The Blurred Line Between Productivity and Progress
Lately, I’ve been hearing more about the never-ending stream of work. It’s that feeling at the end of the day, when your to-do list is longer than when you started. Or that you’ve worked a long day but haven’t got anything important done. Conversely, you might feel a sense of accomplishment most days but at the end of the year, you feel like you have nothing to show for all your hard work. You strive to be productive, to get ahead, but aren’t seeing signs of progress.
In a year where burnout, exhaustion and a sense of languishing are on the rise, sentiments like this are becoming increasingly common, but they’ve also been around for a while.
In North America there’s a cultural fascination with productivity.
It dates all the way back to the industrial revolution and has only gained pace through subsequent technological revolutions. Today, productivity itself is estimated to be a multibillion dollar industry.
Our enthralment with productivity is woven throughout our days. It’s there in our language of “busyness”, in the status of being in-demand, and in the hundreds of apps and tools that share the promise of getting more done. With all this attention placed on getting more done, it is easy to fall into the mindset that the more “productive” we are, the better our careers and therefore our lives will be.
But this approach glosses over an important distinction.
We often blend volume of output (productivity) with the direction that output is positioning us (progress). Put another way, it doesn’t matter how much you accomplish if what you are accomplishing isn’t truly supporting you in your work and moving you towards meaningful milestones.
Some of us have known this deep down for a while – that being “productive” all of the time is not what leads to the most progress in our work.
Before we move to looking at how to approach this let’s pause on progress. What I mean by progress is making strides towards your aspirations; seeing that you and your organization are moving closer towards your goal. It’s that feeling that your energy and time have made a meaningful impact. This is not the same thing as productivity, which is born out of that economic, utilitarian lens that goes all the way back to Adam Smith: how much input is required to get an output.
”The truth is, productivity is a by-product of a functional system, not a goal in and of itself. The question is not whether you are productive but what you are producing.”
Celeste Headlee
In the modern work world, progress and productivity are both needed to flourish and thrive.
The two are connected, but they reward us in very different ways and both need to be considered.
When we are focused on productivity, we are looking through a lens of getting things done. It’s that crossing off the list energy. Ticking the box, sending the email or coming out of the meeting. And for most of us, there is a place for productivity within our days. It’s email triage, repetitive tasks, and many more. Along with crossing things off our list a little rush of dopamine comes along. This makes it tempting to put the focus squarely on productivity; to focus on getting more and more done in a “workday”.
The challenge that emerges when too much emphasis is placed on productivity, especially through the pandemic, is that boundaries are increasingly pushed in terms of the workday limits. Many of us know the satisfaction of checking off tasks on our to-do list. But if we focus on crossing off the list instead of making real progress aligned to our aspirations, another task will simply pop up in its place. It’s the workplace version of whack-a-mole.
Another important component is identity. In this uncertain and turbulent world, it feels good to be needed, to know how to operate, to be appreciated. This can mean that work becomes more than a means to an end (a paycheque), or fuel for our passions, but instead can morph into the path to self-worth. Emailing late into the night or never putting the phone away can become a coping mechanism: a way we make ourselves feel more important or hide from the real stress of our lives.
In this way, being more and more productive can hold us back from making real progress.
Finally, being productive isn’t nearly as motivating as making real progress. Consider the power of small wins. By analysing the diaries of knowledge workers, researchers Teresa M. Amabile and Steven J. discovered the progress principle:
“Of all the things that can boost emotions, motivation, and perceptions during a workday, the single most important is making progress in meaningful work.”
To seek that connection between productivity and progress in our work, the first step is to get clear on the mix that is important for you. Evaluating where you are currently investing your energy is a good place to start. Are you spending hours on your email inbox and being responsive to incoming inquiries, while letting next year’s strategy gather dust on your desk? Getting real with yourself about where you are and what is needed is a good first step.
Next, begin to discern between progress and productivity. Like many things, being intentional is a great place to start. This can look like a simple pause for just a moment before jumping into a task.
Then you might consider asking yourself a few questions:
What will be the impact of undertaking this task? Will it pay dividends in the long run?
What is the single most important thing that I/we can move forward today/this week?
Is this something that has real urgency, or is it a nice to have? Do I believe in this or is it a “should” coming from elsewhere?
Is this core to the value we are creating, or does it play a support role?
What mix of productivity and progress focus is important in my day?
