#5: Our love affair with productivity
A story of defeating to-do list lust
The concept of ‘productivity’ is both a much-touted and much-troubled one in the world of work. Productivity itself is a measure of efficiency, which is no bad thing. But what originated and is easy to measure in a world of machines, is a lot harder to quantify when it comes to knowledge work. Instead, it is often left to us as individuals to gauge and regulate our outputs.
With that in mind, this week we’re talking about the modern working world’s love affair with productivity. But be warned, this is no Romeo and Juliet. It’s the all too familiar tale of infatuation followed by disillusionment concluding with sober compromise. No, we’re not jaded, you are. This is the story of our relationship with productivity.
Stay sane,
Milly & Yumi
P.S - a quick update before we dive into today’s spoils - you can now expect Work Daze to drop into your lap (inbox) every week. We’re breaking with convention and separating out our usual sections - a think piece, an interview, and resources - into their own standalone mail outs, alternating them each week. It’s like when they split a group on X Factor and make them battle it out solo - just call us Simon Cowell.
As ever, let us know what you think, otherwise we’ll continue to feel around in this dark hole that is the internet.
Our love affair with productivity
Do you remember when you realised there was this thing called productivity? For some, it might have been at uni, for others, at their first job. For most, our introduction into the murky waters of productivity was the humble to-do list. A gateway drug if you will. As we assimilated our brains into the adult world of tasks with every dopamine-fuelled tick, there was no going back.
We wanted more, and the internet delivered - in the form of ‘productivity porn.’ Our bookmarks became awash with the stuff - from The Pomodoro Technique to The Pareto Principle to Eating the Frog. Of course, anything with the word ‘hack’ was a guaranteed click.
We truly thought we’d found the answer to life. But a few years in and we felt more like a hamster on a Gmail sponsored wheel than Tim Ferris on a tropical beach. And so we started flirting with a little thing called procrastination. We told ourselves it wasn’t serious, but it was too late. The scales had fallen from our eyes, productivity wasn’t what we thought it was.
Eventually, the realisation that we’re human beings, not human doings sank in. The sticking point being that if we’d like to continue to be a functioning member of society, we do need to do some stuff. And so began our rehabilitation, a process of building a healthy relationship with the concept of productivity. How might one do that you ask?
Well, reader, you talk to that weirdly efficient yet chilled-out colleague, you subscribe to a great newsletter about the world of work ;) and you find an approach that works for you. Because like any relationship, there isn’t a silver bullet.
We’re still learning, but one thing that feels like a step in the right direction is to take an approach of mindful productivity - a mindset of awareness about what you’re actually doing, rather than just being busy for the sake of being busy. Another concept we like is that of ‘essentialism.’ In other words, only doing the things you really need or want to do. Finally, there is the tried and tested method of actually getting those things done.
The course of love never did run smooth, and we’re not saying our affair with productivity is over, but we’ll be keeping that to-do list lust in check, that’s for sure.
And for a bit of perspective
Thanks for reading, see you next week for our interview issue!
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Great issue. The power is in your (own) hands as Paddy would say!
Really good issue! Now just to tell the managers of the world to get over productivity..