Prouductivity
You think this is a typo in the title? Absolutely not. Let me explain.
Productivity is not about answering 10,000 emails a day. It’s about being proud of yourself.
What is this being proud of yourself about? Are there any “building blocks” of being proud?
What I’ve learned — there are 3 of them.
- Achievements
Accomplishments. Successful completions. Wins.
And only what You consider an achievement matters. If it is running 50 miles a day — so be it, if it is cool for you. If it is to complete all The Friends seasons in one weekend and not have your eyeballs fall out — so be it. It will be productive for you. If it is your company’s projects completion that makes you happy — that is your definition of Achievement.
There is no objective definition of The Achievement.
2. Goals
Why would you consider something an achievement? Just for fun also counts, but is there anything bigger? So, say, I earned a million dollars — that’s definitely an achievement, isn’t it? But what was The Goal? I wanted to open a restaurant. Or buy a villa. Or quit the enterprise job. Or just show the bank account figures to a friend to make him envious.
Goals are our compass. They structure things. They filter out irrelevant.
A goal to stay healthy, while doing great things — imagine how many different achievements this will be an umbrella for! What kind of lifestyle a person with such Goal might have? Do you see him doing 70 hour work week? Will the amount of completed tasks or answered emails be a definition for productivity for this guy? Honestly, I doubt.
3. Reflection
The trickiest part about Achievements? You have to recognize them. It’s actually not that simple. You have to take some time to step out of the goals and achievements chase and celebrate your success, even if it’s a very little one.
Being productive is not only to meet your goals, but it’s also about reflecting on how you did it.
It is important to be self-aware, where you are now and how you got there. As opposed to compulsive chasing numbers, self-awareness is 100% part of being productive, in my view.
That’s what I mean when I talk about Prouductivity. Your personal Achievements, tied to Goals that matter to You, that are very well recognized by you and celebrated — that’s what being productive is.
And no doubt that can be all about 10,000 emails a day. If they make you proud of yourself.
