A few days back Rachel Lie asked in the nesslabs community forum “What does productivity mean to you?“ She asked,
I’ve had a realisation recently. My relationship with productivity has been too conditioned with efficiency of the creative process and to create and produce value to serve others (24/7). It’s too focused on the tangible artefact I’ve created. I’ve attached my self-worth based on my level of productivity this way.
So things that might be unproductive like resting, the inactive, intangible things are devalued. Yet we need both to be balanced and sustainable.
So I’m wondering, how can we define productivity that promotes a more sustainable and healthier relationship? I invite you to explore and share your thoughts with me
Here is how I understand productivity. Not every minute of your day is meant to be productive. We need time to plan and reflect. We need downtime to rest and energize. We should stop optimizing every minute of our day to be efficient. We can split our day into four buckets.
- Plan & Organize
- Act & Execute
- Review and Reflect
- Rest and Energize
Plan & Organize
Planning helps with identifying the right tasks to work on. Organizing helps with finding time to work on the identified task. Goal setting falls into planning. Planning your day falls into organizing.
Act & Execute
Once you know what to work on and when to work, you need to act and execute what is planned. This is where productivity comes into play. Productivity is being able to get the tasks done well and in the shortest time. To do that, you need to focus. You have to remove distractions. You should work only on the task identified without thinking far ahead.
Review & Reflect
Planning will get you started. Executing on your plans will bring you closer to the result. Reflecting will help with identifying gaps and coming up with new ideas. Doing activities aways from work like walking and writing can help with review and reflection.
Rest and Energize
To be productive, your mind and body need to support. You need optimal energy. Activities like sleep, eating well, spending time away from work, playing, and laughing with family and friends adds energy.
Productivity helps in immersing ourselves in what we are doing now. Productivity then is doing one task without distraction. If done correctly, productivity should make time for other good things in life like rest and family.