The Single Difference Between ‘Productive’ Work and ‘Busy’ Work
There is being busy and then there is being productive — Do you understand the difference?
With many things in our lives constantly distracting us from being productive, I want to dive into the biggest difference between being busy and being productive and what signs to look for if you are busy but not productive.
In a world where people, organizations and institutions are often confused on what they deliver, being busy typically becomes much easier than to being productive. For example, most research supports that we have about 3–4 excellent working hours in us each day. Beyond that, our quality of work dissipates. I can tell you that this is an example of where theoretical research is right in reality.
I teach physical education about 7–8 hours per day. Every day I tell my team that the classes I have for the first 4–5 hours of the school day get 100% of Ryan. They get a top notch educational opportunity from me in those hours. I feel “on”, I feel alive and I feel that I am the best in the business. Simply put, I am in the “flow” of work.
After those 4–5 hours, I am pretty mediocre, and I feel it.
When I was a school health facilitator, if I facilitated more than a four hour workshop I needed the rest of the day and the following day…
