What Constitutes Productivity?
This year, I have been listening to a lot of podcasts centered around productivity and self-improvement. Most of them talk about the “daily grind” and how important it is to be constantly getting stuff done, but there seems to be a new movement within the sphere of productivity and self-help gurus that focuses on the importance of how sometimes, not being productive every now and then can help you to be at your most productive state later on. Recently, a goal of mine has been to make every day productive in some way. Usually, the response I receive upon telling someone that I’m striving to be “productive all the time” tends to be one of surprise or disbelief.
“That’s crazy! You can’t just work all day!”
Most people tend to associate productivity with some sort of tangible or at least monetary gain. Obviously, the idea that I am constantly making money at every hour of the day is absurd considering that I have no source of passive income. However, that’s not what I mean when I say I’m being productive.
Productivity simply means to produce some sort of an output for something, but it’s definition is not constrained to money or work. You can be productive when it comes to anything; I’m productive at the gym when I see results, I’m productive when I cook a meal, or even when I reach a new level in a video game. All I’m doing is improving myself, my skills, and my life, and it doesn’t require making more money or even creating anything as long as it involves improvement.
What I wanted to do is make the most out of every day by getting things done and accomplishing new goals. Taking an LSAT prep-test or studying for a class is productive, sure, but I’d argue that so is having a fulfilling social life by playing video games with friends or going out for dinner — these activities are all doing the same thing in the end, which is making sure that my life doesn’t fall stagnant. As long as things improve, that is still productivity. The “output” I may get from the latter activities might just be “feeling better”, and even though that might not be tangible, it is producing a beneficial result.
Being productive all of the time does not mean doing things that are boring 24/7; in fact, it’s quite the opposite. Stimulating your mind and body with new activities is productive when it yields positive results, even if those results may seem inconsequential or unimportant.
Too often, I think we all do things simply to pass the time or because it feels like there is nothing to do. I want to stop doing things for that reason; I want everything I do to have a purpose, even if that purpose is just because I want to have fun. I think that anything I do that improves my life and produces a beneficial outcome is something that is productive. Living life purposefully leads to living life productively. When everything you do is done with intention and an end goal in mind, why shouldn’t that count as being productive. Even something such as getting enough sleep is sufficient to yield a positive outcome, leading one to being able to accomplish more due to being well-rested.
Of course, some things will have a greater benefit to me than others, and it is always important to remember to have an appropriate level of balance between everything that I do. For instance, while spending time with my friends does yield a positive outcome, it should not take priority over studying for a test.
In the end, we all have different goals of what is productive and what will improve our lives the most. But I think it is important to realize that being productive is not limited to working all day. Going to the gym, cooking, cleaning, even spending time with people you care about are all things that can improve your life by producing some positive output, and thus, are productive in their own right.
