys to earn respect. But toughness without compassion is just cold.

Strength is better. Strength is fairness, consistency, and clarity. It’s being the person others know they can trust, the one who has their back. Don’t aim to be tough. Aim to be strong.

The Warrior’s Way

Here’s what it comes down to: warriors don’t crumble under pressure. They rise.

They lean on grit when times are tough. They extend grace to themselves and others when mistakes happen. And they use strategy to move forward one step at a time.

When you combine those three—grit, grace, and strategy—you become unstoppable.

So the next time pressure comes crashing down, ask yourself:

• Am I digging into grit or grinding myself into burnout?

• Am I giving myself the grace to reset and try again?

• Have I broken the mountain into manageable pieces?

Do that, and you’ll not only get sh*t done—you’ll inspire others to rise with you.

Because that’s what warriors do.

Want more strategies for leading with grit and grace? Pre-order Becoming the Warrior and get access to exclusive bonuses, including my Warrior Circle community and tools to help you lead under pressure.