Overcoming Performance Stress

What is Performance Stress?

Performance stress is one of the most common sources of stress in the workplace. With a working environment that constantly subjects its employees to a given set of standards they'd have to meet, the amount of pressure can lead one to question his or her abilities on a given task. There's always this feeling of not being good enough in the standards of the company.

This is especially true when one has scheduled to make an important presentation for the company. Before the actual presentation, one experiences a sick feeling in the stomach. Sometimes, the pressure is too much that one's performance is impacted. Learning to cope and overcome performance stress is essential to maintaining your ability to deliver within company standards.

Performance Planning

Whether you are taking part in small or big events, creating a good performance is always important. One of the best ways to ensure that you perform well is to create a performance plan outlining what you need to achieve and how you will do it.

The Performance Plan includes a list of tasks that must be accomplished, covering both physical and mental preparation:

• Check every aspect of your performance and adjust when needed.
• Arrange travel in advance if required.
• Verify that you have all necessary items.
• Create an alternate plan in case something goes wrong.
• Stay focused and anticipate distractions before they occur.

Reviewing Performance

One of the best ways to ensure consistent high performance is to constantly aim for improvement. Performance reviews allow you to re-evaluate your standards and create opportunities to improve future performance.

Planning and reviewing performance is a strong stress-relief technique. Seeking feedback from superiors or colleagues helps identify areas for improvement and increases confidence.

Performance stress often stems from self-doubt. Increasing confidence in your abilities helps reduce the stress associated with performance.