Redefining and Reframing Productivity

It's cool not to always be on. It's cool not to always be super productive in the typical business sense. It's cool to have days and sometimes even a couple weeks where you just lay low and take it easy.

We need to redefine productivity. That new definition needs to be more comprehensive and less focused on hours worked, money made, or product created. Reframe it. Let's call it wholistic productivity. Let's look at it that way.

So you're working at a law firm and billing 200+ hours a month. And you're "productive" by that single measure. But by any broader or wholistic measure, the calculation is probably more suspect. Where's the money going? Drugs? Booze? Expensive car? Clubs? Bling?

Or maybe to your health -- to get treatment on a lingering neck issue from when you were young and crazy: Pro tip: kipping on pull-ups is a terrible idea, especially when you weigh 225 pounds.

I spent a ton of money on getting treatment for my neck/back/knees. That's productive.

Maybe you're saving the money. Investing it. Helping family members. That's productive.

But what about your health? What about your physical health? What about your mental health? What about your relationships? What about your hobbies, your passions, your dreams? What about fun? What about rest?

Consider all of these other elements and aspects of our lives when you consider productivity.

I have a 3 year old son. He loves to play make-believe. It's one of his favorite things to do. He has a bunch of stuffed animals. Yesterday, we were playing fancy restaurant. He was the chef. So he's at his play kitchen cooking. I'm "the helper" at the fancy restaurant. And the customer's are starting to arrive. Naturally, the stuffed animals are the customers. Eeyore. Pooh. Minnie Mouse. Hulkie. Various other stuffed animals with fantastic names like Shirt (a stuffed unicorn, girl, 4 years old). Wallet (stuffed whale who likes to sing; age unknown). Taco (a rooster).

Big Moe (a large stuffed teddy bear who talks like Bleeding Gums Murphy from The Simpsons and is afraid of getting shots at the doctor) shows up. And he starts eating all the food.

And now the kitchen is so stressed out, cooking up everything in the back of the house, and the Chef comes running out and says, "No Big Moe! You can't eat all the foods!"

The situation spiraled out from there into many tangents. Barry showed up. Barry is a hedgehog who is always exclaiming, “I’m so stressed out!”. You see, his parents always wanted him to be an accountant. And he was an accountant for a little while. But it was just too stressful for Barry. And, besides, Barry always wanted to live his dream of being the lead singer in a rock band.

Barry showed up and got stressed out because Big Moe was eating all the food. So we had to calm Barry down and get him some ice cream.

It went on from there. The whole saga unfolded over about two hours. We played fancy restaurant. Matchbox cars. School. Firefighters. And the Who Can It Be Now Game.

Yes, my 3-year-old son listens to Who Can It Be Now by Men at Work. He loves that song. He belts out the chorus at the top of his lungs. He will go into his bedroom, shut the door, and yell for you to knock. Then you knock, and he sings/yells “WHO CAN IT BE NOW? IT’S LATE AT NIGHT AND I’M NOT FEELING RIGHT.”

Naturally, the unknown visitor is – in fact – one of the aforementioned stuffed animals or their other stuffed animal friends. And ALL OF THEM have to play. All of them have to knock on the door and go into his bedroom. And the song has to be on repeat. Because there are a lot of stuffed animals. And then various drama ensues. Hulkie falls down and gets hurt. He needs a doctor. Barry is stressed out. Peppa Pig gets a speeding ticket.

It went on like this for about two hours.

And in the limited, backward, Western view of productivity, I did not have a productive afternoon. In fact, according to that paradigm, I was entirely unproductive.

But those who get it get it. By any real measure, the afternoon was a productive one. Incredibly so.

Jonathan Pollard is a lawyer, writer, and entrepreneur.