Monday, November 27, 2023

How Being Productive is not what it looks like

A pattern of continuous innovation has been so evident in the 21st century that as a result of it, we now have a range of mediums to achieve an even bigger range of objectives. However, it wouldn’t be a mistake to say that this inextinguishable drive to go a step forward has taken us further away from some basic elements that really got us to where we are today. One of these elements is productivity. Productivity, as a word, is thrown a around a lot. Be it in a workplace or even in our personal life, productivity always seems to get a fair amount of shouts. However, even with this extreme level of fixation on the concept, a good chunk of people actually believe in a misconstrued version of productivity. Yes, your viewpoint of productivity might just be the one that’s largely influenced by the myths we see on the internet today. It’s time to get a more lucid look at what, if correctly understood, can actually become a defining component in your success.

Yes, productivity has become one of the major metrics to discern the performances of an individual or a group, but the way we use it is quite erroneous. Productivity is not slogging all day long. It has more to do with the application of your time and energy. You can work for the entire day, but as per your strengths and work-ethic, you might still be underachieving. This is valid the other way around as well. A scenario where you work for just for a few hours and still produce a breakthrough is not unrealistic at all. It’s important to not get caught up in the cultural definition of productivity, which preaches the commitment of all the time you might have at your disposal.

One of the other crucial building blocks of a truly productive culture is to work towards developing a sustainable model of productivity. What we usually see today is people working incessantly before an eventual burnout kicks in. This is because we go into our work without viewing it through the long-term lens. You have to be almost strategic about it. If you go all in within a shorter span, your long-term objectives are more or less sacrificed. This is not an ideal route to take when you are expected to work for more than just a limited period of time. This, by no means, should imply that one must not focus on the granular level details to enhance their productivity. The right approach is where you are pulling the little strings to achieve success on the big scale.

We as a modern society often associate pushing ourselves to our limits with being productive, and that’s exactly how it shouldn’t be viewed. You can be fairly productive by structuring your methodology in a way that it helps you in getting an optimal amount of work from your skill-set. At the end, it’s an essential thing to bear in mind that productivity is just a medium to reach our goals, and we can tinker with this medium until we find the best fit for us.

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