The Big Picture on Productivity

The idea of "boosting productivity" can split a crowd. Some people are obsessed with optimizing their daily output, while others decry the soulless fixation on outrunning the professional hamster wheel. But when you step back and look at a representative body of literature on productivity, you can see that both perspectives are misguided. Here's a snapshot of 8 bestsellers, then a comment on what they collectively reveal.

In The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen Covey's most critical recommendation is to begin with the end in mind. He reminds us of the importance of knowing what you're trying to do. He explains that without an organizing theme or aspiration you're likely to be busy but not particularly effective.

In Getting Things Done, David Allen makes the case against "open loops," or obligations and commitments that haven't yet been captured in an external organizing system. As long as these things remain in your head, they create low-level anxiety and undermine clear thinking.? He outlines a system for freeing up mental space and preserving one's calm in the face of the professional storm.

In The Four-Hour Work Week, Tim Ferriss exposes the absurdity of conventional career planning, whereby one endures decades of misery with the hope of eventual satisfaction in retirement. He believes work should never be subordinate to lifestyle objectives, and he sees technology as the key to engineering the life you want to start living as of today.

In Essentialism, Greg McKeown describes an epiphany he had when he decided to quit his job. In the lead-up to his departure date, he began saying 'no' to things for the first time. Curiously, management soon offered him a promotion. McKeown's overarching point is that doing fewer things better is more valuable than simply doing more.

In Four Thousand Weeks, Oliver Burkeman stresses the point that we'll never have time to do all the things we want to do. He urges us to embrace the finitude of human existence and to savor the things in plain sight. The book is an eloquent call to slow down, to be present, to commit ourselves to a more deliberate passing of time.

In How To Do Nothing, Jenny Odell contends the digital economy has monetized not just our attention but time itself. This has made it much harder to be present, because losing time is instinctively equated with losing opportunity.? She rails against the monetization of humanity, encouraging us to re-learn the art of doing nothing as a life-affirming act of resistance.

In Make Time, Jake Knapp and John Zeratsky, both former Google engineers who developed the "Sprint" methodology, believe you should design your day around the one thing that matters most. Their book is a close cousin of The One Thing by Gary Keller or Deep Work by Cal Newport. All argue the engine of success is knowing one's core commitment at any given time.

In 168 Hours, Laura Vanderkam challenges the idea that we're too busy. Using a time diary analysis, she uncovers a disconnect between people's perception of how busy they are versus how busy they actually are. The feeling of busyness is understandable, but it's an illusory sensation that reflects the cognitive tax of perpetual task-switching. Being more intentional with our time promotes a greater feeling of accomplishment.

When you survey the literature in this way, you start to see how the underlying aims of productivity are actually quite deep. Improving productivity is fundamentally a desire for clarity (Covey), equanimity (Allen), liberation (Ferriss), agency (McKeown), presence (Burkeman), authenticity (Odell), purpose (Knapp/Zeratsky), and fulfillment (Vanderkam). It's not about crossing off more to-dos.

Seneca, the ancient Stoic philosopher, is perhaps the true godfather of the modern productivity movement. Reflecting on the non-renewability of time in On The Shortness of Life, he puts a tidy wrapper on all the above, observing: "We are not given a short life, but we make it short. We are not ill-supplied with time, but wasteful with it."