It's very easy to get confused between productive and being busy. It's easy to feel productive when you are really just busy. But busyness and productivity are two different things; a difference that makes a world of difference in your life. Here’s how to tell whether you are productive or busy. 1. Is the work you are doing now the work you were put on Earth to do?
Or in plain English - Is it your purpose? There is a difference between being productive and being busy. You can strike-out a dozen entries in your your To-Do list without actually being productive. The challenge which you may face is there will be plenty work to keep you busy, most of them have nothing to do with your real purpose. If you spend time being busy, you will never be productive. 2. Is the work you are doing now meaningful to you and others? Or in plain English - How would you feel if this work was never done? Busy work doesn’t make an impact. Just because you have a flooded in-box daily and you manage to clear almost all of them creates an impact. It does not bring meaning to your life, nor does it impact others. I am not saying to shut all the non-productive work. There are things that you have to do as routine maintenance. These things need to be done. But if no one—yourself included - is ever going to notice that the work you are doing was never done, you aren’t being productive. 3. Does the work you are doing now fill you with joy or with dread? Or in plain English - Do you get job satisfaction? Any work which involves passion or purpose will fill you up with joy. You get out of the bed in the morning to do the work which is thrust upon you. You dread work when it isn’t really productive. If what you are doing feels more like a punishment than a gift, you are simply busy, and it might necessary for your survival right now. But you are not being productive. 4. Does the work you are doing move you closer to your long term goals? Or in plain English - Are you working towards your ambition? Productive work moves you closer to your goals. It is a slow process but it allows you to build a path of your choice and progress towards it. Productive work (which is always very hard) will allow you to look back and see what you’ve accomplished. Busyness gives you a false sense of accomplishment. It gives you the sense of striking out tasks, crossing out list items and gives a sense of finishing the job and on-time. It’s great to declare “inbox zero,” but no one’s purpose is to clear inboxes. If what has your attention doesn’t deserve your attention, you are just keeping busy. 5. Is the work you're doing responding to some external stimulus? Or in plain English - Is this the work that you blocked your valuable time for completing it? One of the easiest ways to tell if you are doing something productive is whether you blocked time to do it. Let me ask you this question in another way - is the current work which you are doing is going to allow you to generate one of the 3 major outcomes (top 3 goals in your life, quarterly or weekly milestones, your bucket list items) you need right now, then you are producing something. If what you are doing is responding to some external stimulus then it is likely busy work. Productive work is always proactive and planned while busy work is reactive. Conclusion Not all of your time can be spent being productive. That isn’t necessary.But it is necessary that you use your only finite, completely non-renewable resource well. That means blocking time for meaningful, purposeful work among your busy schedule. Remember that to make your daily living possible you need to be busy from time to time and that is fine. What you need to remember though is to plan and progress towards your productive goal in the long term.
1 Comment
priya
5/7/2017 17:52:51
Very good one !!
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AuthorVasudevan is a Leadership Mentor and an Executive coach. I run an online website geared towards helping creative entrepreneurs and future managers to build their dreams. Archives
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