Do You Want to Be Productive or Do You Want to Be Busy?
Believe it or not, this isn’t a rhetorical question. Whether you’re a business owner or not, you have a choice. And many opt for “busy” over “productive.
However, if you’re looking for better work/life balance, or even to just avoid the feeling of sheer overwhelm, actually accomplishing goals (instead of doing a lot of meaningless tasks) is a better way to go.
What is productivity?
This word comes up a lot! But I’ve noticed that not everyone means the same thing by it. When I read articles online that are supposedly about productivity, the word hustle keeps popping up. The posts give the impression that you’re supposed to do more things in a day or an hour, or if you’re an entrepreneur or team lead, that you need to push your people to be doing more.
Not necessarily accomplishing more, but doing more. Do you see the difference?
Productivity isn’t about cramming more tasks into every hour. (That’s just being busy.) It’s accomplishing the things that help you reach your goals. In a reasonable amount of time, because the goal of productivity isn’t to make you a very active cog in the machine.
Being productive means you don’t have to spend your whole life at work. And in fact, you shouldn’t. When you’re productive at work then you don’t have to feel guilty when you go home to spend time with your family and friends and do the non-work activities that you enjoy.
Because in order to be productive, you actually need to do those things!
And productivity gives you the time you need to let your mind wander so you can be creative. You also get time for enjoyable things like reading and enjoying some entertainment. Speaking of which, Shakespeare Day is on April 23 - see what’s happening around you. Or enjoy more modern adaptations.
Even though I’m very productive (because I practice what I preach!), even I have days where I do a lot of stuff. I go from thing to thing and my calendar feels completely full.
Yet when I look back on what I accomplished during the day, the answer is little or nothing. It was a busy day. But did I do the things that would move my business forward? Maybe I got one or two of those accomplishments in my day, but they were surrounded by other meaningless tasks.
But I could tell everyone I was busy!
If you’re not busy, what’s wrong with you?
Modern culture puts a lot of prominence on being busy. People are ashamed to say that they’re not busy. If someone asks you how you’re doing, the correct answer is “I’m busy.” Even better, “I’m SO busy.”
It almost implies virtuousness, because people think the opposite of busy is lazy. And in modern America, laziness is right down there with pond scum.
I”m not going to say there's an actual conspiracy keeping Americans busy. Though it’s obviously to some people’s advantage to keep people working without time for thought. Otherwise they might notice that other countries have somehow managed to implement policies for the wellbeing of their citizens, with the result of less income inequality and more happiness.
It’s also very convenient for the companies who profit off the results of so much busyness, including poor health, both mental and physical. So many people turn to processed and packaged food because they don’t have time with all this busyness to prepare good food.
Which benefits those food manufacturers who have mastered the art of salt, fat, and sugar. Then the diet, “fitness”, and weight loss companies profit off the people who need to lose weight as a result of eating too many salty, fatty, and sugary foods.
Not to mention all the companies springing up designing apps that supposedly help you focus. Except you’re using them on the exact same device that’s distracting you in the first place.
In other words, we live in a culture that prioritizes being busy over being productive.
The ego rewards of busyness
So it’s not too surprising that people hold up being busy or not getting the sleep that would help them focus as badges of honor. And when you’re busy, you don’t have to think too much about life, or about escaping an unintentional life, which is uncomfortable and hard.
Many people are tethered to their phones, which is another badge of honor - you’re so important because your phone keeps notifying you! Someone might be trying to contact you at any time, so you have to be close to your phone no matter what.
And you don’t get those rewards (necessarily) when you’re productive. You’ll be getting your sleep at night, because you know that’s when your brain is doing a lot of work. (Some of which may be helping you prevent dementia, by the way.)
When you’re productive, you turn off notifications. When you’re in deep work, that is alllll your notifications. But you know as a productive person that you get the most work done when you focus, and for that to happen you can’t be distracted by your phone buzzing or flashing or beeping.
And you’ll be leaving the office - even if it’s your home office - at a reasonable hour, so you can’t brag to everyone that you were there until midnight. Because unless your sleep chronotype is that of a wolf, you’re not alert that late at night. Plus, you accomplished your priorities by focusing on them during the day.
So let me ask you - do you want to be productive or do you want to be busy? One leads to health and achieving your goals. The other doesn’t, BUT you do get some ego rewards from it. Choose wisely.
Recap:
Modern culture prizes and profits off busyness, which except for bragging rights doesn’t actually help you very much. Productivity, in contrast, allows you to accomplish your goals and support your mental health.