progress over productivity
just as a statement on its own, without context "progress over productivity" might sound a bit unclear and ambiguous.
the first time i heard this phrase, which was not more than 3 days ago, the first thing that rang in my mind was, "how are the two different?" "isn't productivity supposed to lead to progress?" "why are we putting both against each other?"
if you are also a bit confused like i was, letâs put this in context. letâs think from the point of view of a person working on an interesting and ambitious project with a goal in mind. it could be anything - letâs say a new youtube channel, a genAI project, a portfolio website, a newsletter, a startup. anything!
the growth of any of the above-mentioned or any project for that matter boils down to whether or not the subject is making progress towards the set goal. itâs simple in theory but a lot of nuance gets lost in daily chores and actions.
so how do you differentiate between productivity and progress? doesnât productivity necessarily nudge you towards it? there are two parts to this question. letâs talk about both.
productivity might not nudge you towards progress
productivity, more often than not, can become an illusion of progress. it is about checking things off your list - responding to emails, coding more hours, sending more cold emails, writing more words within a set time. going by the standard definition of it, productivity is measured as the rate of output per unit of input. however, it would be interesting to ask yourself how much of that actually pushes you towards your goal.
it was many years ago when i heard/read this somewhere - âbeing busy is not something you should be proud ofâ. it is something i still struggle with to this day. being busy feels like i am doing something positive, something important, something that adds a net positive value to my life. you could argue that it is not true - that could be a whole other blog. but hey at least i am working! towards what? not sure.
it is so easy to lose yourself and your vision in the illusion of productivity that it can take you a long time to realise that what you are doing is not leading you where it should be.
small things add up but not all of them. action that is not led by direction is just labour. mind you, direction and plan are not interchangeable words here. you need not have an exhaustive plan to begin working but you need some sort of direction. if you just have a rough direction to move towards, you are golden! now all you have to do is make sure you make progress towards your north star.
this is easier said than done, right? how do you actually make progress?
catch the signal; leave the noise
one of the main things i have long advocated for is - not waiting till you have a plan or a vision - because those are the things that you work towards. if you donât take action, you will never have enough knowledge to come up with a plan or a vision in the first place. it works like this:
do some work -> get perspective -> get direction -> work more in that direction -> make progress
the way to make progress is by approaching work with a reflective, iterative, lean approach.
in the bunch of tasks that feel fancy and shiny, there are just a few that actually lead you to progress and those are the ones that you should direct your focus towards. a focused approach is important. identify what it is that really takes you forward and then optimise for it. as they say, catch the signal in the noise. progress is the signal; productivity is the noise.
your work will always be more rewarding when it is optimised to be more enjoyable during the journey instead of being wholly and solely dependent on the destination. working will make you more productive; but working with a sense of prioritisation, reflection and iteration will help you make progress. the latter promises an interesting journey along with more fulfilling milestones.
in the end, you could interpret the said phrase in more than one way and thatâs exactly the purpose of this blog. if it got your mind to think and possibly reflect on the things you have been working on and how you are going to approach them now forth, i have done my job.
tldr:
donât get lost in the perception that getting things off your to-do list is getting you where you want to be. progress is measured by KPIs that directly or indirectly influence your goals. working alone (productivity) is not enough; working by narrowing down to the most impactful tasks and creating an iterative approach is important. the latter is an approach optimised for progress.
progress > productivity
hope this helps :)
- pooja