Efficiency ≠ Productivity

If You Really Want Productivity, Take a Long, Hard Look at Yourself

In today’s world, we are guilty of viewing everything through a technological lens. I’ve written and length and in detail about the dangers of this lens.¹

To bring these deeper philosophical and existential insights into the every-day world, I want to discuss the productivity community. This is one I’ve been a part of for several years, and have occasionally written for with some success.²

However, I see a dangerous trend within the productivity community that is born from this technological lens, and it threatens to eviscerate any possibility of a productive life.

First, I suggest that we must consider cui bono in the context of productivity. Cui bono asks “for what good?” or “for who’s good?” This can be a profound question, and when asked properly, should elicit profound answers.

Let me give you a hypothetical example that might cover many of you:

Why do I want to be productive? Because, I want to live a better life. What does that mean? I want to have a better work/life balance, to spend more time with my wife and kids, and be successful in my work. How does productivity help me do that? It means that I work better because fewer tasks and pieces of information fall through the cracks. And it means that I work better. Perhaps this means I work with more efficiency, and perhaps I work with greater focus.