Conquer Completion Anxiety: 5 Types Of Anxiety And Tips To Overcome Them

Have you ever heard of “completion anxiety?” 😕

According to an article from Fast Company, “Completion anxiety is the crippling fear that a task won’t get completed or won’t be executed well enough to meet the standards set by others.” Delving a little deeper, it’s the fear and stress of not meeting standards, of failure, or feeling incomplete.

When I read that I thought, “WOW! There are so many implications for managers and leaders when working with their teams.” When people don’t have the CONFIDENCE or CLARITY they need when working on a project, their motivation to complete it goes way down. It has the potential to stifle growth and productivity if left unchecked. This can also have an impact on team morale and performance due to lacking faith in a leader’s ability to complete tasks without hesitation.

Unfortunately completion anxiety can be hard to overcome. It is an annoyance that can cause a wide range of struggles. Here are 5 types of completion anxiety to be aware of:

Motivation-based anxiety

This type of fear found in the workplace is often caused by motivation to achieve success. It is characterized by feelings of intense pressure, insecurity, and apprehension over the possibility of failure. This form of worry is often linked to performance goals associated with a particular job or activity, making it an emotionally overwhelming experience for those affected. Additionally, motivation-based anxiety can impair an individual’s motivation to complete tasks or suppress creative thinking.

Fear-based anxiety

It’s a feeling of fear which can cripple performance, affecting both mental and physical health. It involves worrying excessively about bad things which could happen as a result of an action or event. For example, one might have fear of giving an important presentation; fear of not being prepared enough or fear that others in the room may not receive your ideas well.

Performance-based anxiety

This occurs when we need to complete an important task at work, like giving a presentation or finishing a project on time. It is the fear of being judged or evaluated on your performance in any setting, whether it’s in a career or elsewhere. This fear can be overwhelming and damaging and can leave us feeling overwhelmed and stressed because of the pressure to perform well.

Uncertainty-based anxiety

This can be defined as the feeling of uneasiness and uncertainty we experience when it feels like things are out of our control. It’s especially common in the workplace, where uncertainty can arise from things like changes in policy to wildcard projects with no clearly defined endpoint. Uncertainty-based anxiety has a habit of amplifying other kinds of stress too, like work deadlines or upcoming meetings. It often presents as dread before a big meeting, an ability to make all kinds of predictions before something begins and anxiousness based on our expectations of how it will transpire.

Urgency-based anxiety

This can be defined as the feeling of dread that comes over us when we have a task to do and a tight deadline. It’s that feeling of knowing there’s not enough time to finish something and somehow needing to get it done yesterday. This type of anxiety is usually caused by factors such as looming deadlines, difficult tasks or tight budgets. From school assignments to freelance projects and company initiatives, urgency-based anxiety can be pervasive in any kind of job.

No doubt, completion anxiety can be a relentless foe, making it hard to complete even the simplest of tasks. Hard, yes, but not impossible. To help you get a better handle over these fears, here are 5 tips you can use to fight back and come out ahead.

Tip 1: Break a large task down into smaller steps, as this makes it easier to complete and helps you visualize where you’re heading.

Tip 2: Set yourself goals and deadlines so your mind has something tangible and easy to achieve; never underestimate the power of having mini-goals that will help you get closer to completion.

Tip 3: Have a positive attitude going into each task — look at it as an opportunity rather than stressing over what might go wrong or how complex it may seem.

Tip 4: Stay organized upstream by allocating time for urgent tasks; being on top of incoming requests helps your mind stay focused on completion time.

Tip 5: Take breaks as needed — putting yourself first when needed can help with completion anxiety. Take those breaks when you need them to refocus and re-energize yourself.

Bonus Tip — Celebrate every “inch pebble” along the way instead of waiting for the big milestone to be completed.

Business leaders know that completion anxiety is a major issue that must be addressed to ensure ultimate success. Leaders are capable of motivating staff and building team morale, effectively helping them manage the feelings of anxiety caused by tasks seen as overwhelming. Creating a supportive environment that emphasizes skills growth leads to increased confidence among employees when facing completion anxiety and can make significant strides in overcoming them in the workplace.