What does productivity look like?
Productive: yielding results, benefits, or profits. (From www.merriam-webster.com )
What does it mean to be productive? If you asked 10 different people, you would get 10 different answers. If you asked me in my 20s versus asking me now, you would, once again, get two different answers. But the question is: Do you know productivity when you see it? Most people would say yes, especially if someone is actively doing something, but can’t you do something and not see any results, benefits, or profits like the above definition states?
In today’s hustle culture, people often brag about their ability to multi-task in order to boost productivity. This isn’t necessarily what it looks like either, though. Gary Keller, founder of Keller Williams, said it best when he said, “Multitasking is a lie.” Multitasking simply takes focus away from both tasks you are doing, and if both tasks are not important, then it could be OK. Most of the time, however, this isn’t the case.
Multitasking has become known as switch tasking, a term coined in Dave Crenshaw’s book “The Myth of Multitasking: How ‘Doing It All’ Gets Nothing Done.” Switch tasking is a more accurate description because your energy depletes every time you change tasks. Just add up the number of times in an hour that you go between jobs while multitasking. That’s a lot of energy spent to maintain two tasks, and the cost of depleted energy robs you of any real progress.
So, if productivity isn’t multitasking, what does it look like, and again, will you know it when you see it? It was this question that led me to choosing the above definition. It was the third definition at www.merriam-webster.com, and I picked it because nothing else felt right. It certainly isn’t the first definition from Cambridge Dictionary, which was “resulting in or providing a large amount or supply of something.” That does not feel right because you can have a productive day where you achieved your goals and not have a large supply of anything. The Merriam-Webster definition fits with how I have started viewing my productivity. If it yields results, benefits, or profits, I would feel I was gaining traction and succeeding in what I was doing.
The fundamental misconception about productivity is that it looks like busyness, the simple act of doing. But is it productive if your actions do not yield results, benefits, or profits? The fact is, you can be busy or active and simply spin your wheels. If you’ve ever felt you were on a hamster wheel trapped in the mundane, you were simply busy without getting any results.
The key to productivity is being mindful of your purpose and intent, but it is easy to fall into the trap that activity equals productivity. As Canadian writer Robin Sharma said, “Don’t confuse activity with productivity. Many people are simply busy being busy.” Make sure that your actions lead to results or some benefit.
Sometimes, we take a break to beat ourselves up about it and feel guilty. However, a vacation can be productive, depending on its purpose. This idea leads to another fundamental question: Can binge-watching Netflix be effective? The answer is, “It depends.” You can’t use this definition to help you avoid something that is required of you. It isn’t a “get-out-of-jail-free” card. It is most undoubtedly productive if you use it to renew your energy. The key here is to consider the intent. Do not to start beating yourself up for watching a show when you still have something to do. Maybe you needed the brain break before going back and completing the task.
When it comes down to it, you don’t always have to be productive, but if you are erring on spinning your wheels and never seeing results, you know you have a problem. Productivity is an ebb and flow of work. You can’t pour out all your energy into creating and working without pouring something back in to renew and revive your energies. The balance comes when you toggle between focused and intentional work and intentional rest and renewal. Finding the right ebb and flow becomes the sweet spot where you are doing your best work.
