How do we measure productivity?

Is it the number of items that we cross off our to do list? The number of emails we send each day? Or the number of lines of code we write?

 

The answer is it depends.

 

The real measurement is how much closer did we get to the goal?

 

Every action that brings a company closer to its goal is productive. Every action that does not bring a company closer to its goal is not productive.

Eliyahu M. Goldratt, The Goal

 

When people talk about their “productive” day, they will mention actions like answering x number of emails, attending x number of meetings, writing x number of pages, or pushing out x numbers of lines of code.

 

The real problem is NOT that they completed those tasks, but rather they did not take a step back and think of what the actions were supposed to lead to.

 

There is a famous quote by Lewis Carroll in Alice in Wonderland, and I think it’s something important to remember in terms of the importance of knowing where you’re going:

 

“One day Alice came to a fork in the road and saw a Cheshire cat in a tree. ‘Which road do I take?’ she asked. ‘Where do you want to go?’ was his response. ‘I don’t know,’ Alice answered. ‘Then,’ said the cat, ‘it doesn’t matter.”

Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland

 

When there is no goal or destination, then it doesn’t matter how hard you work, how much time you spend, if you are using the perfect productive app, or x amount of items you crossed off of your to do list.

 

If you are trying to get from Washington to New York, it’s not worth measuring the steps taken, the time spent on the freeway, or even the speed you are going. The importance is knowing that you’re heading in the right direction.

 

Therefore, if we are trying to be productive, we then there are two steps we need to take:

1. Have a goal
2. Do actions that will bring you closer to that goal

 

So how do we become really productive?

 

It may seem like all actions are created equal, but some actions will have greater effects than others.

 

It’s important to remember the Pareto Principle: that 80% of the outcomes come from 20% of the causes.

 

Therefore, try to focus on the 20%, or the actions that will get you closer to your goal than ever before. Then, you will truly be productive.

 

Hopefully this article gets you to be more productive! Get out there and start doing your best work today!