Are You Highly Productive or Suffering from High-Functioning Anxiety?

Whether you are an entrepreneur or an employee, the ultimate goal is to be able to have positive results by the end of the day. It may, however, not as easy to achieve without having to grasp everything all at the same time and still be able to deliver the things that are expected from you.

In an office, you can easily spot those people who are just too busy always. They seem to be well-organized with the things that they need to do in a day. While some would be struggling and would probably be asking other co-workers how to do their job. Frustrating, isn’t it?

Highly productive people create a timeline of everything that they have to do within the day, week, or month. They wouldn’t want to miss anything and that they would want to have enough time to think things through if he gives the right amount of time for each task. Very ideal, right? How I wish all employees would have this kind of mindset so that they can get so many things done in just a short time, but still provide quality.

Characteristics of Highly-productive People

Realistically, being confined in a four-cornered room each day can be boring. Imagine how it would make someone feel every single day if all he has to do is read and reply to emails. A monotonous job can really pull you down. However, you should not be sulking on your table all the time. What makes a job boring is when you do not add flavor to what you do. Example, a CSR who works for a bank would mostly be receiving calls inquiring about the current balance. The job is to pull out the account and to check how much is left to the client’s account. As required by the bank, the CSR also needs to do upselling. This means a CSR may also offer other bank products which could interest the client. It is so simple to create a good conversation with a client and let him feel that he is valuable to the bank.

When a person focuses on his job and strives to finish them on time or even do more jobs as expected, then this person is considered as highly-productive. Here are some of the traits of a highly-productive person:

1.     Knows what to prioritize. There may be a lot on his plate on a certain day. Instead of being overwhelmed at the amount of time that he needs to commit to, he should be able to learn to focus on the most important things. List down everything that needs to get done and arrange them according to urgency.

2.     Devote your time on tasks that requires you to put your mind into. There are just tasks that are difficult to do. And of course, you can’t just ask anybody to do it for you. Instead of cursing your boss for giving you such a hard time, find ways on how you can provide a solution to whatever problem that you need to solve. Make sure that when such tasks are given to you, you are not going to let yourself be involved with other things. Otherwise, you must just end up feeling a lot more miserable because you were not able to make your boss happy with the results that you provided.

3.     Stays away from co-workers for some time is not bad. You just have to let them know that there are more important things to do than talking about the latest Alexander McQueen shoes. There is a right time to connect with co-workers. And when you are at work, make it clear that you are serious about your job. Attain a sustainable focus.

4.     Internet connectivity is helpful in our everyday lives. Even at the office, you need an intranet to talk to co-workers and your boss. However, keep your distance from checking your social media accounts particularly during office hours. It does not only waste your time it can become a distraction most especially if you happen to read something bad or you happen to come across the profile of an old friend or your old flame.

5.     Makes a list of realistic tasks rather than a long list that could be daunting. Instead of doing one huge task, break them into smaller ones so that you may be able to fulfill your obligations.

6.     You are not a robot. You also need time to recharge and stretch those muscles for a while. Have a short walk or take a coffee break. It helps ease out the tension on your neck and legs, as well as it allows you to think clearly.

7.     There are decisions which are important and there are those which aren’t. Try to eliminate some unnecessary everyday decisions such as what color of shoes to wear, which bag to use, etc. This takes up so much time which in reality, no matter what you wear, for as long as it is presentable and goes with the kind of place you are going, then that should not be such a big deal. Leave your thoughts with more important decisions to make, instead.

8.     Say what you need to say and quit going around the bush. Time is gold and I believe that the other person can understand you better if you tell exactly what you want to tell. When sending an email, point at what you need or what you want to convey to eliminate too much exchanging of email messages. Example, you want to set a meeting. Instead of just informing the recipient your intention, you might as well inform the date, time, and place. 

9.     Highly productive people are efficient with their work which mean they are efficient with any kind of job that they do. However, doing things faster is open to making mistakes. Thus, these mistakes are viewed as lessons. But similarly, successes should also be given as much attention as the mistakes because it is important to know how to be able to repeat such success again.

10. While being efficient is innate to a highly-productive person, he is also prepared for making contingency plans. There are just instances wherein things don’t happen the way we want them to happen, and when time is in question, a highly-productive person is able to adapt quickly to such a situation.

High-functioning Anxiety: A Mental Health Issue

With highly-productive people, they can be described as someone who works calmly and get things done according to how it is planned. On the other hand, people with high-functioning anxiety tends to be more productive when they are being pressured.

The kind of anxiety that these people feel propels them to move forward rather than make them stop because of fear of not being able to do something agreeable. In the outside, they appear to be calm and successful. Others would see this as the person who excels at work and in his personal life.

There is a silent anxiety behind that smile. Unknowing to the people around this type of person, it is an unhealthy way of dealing with everyday activities. Co-workers may be envious about all the achievements and how one has not missed a deadline, always willing to extend to people in need and seem to have a very busy social schedule. However, beneath all those great things that people attribute to that person, is a person suffering from so much anxiety. Co-workers may never realize how difficult it is to be such predicament and all that this person wants is to please the people around him/her.

Having high-functioning anxiety has two sides: a positive and a negative side. While most people may just be seeing the good things about the person who has such a condition, the negative side of it is tremendously scary.

a.      Positive Characteristics

Generally, what people see is a successful person, the cream of the crop, the envy of all.

·        Active

·        Appear calm on the outside

·        Detail-oriented

·        Helpful

·        High achieving

·        Loyal in relationships

·        Orderly and tidy

·        Organized

·        Outgoing

·        Passionate

·        Proactive

·        Punctual

b.     Negative Characteristics

This is the time when you say that “struggle is real”. Although a person with high-functioning anxiety appears to be successful, it comes with a cost.

·        Avoiding eye contact

·        Inability to enjoy the moment

·        Inability to say no

·        Insomnia

·        Intimidated by the future

·        Lost time

·        Loyal to a fault in relationships

·        Mental and physical fatigue

·        Need for reassurance

·        Need to do repetitive things

·        Nervous chatter

·        Nervous habits

·        Others think you are unemotional

·        Overly busy/full schedule 1

·        Overthinking

·        People pleaser

·        Pessimist

·        Potential for alcohol or substance abuse as a coping method

·        Procrastination followed by long periods of crunch-time work

·        Racing mind

·        Tendency to compare yourself to others

·        Tendency to dwell on the negative

·        Turning down invitations



It is clear to say that the person attains success but having an awful lot of struggle. You may think that he/she is doing it to himself/herself. He/she puts so much pressure on himself/herself that having a normal life for him/her means having to deal with anxiety every day. The only difference would be is that he/she is able to meet deadlines, has clearly a good reputation when it comes to working ethics. But, this is really an unhealthy way of dealing with life.

After presenting that difference between a highly-productive person and a person suffering from high-functioning anxiety, which of these two do you think would truly be living a normal life? The answer is obvious, but is it how you do it?