What the heck *is* productivity all about?
Tuesday, October 16, 2007 at 12:41AM A few things got me thinking about why we try to be more productive. The first was a stimulating (and emotional) discussion of value, fees, and life purpose in my recent post A conversation with Laura Stack, the Productivity Pro. Toward the end a reader brings up the important of "Why?" The second thing was Laura Stack's post How to Be More Productive: Have you become more productive or just learned how? She's clearly given it some deep thought.
Finally, early on I wrote It's not about productivity..., and I'd like to revisit the idea. So what follows are a few "Is it all about..." thoughts. No answers here, just a some starter possibilities. Your thoughts on this are very welcome.
Time? I use the term "self management" in my work (instead of the traditional "time management") because there's a limited supply of it and it can't be saved, so how can you manage it? ("Saving time" doesn't make sense either.) However, our time is extremely precious (we've been allocated a fixed amount of it, though we don't know the number) so how we spend it is crucial. (Hmmm - maybe we should talk in terms of a time budget?)
My friend Pascal Venier called me on this a while back. His response to my post Is GTD the "Extreme Programming" of Time Management? is worth a look: Now ... is GTD really about time management?
Action? OK, so if it's not about time, how about action? A central tenet of Getting Things Done is managing action. "You can't do projects, only actions" is a key concept. This relates to the psychological stress of what Allen calls incompletes or open loops - your mind only relaxes when it trusts they're being tracked and dispatched, so that they feel as if they are complete.
But this leads to asking which actions are important. I believe strongly that getting on top of everything in our lives is a critical first step, but just because we have lots of lists doesn't mean we're living our lives like we want to.
Proactive vs. reactive? In the article Getting Things Done Guru David Allen and His Cult of Hyperefficiency (which my friend Bob Walsh did not like) the author says:Scientology says that the static in our heads is caused by "engrams." In GTD the problem is stuff.
And stuff is an important piece of Allen's thinking - it's the start of much of what we need to take care of, including problems, ideas, and opportunities.
However, this seems to frame the issue in reactive terms - things coming at us. In The Instant Productivity Toolkit Len Merson talks about "being proactive in a reactive world." To him being proactive means:meeting new challenges head-on, not procrastinating until they become crises. Being proactive means diving into your tasks knowing you are going to accomplish them well and on time. ... thinking "That's what I'm going to do *next*," not obsessing about a stack of folders on your desk and falling into despair over what you haven't done.
(You can find related thoughts here.)
Goals? That's getting there, but how do we know what to be proactive about? Goals! Yes, you can't swing a dead cat without hitting a blog post on goals. (Believe me - I have over 200 goal-related references). But knowing your goals can be difficult - that's why I wrote Where are you going? Use your actions and projects to reverse engineer your goals. The reason I do this work (coming at it bottom-up) is because it enables listening to ourselves, and getting at what's important. As I commented on Jason Womack's post What would you do if...?It might come down to listening, which is based on the principle of Making Space: The little voice that tells us what we love, what we should do, is often so quiet that we can't hear it for the noise of our modern lives. That, combined with having many more choices these days than (say) 100 years ago, can get in the way of tuning in to what's authentic to ourselves.
Choices? Aha - choices! I wrote this response to Chris Brogan post: 1) Self-responsibility: Making conscious choices about our lives removes the excuse to be passive and then complain about it. Example: Not having an important but difficult conversation, then complaining about a relationship. Another example: When I'm teaching clients best practices, it's *empowering*, for some of them - too much so. (Not too many, thankfully; plunking down money tends to clarify commitment.) For example, if I get my act together, I can no longer claim it's out of my hands, or it's somebody else's fault - I explicitly take responsibility. This is not necessarily comfortable initially, and may be a big change for people. 2) Things *not* chosen, i.e., Mark Forster's "closed lists" (see Do It Tomorrow and Other Secrets of Time Management): Deciding to do something means you've decided *not* to do something else. For example, spending time watching TV or surfing the web means not spending time with my daughter and wife.Choice has (at least) two implications:
The vital few? So yes, we have choices, and they're important. But which of those deserve our time, action, and energy? Another dead cat (and a very important book in the field) is Richard Koch's The 80/20 Principle: The Secret to Success by Achieving More with Less. This one blew away my scribble test - lots of ideas, many life-changing. (A big thanks to reader DM for giving me a copy.) He says overall,keep in mind that a few things are always much more important than most things. Keep the vital few in the forefront of your brain. Keep reviewing whether you are spending more time and effort on the vital few rather than on the trivial many.
This has significant implications for productivity. Because inputs and outputs are non-linear, it's possible to spend a small amount of energy on some things that give proportionally much more back. It's the core idea behind The 4-Hour Workweek, it's big, and it applies to everything - work, life, and relationships.
Finishing up When it's (literally!) all said and done, I wonder if it's all about discovering and leading the life you want. Using our precious minutes, hours, and days doing what's important in our work and lives - for me, contributing, learning, improving myself, and loving.
What do you think?
Reader Comments (17)
My definition of a productive day is one that I could describe to a supervisor/boss without using any kind of doublespeak.
GTD is great for getting on top of paper nightmares, but it's clear that there are many ways to torpedo our own productivity regardless of any systemic attempt. Personally, I find that I need a reminder every ten minutes to focus on the task at hand, as I am vulnerable to White Rabbit-style distractions, particularly when online.
GTD is such a useful tool that it's easy to imagine it as a panacea. Thanks for this entry -- we always need to re-examine our assumptions.
My mantra is Freedom Through Organization. I think productivity means achieving my goals faster and more easily than if I just meandered through life without any foundation under me.
I wrote a post called "How to Leave for Paris in 56 Minutes" highlighting what I think is the key purpose of organization/productivity:
http://www.sufficientthrust.com/how-to-leave-for-paris-in-an-hour/
Great post! Too often people get stuck at the task level and fall into the busy trap. Productivity is indeed a very complex concept.
The main problem is "The Perspective". Things you consider important in the short run are not necessarily important in the long run. So the whole world of productivity coaching is about shifting the perspective from the short to the long run. In GTD it is the Weekly Review process with Horizons of Focus.
An excellent and thoughtful post. Re-framing "time management" as "self management" is a key point. Managing oneself has to start with examination of one's values. Values operate at an emotional level and will sub-consciously determine which goals you will achieve. Goals, projects and tasks operate at a practical level and planning, GTD are useful here. But, concentrating only on these tools means that you are concentrating on the scaffolding and not the completed building.
Thanks a ton, everyone. You're why I love blogging.
Marina,
Freedom Through Organization. ... achieving my goals faster and more easily
Freedom - Very nice.
[ How to Leave for Paris in 56 Minutes | http://www.sufficientthrust.com/how-to-leave-for-paris-in-an-hour/ ]
Thanks for the story - cool. And I like the term "scaffold."
Logan,
a productive day is one that I could describe to a supervisor/boss without using ... doublespeak
Clear/unambiguous value - Excellent one; never would have thought of it. Hey, I found this related article: [ Boss Talk: What Do Clear, Unambiguous and Actionable Mean to You? | http://www.gantthead.com/content/articles/18270.cfm ]
many ways to torpedo our own productivity regardless of [system]
Excellent point. I'd argue the system is a necessary precondition, but not enough by itself.
Thanks for this entry -- we always need to re-examine our assumptions.
Much appreciated. I'm at a point where I'm finally getting a little clarity on my own goals. AFTER TWENTY YEARS! ;-)
Joren,
Great post! Too often people get stuck at the task level and fall into the busy trap. Productivity is indeed a very complex concept.
Getting unstuck - Thanks, Joren. I agree re: the complexity of this work. In fact, you've just made me realize once facet of why I'm so drawn to it: It quickly expands to cover almost everything in life: work, living, purpose, etc. No wonder I had trouble with this one!
TesTeq,
A pleasure to hear from a major GTD [ forum contributor | http://davidco.com/forum/member.php?u=594 ] (1,114 posts!)
The main problem is "The Perspective". Things you consider important in the short run are not necessarily important in the long run. So the whole world of productivity coaching is about shifting the perspective from the short to the long run. In GTD it is the Weekly Review process with Horizons of Focus.
Perspective (long term vs. short term) - Well put. Thanks for the reminder. I still find the weekly review a challenge.
Michael,
An excellent and thoughtful post. Re-framing "time management" as "self management" is a key point.
Much appreciated. I picked up the term as part of my faculty productivity research. I like it a lot.
Managing oneself has to start with examination of one's values. Values operate at an emotional level and will sub-consciously determine which goals you will achieve. Goals, projects and tasks operate at a practical level and planning, GTD are useful here. But, concentrating only on these tools means that you are concentrating on the scaffolding and not the completed building.
Values - Well said; goals as scaffolding in support of values makes sense.
Matt,
Thanks again for the interesting post.
Regarding "Time", I'm guessing you can only invest it, share it, spend it, or waste it. I really don't see how you can maximize time from the bottom-up. This is where I disagree with GTD. It may be my "fault" in that I am goal-driven and do all my planning from the top-down. From the big-to-the-granular.
Since time is limited, and I need to make an impact, I plan my week around the movement of goal attainment.
I work from a 30-60-90-day and annual goals paradigm. I do something everyday associated with positively impacting these goals. True, many of the 30 and 60-day stuff leads to 90-day goal attainment. There are certain milestones I need to meet quarterly to achieve my annual goals.
I work daily in three 2-hour chunks of time. I only respond to email and voice mail once a day, so I get quality time to perform whatever task I'm working on. Since I only schedule three high impact items daily, I stay focused and engaged in my work.
So in a typical day from 7am-9am work on task one, 9a-11a, task two, 11:30-12:30 lunch with client, 1p-3p task three, 3:30-4:30 f.up on delegated tasks to subordinates and peers, 4:30-5:30 review voice mail and follow up (call backs at the end of a day tend to be short and sweet...since the recipient is probably finishing their day and headed home), 5:30p-6:30p review email and follow up as required (any e-mail that takes longer than 2 min. I forward to my assistant for summary and tentative course of action- I follow up the next day 3:30p-4:30p). 6:30p-7:00p daily review and planning for the following day. 7:00p-7:45p communte home with John Coletrane or Thelonious Monk.
Matt, sorry for the long post. I can't really define productivity, but I can feel it. I've notched out a system that works for me. It's hybrid, not all GTD, not all anybody, it's "hodgepodge".
Keep up the good work and thought-provoking commentary.
Hi Davey.
Regarding "Time", I'm guessing you can only invest it, share it, spend it, or waste it.
Interesting! Spend: automatic. Share: Relationships; nice! Waste: Yep. Invest? I'll have to think about that. It's not like money - you can't put time into a bank then get more back later. We can take action now to make it more valuable in the future...
I really don't see how you can maximize time from the bottom-up. It may be my "fault" in that I am goal-driven and do all my planning from the top-down. From the big-to-the-granular.
I wish I could be more that way, I have to say. Bottom-up has to do with efficiency and clarity of action. Top-down has to do with goals. I do buy the party line that, for many of us, the former is a prerequisite of the latter.
I work from a 30-60-90-day and annual goals paradigm. I do something everyday associated with positively impacting these goals. True, many of the 30 and 60-day stuff leads to 90-day goal attainment.
Thanks for sharing this. It's much like what I was trying to address in [ Small steps to big results: Do one High Value Task a day | http://www.matthewcornell.org/blog/2007/09/small-steps-to-big-results-do-one-high.html ].
I work daily in three 2-hour chunks ... I only schedule three high impact items daily
That's very focused - I like it. Some days I feel like getting one high-impact task done (even if it's 15 minutes) is a big deal.
So in a typical day ...
It's helpful for me to hear how you work your day. It's also a fascinating part of my job - we've all had to define our own work habits, and we've come up with a real variety.
When do you get the little things done? Are you able to delegate all of it to your assistant? Also, I'd be curious to learn how you manage your home life. Clearly having a small number of high-value actions applies to home...
Matt, sorry for the long post. I can't really define productivity, but I can feel it. Keep up the good work and thought-provoking commentary.
No apology necessary; I love long comments! It shows I'm doing something right. And your comment about not being able to define it reminds me of quality (e.g., [ Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance | http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zen_and_the_Art_of_Motorcycle_Maintenance ] ) - I'll know it when I see it.
Really interesting post. I especially appreciate the nod to the Richard Koch book which I didn't know about, and am excited to read.
Check out this [ guest post | http://www.scotthyoung.com/blog/2007/10/18/the-art-of-the-finish-how-to-go-from-busy-to-accomplished/ ] I did on Scott Young's blog for a definitely similar take on the same crucial questions.
- Cal
Nice post. You have come back to the fundamental: In the end, did I get something done, and was it something that mattered. That means, be it top up or bottom down, getting to your goals. Productivity is about producing those goals efficiently and effectively. Efficiency alone is worthless, getting more of the wrong things done isn't going to help, right?
Hey Cal,
Really interesting post. I especially appreciate the nod to the Richard Koch book which I didn't know about, and am excited to read.
Koch's book is deep, no question. Took me some time to work through, though.
Check out this guest post I did on Scott Young's blog for a definitely similar take on the same crucial questions.
Completion - I love what you said: From my experience, the most common trait you will consistently observe in accomplished people is an obsession with completion. Once a project falls into their horizon, they crave, almost compulsively, to finish it. If they’re organized, this might happen in scheduled chunks. If they’re not — like many — this might happen in all-nighters. But they get it done. Fast and consistently.
Thanks for the great pointer!
P.S. I like all the [ work you've done | http://www.calnewport.com/ ] (books, articles, etc.) Good show!
I like the idea of this post and think that understanding "why productivity" can only help to motivate people to be productive. I'm going to have to do some more thinking on the topic as I'm currently in the process of changing from a GTD workplace/free-for-all home, to a GTD system in both.
In the process of making this switch though (I've currently finished gathering open-loops and will look to process them this weekend), it did get me thinking about why I've never implemented a productive system at home.
Reward was my reason. I'm not saying there's no reward in having this implemented at home, if there wasn't, I wouldn't be implementing it now; but it wasn't the right reward to motivate me then.
Before I stumbled upon GTD, I was already looking for things to increase my personal efficiency and effectiveness. The time period where I did this was pretty clear cut. It was when I was with a start-up company and I was the 5th person to join. There was a lot of work as start-ups tend to be and we had some success. As the most junior of the five, I got a lot of the odd jobs and have always had a "whatever-it-takes" attitude, so didn't mind. As the company grew, I became considered more senior and was still the go to guy both for more people and for greater amounts of responsibility. I very much enjoyed that despite the ever increasing work load. It gave me a strong intrinsic motivation to go to work every day and make a difference and be appreciated. It motivated me so much so that I failed to learn how to delegate until much later and happily took on all that I could. So as we grew from 5 to 10, my work load went up, and as we continued to grow (eventually to 40ish) I realized that at a certain point, I couldn't work any harder and I was tired of working such long hours and through weekends. And thus, I had it beat into my head that I'd have to give up a number of things, or work smarter.
If the company had not grown and the workload never became too much, I'd wouldn't have bothered to figure out prioritizing, delegation or any other processes.
For me, the points you've made in this post were truly why I needed to be productive. But, the only reason I knew back then for doing so (i.e. what was it all about for me), was the reward of being "that guy".
was still the go to guy both for more people and for greater amounts of responsibility
This isn't uncommon - that the most productive people get more work, because they have a reputation for ... being productive! And in your position, I suspect it's hard to say no.
If the company had not grown and the workload never became too much, I'd wouldn't have bothered to figure out prioritizing, delegation or any other processes.
Trial by fire, which motivated you toward self-improvement - neat.
the only reason I knew back then for doing so (i.e. what was it all about for me), was the reward of being "that guy".
Thanks very much for the personal insights, Doug. That last one is a particularly good one for me, e.g., when leading a workshop being an effective teacher, with being entertaining secondary.
Teriffic comment, and great stories. Much appreciated.
Wow...fascinating. I am possibly one of the least productive people I know, until I'm on a tight deadline. I'm trying to change that though. Thanks for your thoughts. I'll be back.
Hey, Karen. Thanks for your comment. I've met folks like you who work well under a deadline, and sometimes impose artificial ones to create a sense of urgency. Never been able to make that work for me, but I'll have to give it another shot. (Check out [ Parkinsons law | http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parkinsons_law ] for more on 'expanding to fit'.)
this is great, I agree productivity needs a proactive and objective view.
So have you discovered what life you want to live?
Hey Shane, I'm glad you liked it.
So have you discovered what life you want to live? I'm getting there - thanks for asking. The tipping point for me was adopting David Allen's work. That caused a raft of huge personal changes (including quitting my steady job, changing careers, and becoming my own boss).
I've always admired people who have a clear vision, and mine's been emerging these last two years.
Of course it's subject to change, but the 1-3 year plan is productivity/workflow consulting (1:1s, groups, and workshops). The 3-5 year plan is moving my consulting up a level to the "purpose stack" (working phrase):
1) a modern workflow system at the bottom (to help people make room to *hear* the small "what I should be doing" voice,
2) (optional) value-based fees in the middle (to help people move toward the life they want)
3) The 80-20 principle (plus 4-hour work week) at the top (to help really move in important directions).
The 5+ plan is to become a thought leader in the field, and to build a huge "rent my brain" following. A kind of "Matt's so useful, we just plain want him around," mostly for executives.
We'll see! Thanks for reading.