Spring is a notoriously busy time of year. The promise of warmer weather and longer days means that it’s finally time to sweep the garage, fill out your bracket, and file your tax return.
I hear a lot of people complaining during this busy season – myself included – but the truth is that most of us secretly enjoy being busy. We’re reluctant to admit it, but deep down, many of us are addicted to the adrenaline rush of busy.
Busy can make us feel important and feed our ego. Have you ever complained (read “bragged”) to your colleague about the overtime you worked last week? Maybe you didn’t recognize that you’ve been wearing busy around like a badge of honor.
It’s easy to confuse being busy with being productive. But recognizing the difference is the first step in reclaiming time for things that truly matter – like undistracted time spent with friends and family – without sacrificing the success of your business.
Busy is frantic, while productive is focused
Busy is a whirlwind of activity trying to do it all. It packs every free minute on the calendar with meetings and appointments but goes home feeling unaccomplished. “There’s just not enough time in the day,” it laments.
Busy has a tendency to create a negative feedback loop. It works frantically, rarely pausing to take a break, but never feels like it made much progress. It returns the next day to do the same.
Meanwhile, productive is focused on accomplishing the most important tasks with the greatest leverage. Productive intentionally says “no” to the trivial, so it can say “yes” to what matters.
Productive make shorter lists, not longer. It methodically checks each item off the list and then goes home satisfied with a small sense of accomplishment.
Productive knows that multi-tasking is a myth. It doesn’t try to do two things at once. Productive is committed to staying focused on one thing well, while busy frantically chases the illusion of multi-tasking.
Busy is careless, while productive is attentive
Busy is when mistakes are made. While operating in a state of busy, mistakes are more likely to slip through the cracks and make their way downstream. Mistakes like these drive rework and inefficiencies.
Busy is more concerned with the pace of the work than of the quality. It measures percent-complete, but at the cost of accuracy.
Productive is present in the moment. It is attentive to detail and gets it done right the first time. It innovates to find efficiencies without ever sacrificing quality.
Because productive is focused on one task at a time, it is careful not to hand-off preventable mistakes.
Busy is fueled by perfectionism, while productive is fueled by purpose
Busy spends too much time on the wrong things. It is preoccupied with the unimportant tasks.
Busy is a cloak used to disguise procrastination. It distracts from doing the real (often difficult) work.
Productive cuts through the fluff and finds the most important elements. Productive work is guided by a North Star. It is clear on what mission it’s trying to accomplish and the critical milestones needed to achieve the goal.
Productive doesn’t get caught up in trivial tasks. It has the courage to let go and trust its team. Productive empowers others to learn and contribute on their own.
Simple in Theory, Difficult in Practice
The differences between busy and productive are subtle but powerful. They are easy to write about in a short article, but increasingly difficult to practice in reality.
Productive behaviors require discipline. There will be seasons in our life where it may be impossible to escape busy. But we shouldn’t let those seasons become our status quo.
Be mindful of when life gets busy, and try to course correct back to productive. Don’t be content to live life busy. But practice leading with an example of focused, attentive, purpose-driven productivity.
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