Working Through Anxiety to Increase Productivity by Hazel Bennett

Sometimes, a little stress can be a good thing. It can push us to perform better, stay focused, and achieve our goals. But if that stress turns into excessive worry, it can have a detrimental impact on our lives and careers. When it's left unmanaged, high anxiety often leads to a lack of motivation, procrastination, distraction, and avoidable workplace mistakes.

It's important to realize that stress will always be a part of life, but when it's not useful or reaches an unhealthy level, it's worth slowing down and looking for the cause. A simple phone call with your manager might have you irrationally fearing for your job, or a coworker's critique might leave you feeling incompetent. Situations like these require a deep analysis of your hopes, fears, and insecurities.

Getting Things Done with High Functioning Anxiety

Those with high-functioning anxiety can get through their day despite feeling intense and pervasive stress. However, since they are not managing their anxiety in a healthy way, they often develop productivity issues. Failing to turn work in on time or making careless errors are common results of trying to push through stress instead of approaching it mindfully. Thankfully, there are several ways to get a handle on your anxiety and remain productive at work.

Stick to a Schedule

Calendars and planners are excellent tools for mapping out your daily to-do list. Simply write out each work task you need to focus on and cross them off as you go. You can also implement productivity hacks into your routine for extra accountability. These can include helpful time management apps or clever methods like the Pomodoro Technique. Use these tools to break large, overwhelming projects into small, bite-sized tasks, so you stay focused when anxiety rears its ugly head.

Create a Productive Workspace

According to Stanford University, a messy work environment inhibits our ability to focus and accomplish our goals. So, whether you're working from home or commuting to the workplace every day, a clean and organized office is essential for getting things done. A cluttered space and a cluttered mind go hand-in-hand, so take a deep breath, roll up your sleeves, and start getting organized.

Know Your Limits

Taking on too much responsibility often leads to work anxiety, so it's essential to know your boundaries and communicate them to your boss. If you're starting to feel overwhelmed and notice deadlines flying by, it's likely time to discuss scaling things back with your manager or team members. Consider moving to a different position within the same company or switching to part-time if you're financially able.

How to Calm Down When You Feel Overwhelmed

People who experience high anxiety often attempt to power through their feelings instead of staring them in the face. This approach often results in a fight-or-flight reaction even when there is no perceived threat, making each day a white-knuckle affair. Having a few tactics for managing your anxiety when it becomes overwhelming can help you stay focused, productive, and, most of all, healthy.

Meditate

A meditation practice isn't just for enlightened beings and mountaintop gurus; it's a proven method that can bring a sense of calm and balance to your daily life. People with high-functioning anxiety typically have a constant loop of worry repeating in their heads all day. Meditation is an invitation to sit quietly, focus on your breathing, and recognize those racing thoughts for what they are: unhelpful and even harmful.

Get Moving

Anxiety often manifests as restlessness and agitation in the body and mitigating that nervous energy can help calm the mind.  On days when you feel like you could jump out of your own skin, a little physical exertion might help keep your anxiety in check. Consider doing a few pushups on your lunch break or hopping on a treadmill between calls with a client. Not only can this offer immediate relief, but it might also help you sleep better at night.

Music is Good for the Soul

The impact of music on mental health is well-documented and for a good reason. Pleasant sounds have a soothing effect on our brains and help release serotonin and dopamine, two chemicals thought to affect mood. Try creating a playlist of your favorite relaxing songs on a music app so they're just a click away when you need them most. If you find music distracting, listening to natural sounds like rain, thunderstorms, and peaceful ocean waves might be a good alternative.

Find Support

As much as people with anxiety might like to believe it, no one gets through life on their own. We all need a supportive social network to fall back on when hard times come. Intense worry can leave us feeling alone and misunderstood, making a strong support system essential. Ask a loved one to hold you accountable for completing your work each day, or make it a point to share your daily achievements with them. Just remember that you have to be the one putting in the work.

Finding the Cause of Your Work Anxiety

Knowing what triggers your anxiety is an important step in becoming more productive on the job. Sometimes stress comes from outside influences beyond your control, while other times it is entirely our responsibility. Take some time to examine which type of stress might be impacting your job performance.

External Pressure

Some outside stressors that have a big effect on work productivity include the economy, a supervisor's management style, hazardous working conditions, and mandatory overtime. Any one of these external pressures can send someone with high-functioning anxiety spiraling, but learning to embrace challenges can help you cope effectively. Consider seeking guidance through treatments like Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) to reframe how you view hardships.

Internal Pressure

How we speak to ourselves is just as important as how we speak to others. Negative self-talk is a common byproduct of high stress, and it is damaging to work productivity. Criticizing your work harshly or dwelling on past job-related mistakes only serves to slow you down. If you wouldn't say it to a friend or coworker, chances are you shouldn't say it to yourself either.

~ Hazel Bennett