I worked with, alongside, for and supervised many people who confuse activity for productivity. These are two very different animals; however they are readily confused for being the same species. Below are some brief definitions of the two:
- Activity– The state or quality of being active.
- Productivity– The efficiency with which work or output is produced.
Just because a person, group or team is active, doesn’t necessarily mean that they are efficient or productive. This applies to both personal and business life. When individuals make the presumption that Activity = Productivity, they create a system where their primary goal is to be active. They will work long hours, always try to look busy, always try to work on something and encourage those around them to keep busy. Each day they tell themselves, “I have lots of stuff to work on today, I need to get busy.” Their busyness can often be translated to slowness, because their driving force is to be active.
The productive person on the other hand will ask themselves these types of questions: “What do I need to work on today?” ”Am I working on the things that matter?” “What do I need to put on my not-to-do list?” “How can I become more efficient?”
For instance I could keep writing this post trying to drive the point home; however I’m convinced that I’ve stated enough for you to have a clear understanding that “Just Because You’re Active, Doesn’t Mean You’re Productive.” For the sake of productivity, I’m done now and not two paragraphs later.
What do you think? Share your thoughts and experiences with those that mistake activity with productivity.
