Are you Busy or Productive? Let's find out

Ever wondered where your time went while not being able to achieve what you desired? You have tons of meetings yet no productive outcomes for yourself? Your calendar is bonkers yet you're barely wrapping up your backlog? Sounds familiar? We've all been guilty of this more times than less whether we agree to it or not.

Ever wondered Why? We might even know the reasons yet somehow fail to action. Why is that? Let's try to break it down systematically.

In this series, We will try to talk about all the aspects of why we're unable to de-clutter ourselves efficiently no matter what and decide to stay in a state of "Being Busy" and deny the state of "Being Productive"

In the first edition of this series, let's try to understand the core problem statement of "Why are we always busy? Or, why do we choose to be busy?"

The current situation and challenges associated with it

Lack of a clear definition of what "Work" means to you

We all make commitments every day. To ourselves, to people around us, and to anyone who is directly or indirectly dependent on us. These commitments can either be in the form of direct commitments (verbal, communicated through other means) or indirect commitments (to self, in the mind, or just unconscious gestures). Our mind, one way or the other register each of these commitments as an entry to fulfill. However, the challenge arises when we don't convert these entries into 'workable' actions. When I say 'workable' what I mean is "an immediate set of next actions that you can implement or renegotiate at that moment."

This is where the confusion begins. When we only have a series of inputs (in the form of commitments) but somehow failed to register the definition of "Work" to complete these commitments. This results in an "Open Loop" in our mind, resulting in the state of "Busy" or "Super Busy".

Work no longer has clear boundaries

Before the industrial revolution, most of the work we did as humans was physical work. This nature of work had clear definitions and boundaries of when the work is "done". For e.g. Ploughing a field, Boxes packed, cows milked, etc. It was evident and pretty clear when the work was finished or not finished. However. since the IT revolution in the early 90s and then until recently when the Pandemic hit, the nature of work has changed rapidly. The scope of work as well as the time of work has shifted and somehow blurred the line of when work is "done" (You always have something to do next). We're now more "knowledge workers" than ever. When I say "Knowledge workers" what I mean is that Work is not 'defined' or 'assigned' but instead 'determined'. This has created a blurry line between when a work is finished and when it is not.

Our Work and Lives are changing at a pace like never before

Imagine 30 years ago, how often would your parents change jobs, change geographies or even change relationship status for that matter? It almost feels impossible to think how rapidly our lifestyle has changed in the past 3 decades just because of the sheer number of choices we've. I remember, my father used to carry a pocket diary with a calendar that included his 'to-do list' for the week, and then he would meticulously organize that work based on the days of the week. He even color-coded certain text as reminders for important items. It worked wonderfully well for him back then, but would that work today?

With the pace at which we're making decisions and the pace at which the world is changing around us, it's almost impossible that the old methods would work for the new world. As a matter of fact, research has proven that setting up reminders and scheduling tasks on your calendar have proven ineffective when it comes to being productive or managing your time.

The winds and waves are always on the side of the ablest navigators - Edward Gibbon

There's simply too much noise and distraction

I've worked with several industry experts and coaches who have spoken about creating a big picture starting with "Values" (Whether it is Organizations or Individuals. The idea is to define big Goals and purpose). I'm not saying this is wrong, in fact, it is the most sincere and honest approach to defining your goals and larger objectives. However, there's one tiny problem. There's simply too much distraction around us to view the big picture based on our value system. Now club that distraction with ineffective personal management, which in turn creates a huge sub-conscious resistance to undertake big objectives and goals as the fear of not being able to manage. This, in turn, increases personal dissatisfaction and a lot of “Work in Progress” (which by the way, never gets completed) resulting in an "Open Loop". Our Brain is simply not designed to handle Open Loops, no matter how big or small.

The other aspect of having clearly defined "Values" is that it raises the bar of our standards and makes clear what needs to change in us which by the way is the best way to determine what actually needs to be done. But, We already have a negative reaction to the overwhelming number of things that need to change in us to be able to stay true to our values. As a result “NOT making any change at all” (Humans by nature and design are lazy beings).

Lack of clarity of a "Ready State"

just close your eyes and imagine the last time you were in your "flow" state. Did you wonder how quickly the time passed when you were in your "Deep Work"? Ever wondered WHY? Ever wondered how that happened?

The only thing we need to solve is how can we achieve that state of "Flow" more frequently and at will.

Let's understand it through an analogy.

Rowers have a word for the “in the zone”, "flow”, and “frictionless” state: SWING !! Recall the pure joy of riding on your backyard swing: an easy cycle of motion, the momentum coming from the swing itself. The swing carries us; we do not force it. We pump our legs to drive our arc higher, but gravity does most of our work. We are not so much swinging as being swung.

We need to stop holding back from our struggles to go faster. Trying too hard sabotages the swing speed as well as the arc and not trying at all does the same. Swing is a state of arrival.

I remember the famous interview of Bruce Lee where he famously quotes the "Mind like water" analogy. Imagine throwing a pebble in a still pond. The response of water completely depends on the force you have put into throwing the pebble. The Water never overreacts or underreacts to the situation. It only has the appropriate response to the pebble and once that is settled, it is back to its calm state.

If your mind is empty, it is always ready for anything; it is open for and to everything. - Shuunryu Suzuki

In the next edition of this weekly series, we try to break down what Principles and Processes can we define and follow for ourselves to converge from being busy towards being a little less busy (declutter yourself).

Please leave a comment and like if you think this is helpful. I would love to read your feedback on what could be improved.

Recommended Readings and Inspirations:

• Getting Things Done by David Allen
• Deep Work by Cal Newport