Here's how you can effectively manage stress and pressure in a BI career.

The honey trap of BI projects, is that the popular your tool gets, and the more it is adopted across the organizations, the demand for extra features is rising rapidly. Prioritizing tasks is the key to manage the demand. But how do you prioritize? I would suggest to a matrix by ranking each request by its value and by its effort, and prioritize the high value-low effort requests first (low hanging fruits). But, as important as the prioritization, it is important to communicate it to the end users. You can't leave users waiting for their demands to be met without a clear communication, or you will just increase your stress level. Those conversations can be tough at times but if you avoid them, you are digging your pitfall.

Leverage the Eisenhower Matrix to prioritize based on urgency and importance. Be transparent about what is on your plate with stakeholders and always manage expectations. Try organizing the projects and their tasks in a project management software like JIRA and monitor the aging items with your stakeholders on a regular frequency (monthly at a maximum). Repeat this process after every touch point with stakeholders!

Prioritizing tasks in a BI role can be difficult, as you oftentimes may find yourself reacting to stakeholder requests. It's important to set a structured list broken down into priority levels (e.g. critical, medium, low). This will allow you to communicate more effectively with your manager and BI team to focus more directly on high-value tasks as opposed to every general request.

Encourage others to learn with you and determine the few books/practices that define a common language for your team to conduct business with. (See Multipliers by Liz Wiseman) Then translate your learning into tangible business practices that can be implemented by your team and colleagues. Finally, given the cycle-time for data skills is ~6 months, constantly read up on the latest innovations and best practices. Business Intelligence skills are like the Red Queen, we have to keep moving to stay in the same place, and if we want to move ahead we have to move even faster.

Give 100% of yourself to work when you're at work and life when you're in life, instead of 50% of yourself to both 100% of the time. Literally turn off your connection as much as you can when you are in one zone vs another with a short circuit for emergencies coded in. An example of this is Focus Mode on your phone or giving coworkers your direct phone for emergencies.

Encourage open communication: Hold regular meetings, create communication channels, and actively listen to team members' ideas and concerns. Promote knowledge sharing: Organize training sessions, pair programming for complex tasks, and create a culture of shared learning. Recognize and celebrate achievements: Acknowledge individual and team contributions to boost morale and build a supportive environment. By implementing these practices, you can create a collaborative BI team that thrives under pressure and delivers exceptional results with reduced stress levels.