When there's deadline pressure, the situation is always somewhat inflexible and intensely charged, like a carbonated beverage that's been vigorously shaken. One way this pressure shows up is in our breathing patterns. Time pressure always seems to be directly related to an imbalanced way of breathing.
So for some immediate relief from anxiety and pressure, you can practice this kind of breathing: Relax and breathe through both nose and mouth with the tip of your tongue on the upper palate a couple of inches behind the front teeth.
Set up your environment (or go somewhere) so you won't be disturbed, and then take five minutes to relax into this kind of breathing.
This technique is used in many martial arts and has been researched in applied kinesiology. It immediately brings a sense of balance within the energies of pressure and emotion. As a preventative, practice this way of breathing as often as you can remember. After a month or so, your whole energy level and sense of balance and relaxation will change.
Here is a more detailed article, excerpted from the book Kum Nye Relaxation, on this breathing technique:
Kum Nye Breathing
When breathing is consistently calm and even, energy increases, and health improves. We can sleep better. The whole mental and physical organism becomes balanced. The mind becomes lucid, and the body grows alert and sensitive: hearing is clearer, colors are more vibrant, and it is possible to savor more of the flavors of experience. Feeling tones become richer, so certain small things can be enjoyed tremendously, like a little laughter. Once we know how to contact the energy of breath, breathing becomes an infinite source of vitalizing energies. . . .
The energy of 'breath' is particularly associated with the throat center, which both evokes energy and coordinates the energy flow throughout the body. It is therefore through the throat center that we can most easily learn to contact and balance the energy of 'breath' and other subtle energies. . . .
When the throat center is settled and calm, the energies flow in a balanced and coordinated way: mental and physical energies become integrated, and 'breath' itself is balanced and purified. Usually, however, the throat center is agitated, so these energies become 'blocked' and do not flow properly.
It is possible, however, to breathe in such a way that the throat center becomes calm and functions smoothly. The way to do this is to breathe slowly and evenly through both nose and mouth, with the mouth slightly open and the tongue lightly touching the palate [just in back of the front teeth]. In the beginning this is not very comfortable, but as energy begins to travel evenly to the head and heart centers, the vitalizing effects of this way of breathing are felt, and it becomes increasingly easy and pleasant to continue. As the flow of energies within us becomes balanced, our feelings and sensations unfold naturally, and we open to deep sensations of fulfillment. (pp. 35-7, Kum Nye Relaxation, Part 1 (Dharma Publishing, 1978, by Tarthang Tulku))
It is important, however, to work continually with the breath, for if you do not, the effects will not last: your body, mind, and senses will slip back into an unbalanced rhythm. So practice this kind of breathing each day for at least three months; twenty to thirty minutes a day is helpful. Try to keep the energy flowing, accumulating and generating it with the breath. (p. 41, Tarthang Tulku, Kum Nye Relaxation, Part 1 (Berkeley, CA: Dharma Publishing))
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