(MENAFN- Khaleej Times)

Visual designer Khalil Issar stares into his computer. Deadline looms but he has zoned out. After what seems like an eternity, he snaps back to reality, flustered that he will miss his deadline.

“Nothing is making sense,” he confides.“I wonder if it ever will. There are times, especially when I have tight deadlines, I tend to blank out and it takes extra effort to return to normal work schedule.”

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Khalil echoes the growing concern of hundreds of young entrepreneurs, professionals and new recruits in the UAE reeling under the pressure of delivering, fearful of being left out and eventually succumb to task paralysis.

With hyper-productive and demanding schedules, workplaces around the globe, including the UAE, are witnessing a rising number of people facing task paralysis, a scenario where one is unable to complete an undertaken task for the fear of failure.

So, does the phenomenon of task paralysis translate into something deeper? Does it need to be addressed? We take a look at the growing concern and how it can be tackled.

Fear of failure plays a role

“Employers play a big role here. Often it isn't just the individual, it's the culture. If leaders don't set clear priorities, if workloads are unrealistic, or if 'always-on' is the unspoken expectation, employees end up paralysed, says Scott Armstrong, founder of mentl, a UAE-based platform dedicated to championing mental health in workplaces.

In 2024, the Cigna International Health Study UAE, which mentl authored, found that 82 per cent of employees report stress, one of the highest rates globally.“That doesn't happen in isolation, it reflects environments where workloads are poorly managed, priorities unclear, and expectations unrealistic. One way the organisations can help is by actively reducing noise: clarifying what really matters today, discouraging back-to-back meetings, and modelling boundaries,” he adds.

According to him, not only in the UAE but globally task paralysis is a cause of concern.“The same Cigna Healthcare white paper showed that while overall job enthusiasm is high in the UAE (75 per cent of employees are motivated), stress levels are simultaneously among the highest worldwide (at 82 per cent), with 87 per cent of women reporting stress. When enthusiasm and stress coexist like that, you create the perfect breeding ground for paralysis: employees want to do more, but the system overwhelms them.”

While fear of failure plays a role, data shows a wider story, he explains.“In the same study, 36 per cent of UAE employees say their personal life suffers because of work - higher than the global average of 27 per cent. This suggests to me paralysis is also rooted in exhaustion and blurred boundaries, which can amplify the fear.”

Speaking from experiences, Scott says he is amazed he made it this far.“For decades, insecurity, trauma, anxiety, imposter syndrome has always been behind the wheel, and recently I have been diagnosed with OCD (and also been advised to test for ADHD). And yet, I have succeeded more than I have failed. I've have often felt overwhelmed, unsure where to start. But, just putting one foot in front of the other, breaking the task down into something more manageable was often the best way for me to break that inertia. As each small step was taken that would give me confidence for the next, and the next, until eventually the task was done.”

Building helpful habits

Assistant professor psychology, Heriot-Watt University Dubai, Denise Andrzejewski, describes task paralysis as feeling mentally 'stuck' despite looming deadlines.“While the label 'task paralysis' has become popular on social media, psychology understands it as part of broader areas such as executive functioning, procrastination, and cognitive overload.”

Dealing with task paralysis is also about reducing mental load and building helpful habits.“Breaking larger responsibilities into smaller, concrete steps makes action feel more manageable. Today, where many people balance multiple roles and constant digital connectivity, practical strategies like time-blocking and limiting distractions can be especially useful. If difficulties persist and interfere with daily functioning, professional guidance is an important step,” Denise adds.

Task paralysis is not defined by age or gender, although the pressures that trigger it can differ, she says.“Young adults, particularly university students, may experience it when facing academic pressure or uncertainty about the future. Working adults can struggle under heavy workloads, and parents often face competing demands of childcare and employment. Research shows no consistent gender differences, though cultural expectations may influence how men and women cope.”

Hence, she breaks it down through cognitive factors.“The brain has limited working memory, and when too many demands compete at once, decision-making and focus start to break down. Several processes play a role. Dopamine, the chemical linked to motivation and reward, can make starting tasks harder when disrupted. Executive functioning, the skills used to plan, prioritise, and act, can also become strained. Coping strategies differ, and individuals with lower resilience may find it more challenging to adapt.”

Task paralysis can be indicative of something deeper, Denise suggests.“While fast-paced lifestyles, high expectations, and constant digital stimulation create conditions where overload is common. At the same time, persistent or severe difficulties in starting tasks may point to underlying concerns. Anxiety can heighten the sense of being“stuck”, depression can reduce motivation and energy, and ADHD can make planning and task initiation harder.”

This phenomenon is not jut isolated to the UAE, it is seen across all modern societies where people must handle the societal and technological demands of everyday life.“It may appear that this challenge is more widespread now than in the late 20th century, largely because our environments are increasingly fast-paced and digitally connected,” Denise adds.

Task paralysis is not discriminatory

Dubai-based psychotherapist at Camali Clinic and Medcare, Carolyn Yaffe, worries that task paralysis is becoming more common, especially among younger people in the UAE.“Studies show that Gen-Z and millennial entrepreneurs really feel the pressure; juggling intense competition and social media stress can lead to procrastination and indecision. As a professional, I too have experienced this,” she adds.“Once, I had to give a presentation and the pressure to make it perfect overwhelmed me, and I kept delaying it because I wasn't sure how to begin.” To overcome this, she broke the project into smaller parts and focused on one slide at a time, setting small deadlines for herself.“This approach helped a lot, it made the whole task feel much more manageable.”

Though task paralysis can affect anyone, perfectionists or people with high anxiety might struggle more. Life stressors, work changes, or everyday responsibilities can all trigger the paralysis. So, the easiest way to manage it, according to her, is to take a breather, break everything down, and reach out to your team for a bit of support.“It's a good reminder that it's totally normal to face these moments, and with a bit of strategy, you can find a way through.”

The Eisenhower Matrix

The Gen-Z founder and creative director of Red Dot Marketing in UAE, Raj Sagar speaks about his experiences with task paralysis. He believes that this symptom is on the rise, especially among millennials and Gen-Z in creative industries due to sheer volume of information consumed online.“Every day there's a new strategy, a new tool, or another AI feature to learn. While that can spark ideas, it also fuels the constant feeling that you're not doing enough,” he says.“I've learned that talking about it helps, it reminds us that this reaction is a natural response to information overload, not a personal flaw. The real skill is learning to filter what truly matters.”

He recalls his tryst with task paralysis early in his career when he was learning to juggle multiple clients and projects.“The weight of expectations and the fear of choosing the wrong priority sometimes froze me. The worst was when I was working on three clients' projects, back-to-back with close deadlines and ended up overthinking instead of progressing. I believe task paralysis happens when you don't have a strong framework for prioritisation and the mind defaults to over-analysis with too many things which leads to anxiety and the guilt of not doing enough.”

To him, what started as a trial and error later became important vs urgent (Eisenhower Matrix).“Learning to separate tasks helped me prioritise, break projects into achievable goals, and shift my mindset toward progress over perfection. Over time, I also strengthened my ability to delegate and built a reliable support system. I didn't need formal intervention, but the guidance from mentors and peers gave me valuable perspective.”

Today, as an entrepreneur he believes that every management should be aware of this in the workplace.“Managers should play an active role by providing clarity, breaking down timelines, and creating an open environment where it's okay to admit feeling stuck. When teams feel supported instead of judged, they perform their best. If left unaddressed, task paralysis can easily spiral into exhaustion, burnout, or self-doubt so having structure and support systems in place is essential.”

Taking accountability

An 'older millennial', Natasha D' Souza, a UAE-based communications advisor, executive coach and speaker) highlights specific triggers for task paralysis in her 22 years of professional life.“I moved from working with Fortune 500 clients in Washington DC to join Harvard Medical School's Project in Dubai Healthcare City in 2007. I had the self-confidence, skillset and self-starter attitude and yet still found that task paralysis could creep in if I procrastinated or overanalysed the matter at hand.”

Sometimes, when she got saddled with last minute tasks or was forced to work with a difficult person, she'd mentally check out.“I have always been self-aware and independently resourceful so, today, when task paralysis kicks in, I know how to give myself grace while also getting things moving.”

Natasha goes on to explain how taking small incremental step towards these“sticky” tasks helps her feel momentum.“Momentum simply makes me feel better and gives me the fuel to finish the task.”

Natasha recalls the worst phase of her task paralysis between 2012 and 2014 and more recently during the pandemic.“In the case of the former, I was in the midst of the worst career plateau ever and was ultimately laid off in mid-2014 and in the case of the latter, I realised it was a compounding effect of losing certain folks during the pandemic and experiencing loneliness that made me feel very unmotivated.”

To date, she doesn't let task paralysis get to a point where work is impacted.“For a long time in my career, I was directly answerable to senior leaders or my client. When you're working on matters worth multi-millions; diligence, precision and speed and diligence are crucial. I knew it and could always perform. But when I started working for myself, the degree of accountability changed, and I had to place the onus on myself and create a system to set the ball rolling.”

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