16 quiet strategies high performers use to stay calm, clear, and untouchable

You know that one coworker who never spirals?

The one who stays calm no matter what Slack throws at them?

They’re not lucky. They’re tactical.

Here are 16 quiet strategies high performers use to stay calm, clear, and untouchable—> even in tech’s current chaos:

1. Strategic Incompetence; They choose what to be bad at—on purpose.

✏️Tip: Write down 3 tasks where “good enough” is actually enough.

2. Micro-Recovery Windows; Forget waiting for PTO. They recover in minutes, not weeks.

✏️Tip: Between meetings, try 3 minutes of box breathing (4-4-4-4 count).

3. Proactive Disappointment Planning; They pre-rehearse failure—and bounce faster.

✏️ Tip: Before a big launch, write 3 things that might go wrong + your planned response.

4. Information Diet Extremism; They’re ruthless about what enters their mental space.

✏️ Tip: Try a 24-hour news fast. Watch your clarity spike.

5. Invisible Scoreboards; They track progress in ways others can’t see, but they feel.

✏️Tip: Make a private scorecard: 1 metric that reflects your process, not outcomes.

6. Decision Minimalism; They protect brain power by automating small stuff.

✏️Tip: Pre-decide your first hour tomorrow—clothes, breakfast, task 1.

7. Controlled Discomfort Practice

They build calm under pressure—by practicing discomfort.

✏️Tip: End your shower with 30 seconds of cold water. Just breathe.

8. Relationship Auditing; They know which people fuel them—and which drain them.

✏️ Tip: After each convo today, ask: Did that expand or contract me?

9. Minimum Effective Response; They don’t overreact. They efficiently respond.

✏️ Tip: Got a fire drill email? Wait 24 hours. Then act.

10. Deep Context Perspective; They zoom out.

✏️ Tip: Read a biography a month. Remind yourself what real adversity looks like.

11. Strategic Energy Leak Auditing; Top performers regularly scan for small things that drain them—and ruthlessly eliminate them.

✏️ Tip: Every week, identify one micro-annoyance (that notification, that meeting time) and fix it.

12. Anchoring Rituals; Top performers create consistent micro-routines that trigger calm—no matter the chaos.

✏️ Tip: Before any stressful situation, perform the same 3-action ritual (deep breath, shoulders down, one positive phrase).

13. Circuit Breaker Mentality; Top performers know when to step away from a situation—before they hit their limit.

✏️ Tip: Set a "3-frustration rule" - third frustration in an hour means take a 5-minute walk.

14. Strategic Slow-Down; Top performers deliberately slow down their speech and movements when chaos accelerates.

✏️ Tip: In your next tense meeting, consciously speak 20% slower than usual.

15. Emotional Labor Budgeting; Top performers mentally allocate energy for difficult people and situations—so they're never caught off guard.

✏️ Tip: Each morning, mentally "budget" 30% of your energy for unexpected chaos.

16. Preemptive Narrative Creation; Top performers write their own story about challenging situations before others can frame it for them.

✏️ Tip: When something goes sideways, immediately ask: "What's the story I want to tell about this?"

Which one are you already doing?

Which one do you need to try this week?

Drop your number in the comment section.