How to Manage Stress and Increase Performance
Achieving #Perfectwhelm
For a really long time I used to think that I work best under pressure. There were several instances I my life I could point to where I did my best work when I was suddenly given an urgent task with a very short turn-around time and an imminent deadline. The ‘buzz’ seemed to make it exciting and fun, I could concentrate really well and got things done in record time. But then I noticed that that sometimes just didn’t work: I had deadlines and the task dragged on with little progress being made, it all seemed confusing and unclear and I only just managed to get everything done, often thinking that I could do better. So I started asking myself: What is the difference? Why do I sometimes work really well under pressure and other times I don’t?
What I learned is that not all stress is the same, not all stress is bad, and that while some stress has all the well-known negative effects we hear and read about all the time, other types of stress can be really beneficial.
What Stress are you? 😀 / 😫
When we hear about ‘stress’ the first thought is probably that it is negative, something unhealthy, unsustainable, and to be avoided. This is Distress or ‘bad’ stress, and it is widely known as the Fight or Flight Response (you can read more on this in my earlier blog post “Understand your Stress Response”). Distress is very unpleasant, typically leads to feelings of anxiety, and can cause mental as well as physical health problems, especially if it is chronic stress that is experienced long-term. It also reduces performance and the problem that caused the feelings of stress is perceived to be outside of our ability to handle it. It is linked to strong negative emotions such as fear or anger and can have internal or external triggers:
Examples of Internal Stressors:
Specific fears or phobias (e.g. fear of heights, spiders, or public speaking)
Perfectionism and procrastination
Excessive or ongoing worry
Overwhelm, e.g. due to over-scheduling or the inability to say ‘no’
Real or perceived lack of skill or knowledge - Imposter Syndrome
Examples of External Stressors:
Death or loss of a loved one
Separation or conflict
Financial worries
Lack of job security or excessive demands/expectations at work
Serious illness or injury
There is, however, also another type of stress, called Eustress. Eustress is ‘good stress’, which is linked to positive emotions such as excitement, satisfaction, fulfillment, and well-being. The event that caused the feelings of this type of stress is perceived as something we can deal with, it is within our ability to handle the situation. Eustress is typically short-term stress that feels exciting and fun, tends to improve performance, and is triggered by positive events:
Examples of Positive Stressors:
Moving and/or buying a house
Starting a new job or being promoted to a new role
Big positive life changes (e.g. marriage, having a baby, retirement)
Learning something new
Vacations and holidays
The distinction between Distress and Eustress already goes some way towards explaining why we sometimes work really well under pressure while at other times we feel paralysed by it and can’t seem to make any progress at all. But it’s not just about the type of stress, it’s also about how much stress we find ourselves under.
What Whelm are you? 🥱 / 😀 / 😰
Stress is typically something that we think of as something overwhelming, something that is too big to handle and that is outside of our coping capabilities. And that is certainly the case if there is too much stress and we enter the area of ‘survival mode’. This is what happens if we experience long-term, excessive stress and it leads to decreased performance and burnout.
So what happens if we have very little stress? Does everything feel effortless? Or what if we have a level of stress that feels manageable? Here is what the impact on our productivity looks like, depending on how much stress we experience:
If there is too much stress we start feeling overwhelmed, it seems to be more than we can handle. This amount of stress falls into the category of distress, which results in decreased performance and can lead to physical and mental health problems, especially if the stress is chronic and long-term.
Too little stress, on the other hand, is also not very helpful or adaptive. With too little ‘stress’ in our lives, there is no drive, no perceived need to do anything, and no motivation, which leads to lethargy, boredom and inactivity. Whilst this is not perceived as stressful, it is not a good state to be in long-term either, can become habitual and could then lead to too much stress and straight into overwhelm when too many things have piled up and were left unaddressed for too long.
When we have some stress that is caused by positive events and that feels manageable we have a stress level that is ‘just right’ - we’re in “Perfectwhelm”. This amount of stress is motivating enough to get things done without feeling overwhelming, it is exciting and feels like something we can handle. When stress is at this level it falls into the category of eustress and leads to increased performance (e.g. increased focus and energy, being in a ‘state of flow’ or ‘in the zone’).
How to use Stress to your advantage
The problem with stress and productivity is not stress in general. As we have seen, some stress is necessary to perform well, and without at least some stress we become lethargic, bored, and ineffective. The problem with stress starts when we experience the wrong type of stress, or too much of it, for too long. So how can we use this understanding about stress to actually improve performance?
Firstly, do your best to manage the amount of stress experienced – your teams’ as well as your own. Usually this means avoiding excessive stress, but also keep in mind that too little stress also has its problems. To reduce overall stress levels, look at things like:
workload, excessive demands and unrealistic expectations
reducing and resolving conflicts
ensuring you and/or your team mates have the necessary training and authority to actually carry out the tasks that are expected
avoiding unproductive, time-consuming meetings
whether you and/or your team actually feel safe, secure, and supported
This is not an exhaustive list but can hopefully help you to start thinking about where adjustments could be made to reduce overall stress levels.
Secondly, evaluate what can be done to avoid stress in the first place. Many things you might do in this area will be the same as the ones mentioned under the first point, but also think about what could be done longer-term to build a better, stress-reduced environment:
How can you achieve and maintain ‘Perfectwhelm’ for yourself and your team?
What are the most common negative stress triggers that could be reduced or eliminated?
What positive stress triggers are there that could be maintained?
Who do you need to get on board to make positive changes happen?
Are you in a work environment that is receptive and supportive to any of these ideas?
Again, this is not an exhaustive list and there is an endless list of questions you can ask yourself to help you think about possible options and solutions that would establish a stress-reduced work environment. Use these as a starting point and see what you come up with.
And finally, use an inspiring, supportive leadership style with your team rather than a manipulative, fear-based style. I go into much more detail on this in my next blog post on “Why Fear-Based Leadership Doesn’t Work”, but in a nutshell this is about moving away from the idea of the ‘carrot and stick’ approach and toward a genuinely caring and supportive culture that ultimately leads to better engagement and performance.
BEYOND THE BLOG
If you want to end the struggle with stress, burnout, and overwhelm and improve your work-life balance, book a complimentary, no-obligation 30-minute Discovery Call with me.
