Productivity

Productivity is often talked about as if it's equivalent to throughput. It's referred to more in terms of quantity than quality, in terms of the number of boxes you check off the list. But it feels more productive to complete one meaningful task than any number of mundane, unimportant things.

To me, getting the focus time to think deeply about something feels more productive than a day full of meetings or mindless coding.

It feels more productive to spend my time reading than socializing, to read one good book rather than a bunch of mediocre ones.

An early morning run makes the whole day feel more productive, than the days in which I manage to squeeze in more things in the day, but with no time to do what I enjoy.

All of which makes me realize that productivity is more a feeling, hence a subjective entity rather than an objective one. If you aren't feeling productive, it's not the shortage of time that's the problem, it's how you're spending it, or what you're spending it on, rather, that's at the root of it. No amount of time management techniques, or methods are going to solve it. Introspection, to get more clarity on what it is you want to do, or ought to be doing, will. If mountains and oceans are not what you find beauty in, no trips to Hawaii will make you feel like it was time well spent. So it is with productivity – what others tell you to do to be more productive will not help you feel so.