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“Beware the barrenness of a busy life.” —Socrates
I recently read an article a friend wrote on the differences between being busy and being productive. Here is a summary:
Busy people want to look like they have a mission. Productive people have a mission for their lives.
Busy people have many priorities. Productive people have few priorities.
Busy people focus on action. Productive people focus on clarity before action.
Busy people multitask. Productive people focus.
Busy people talk about how they will change. Productive people are making those changes.
We can all find things that keep us occupied/busy. But is it getting us to our goal? I often find that when I don’t have an end result in mind, I do things to occupy myself. I just find myself trading one task for another… moving dirt from here to there.
I believe when we are productive we actually work less. Some quick tips on how to do more productive:
| 1. | Have a goal. Know what you want to accomplish. How can you plan your route if you don’t know where you want to go? |
| 2. | Prepare. Like a good chef, being productive is all in the preparation or planning. Sometimes this is the hardest part. |
| 3. | Batch things. Do emails at certain times, make phone calls at certain times. Switching from task to task does not work, it is a distraction. |
| 4. | Single-task. I have written in the past how multi-tasking does not work. Be present in what you do. |
| 5. | Manage your energy. Are you tired during the day? Take a break, stretch, go take a quick walk, stand up. Sitting at our desks all day gets boring, mundane and tiresome. But like everything else, plan for your break. Take it when a batch is done or at a logical stopping point. |
Are you busy or are you productive?
“Productivity is never an accident. It is always the result of a commitment to excellence, intelligent planning, and focused effort.” —Paul J. Meyer
Have a great weekend.
—Vijay
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About Friday Food for Thought (FFfT)
I frequently attend conferences and retreats on entrepreneurship and leadership and while I am away, the J2 team picks up the slack, allowing me to learn to be better at what I do. I wanted to share what I was learning with my team, so I created the weekly FFfT emails in November of 2015 and have been writing them ever since.
Before long, the J2 staff began sharing the FFfT emails with their friends and family and now other leaders have asked to be included, which led to the creation of this newsletter. I hope you enjoy!
[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][et_pb_row admin_label=”FFfT Blog Post (Responsive)” make_fullwidth=”off” use_custom_width=”off” width_unit=”on” use_custom_gutter=”off” custom_padding=”0px|0px|0px|0px” custom_margin=”0px|0px|0px|0px” allow_player_pause=”off” parallax=”off” parallax_method=”on” make_equal=”off” parallax_1=”off” parallax_method_1=”off” disabled=”off” disabled_on=”off|off|on” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” background_size=”initial”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Blog Body” background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”left” border_style=”solid” disabled=”off” disabled_on=”off|off|” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” background_size=”initial” _builder_version=”3.0.64″]
“Beware the barrenness of a busy life.” —Socrates
I recently read an article a friend wrote on the differences between being busy and being productive. Here is a summary:
Busy people want to look like they have a mission. Productive people have a mission for their lives.
Busy people have many priorities. Productive people have few priorities.
Busy people focus on action. Productive people focus on clarity before action.
Busy people multitask. Productive people focus.
Busy people talk about how they will change. Productive people are making those changes.
We can all find things that keep us occupied/busy. But is it getting us to our goal? I often find that when I don’t have an end result in mind, I do things to occupy myself. I just find myself trading one task for another… moving dirt from here to there.
[/et_pb_text][et_pb_image admin_label=”Blog Image” src=”https://j2-solutions.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Busy-vs.-Productive.jpg” show_in_lightbox=”off” url_new_window=”off” use_overlay=”off” animation=”off” sticky=”off” align=”center” force_fullwidth=”off” always_center_on_mobile=”on” border_style=”solid” _builder_version=”3.0.64″ /][et_pb_text admin_label=”Blog Body” background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”left” border_style=”solid” disabled=”off” disabled_on=”off|off|” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” background_size=”initial” _builder_version=”3.0.64″]
I believe when we are productive we actually work less. Some quick tips on how to do more productive:
| 1. | Have a goal. Know what you want to accomplish. How can you plan your route if you don’t know where you want to go? |
| 2. | Prepare. Like a good chef, being productive is all in the preparation or planning. Sometimes this is the hardest part. |
| 3. | Batch things. Do emails at certain times, make phone calls at certain times. Switching from task to task does not work, it is a distraction. |
| 4. | Single-task. I have written in the past how multi-tasking does not work. Be present in what you do. |
| 5. | Manage your energy. Are you tired during the day? Take a break, stretch, go take a quick walk, stand up. Sitting at our desks all day gets boring, mundane and tiresome. But like everything else, plan for your break. Take it when a batch is done or at a logical stopping point. |
Are you busy or are you productive?
“Productivity is never an accident. It is always the result of a commitment to excellence, intelligent planning, and focused effort.” —Paul J. Meyer
Have a great weekend.
—Vijay
[/et_pb_text][et_pb_divider admin_label=”Blog Divider” color=”#b2b2b2″ show_divider=”on” divider_style=”solid” divider_position=”top” hide_on_mobile=”off” height=”5″ /][et_pb_text admin_label=”FFfT Info” background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”left” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid” text_line_height=”1.3em” saved_tabs=”all” global_module=”119231″ background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” background_size=”initial”]
About Friday Food for Thought (FFfT)
I frequently attend conferences and retreats on entrepreneurship and leadership and while I am away, the J2 team picks up the slack, allowing me to learn to be better at what I do. I wanted to share what I was learning with my team, so I created the weekly FFfT emails in November of 2015 and have been writing them ever since.
Before long, the J2 staff began sharing the FFfT emails with their friends and family and now other leaders have asked to be included, which led to the creation of this newsletter. I hope you enjoy!
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