The Productivity Myth
Because productivity isn’t about getting more things done in less time
Have you ever measured your daily productivity by how many tasks you checked off your to-do list, only to end up feeling drained and somewhat unsatisfied by the end of the week?
Yup, I’ve been there too.
But have you ever questioned why that is?
I think it’s because we’ve been sucked into the trap of thinking productivity is just about getting things done.
Spoiler alert - It isn’t! Shocker, right?
So if productivity isn’t about getting a shed load of stuff done, what is it about?
Well, that's what we're going to uncover in this article. We'll examine:
Why being super productive can leave us feeling dissatisfied.
Why aiming to "get more done in less time" isn't making us more productive.
And most importantly, we’ll also tap into what productivity should be about.
So grab a cuppa and let’s get into it…
Why Productivity Protocols are Leaving us Feeling Dissatisfied
The truth is we can not maximise every moment of our waking day. So if you’re trying to time-block every last minute of your schedule in a bid to be hyper-productive, then you’re going to burn out pretty fast.
But it’s not just an obvious case of burnout that we need to be concerned about.
There’s the fact being hyper-productive can actually leave us feeling dissatisfied with life because we’re using productivity to get a ton of stuff done, stuff that’s probably not that fulfilling.
Yes, we can feel the satisfaction of putting the effort in and checking off a long list of hard/boring tasks, but that’s often short lived, and isn’t the best motivator either.
Okay, so instead of maximising every minute of our schedule checking off tasks like a productivity machine, we might be tempted to figure out how we can cram a bunch of tasks into just a few hours with the help of multitasking.
Getting More Done in Less Time Won’t Make You More Productive
Get more done with less stress or in less time is a great lure used by productivity gurus, usually as a subtitle for their bestselling book. And most people will interpret it as multitasking.
However, no one can multitask, it’s just not possible for our brains to focus on more than one task at time. What we’re actually performing is a succession of task switching.
The problem is our brain has a hard limit on the energy supplied to it, meaning it doesn’t suck up more power to allow us to hop from focusing on one task to the next. Instead it limits the energy supplied to other functions outside our attention focus.
And so we are not being more productive when we aim to squeeze many tasks into a short amount of time because of how our brains use energy for focusing on each task at a time.
So What is Productivity About if it isn’t Just About Getting More Things Done?
According to Ali Abdaal in his latest book "Feel-Good Productivity” (affiliate link), it's about feeling good because when we feel good, we're more likely to tackle our tasks with enthusiasm, creativity, and a positive mindset.
This is where the Broaden-and-Build Theory, developed by psychologist Barbara Fredrickson, comes in. It's a theory I’ve come across in a few books including "Feel-Good Productivity" and "The Gap and The Gain" (affiliate link) by Dan Sullivan and Dr Benjamin Hardy.
The theory suggests that positive emotions allow us to see more possibilities and take in more information. These positive emotions also help us to build new skills and resources that can provide value in other areas of our lives. Over time, this "broadening" and "building" leads to lasting emotional resilience and satisfaction.
Resilience and satisfaction are the character traits needed to be a productive person.
So Planner Friend, if we want to be more productive, it looks like we need to first tap into feeling more positive.
Chloe x
Research
Feel-Good Productivity: How to Do More of What Matters to You* Ali Abdaal
Multicosts of Multitasking. Kevin P. Madore, Ph.D. and Anthony D. Wagner, Ph.D. National Library of Medicine.
The Role of Positive Emotions in Positive Psychology. Barbara L. Fredrickson. National Library of Medicine.
* Please note: I found these [Audible/Kindle] books through my own research, personally purchased and listened/read them for my own use before writing this blog post, but as an Amazon Associate I earn from any qualifying purchases you may make after clicking these links.