Productive (Too) Much?
Credit: Unsplash
At this point in the 21st century, I'm sure there is a stat out there about how many times an average person hears/reads about the word productivity or similar concepts in a day. It's explicitly laid out articles and books; it's a little more implicit on your calendar and in your to-do-lists. But it's always there. The idea that we need to do more, more and more. That we need to do more faster. To do more better. A spare minute takes us one step behind. The packaging can differ but the message is often the same.
I definitely subscribed to this worldview completely in my twenties. I guess part of it was the reckless energy of age. My days were filled with work, I added German classes and Spanish classes, and workout classes and whatever else I could do to be productive. Of course the sum of it was often exhausting, and some unsatisfying moments.
For me, slowly rolling off the 'always do more' bandwagon, is an idea I started to subscribe to only in my thirties. The shift has been slow, and it's an evolving process. In no way have I landed on 'doing less' as my only and final move. The phrase “go slow to go fast” has also captured my imagination when I think about doing.
Why I go slowly:
I am able to pay more attention and spend more time -- whether it's work, people, or something entirely for fun, such as a bike ride. A quality experience here dictates that you can't get more done; getting more done almost certainly guarantees dissatisfaction for me -- meeting four different people (outside of the work context) can frazzle me.
I find the Eisenhower Urgent-Important Decision Matrix to be a useful tool, even though I recognize that being able to prioritize important over urgent is a luxury not afforded to all of us. More than just trying to place tasks in this matrix, I pause to think about what I am going to work on next and ask myself why? Am I the only one who can do this, or am I the only one who should do this? Does this need to be done? Now? What happens if this is not done now? This is where it gets tricky: I like to remind myself and others of perspective. If you missed a deadline by a few hours, ask yourself what is the worst that can happen? You are not operating on a patient or doing disaster relief work, where the consequences are life and death. However, this does not mean that I don't think deadlines are not important, or it's okay to be shoddy or non-responsive via email etc. I believe in a strong work ethic, and it is possible, as they say, to hold both these truths together. Do your best work, always be improving and recalibrating, but pause when you feel yourself losing the plot and ask: what is the worst thing that can happen?
I go slowly because I have learned the hard way what happens when you go fast, breeze past important details, and miss spending time with people and places you care for -- if you aren't careful, you make mistakes, or much much worse, you miss your life. I don't want to miss my life and be left wondering where did those days, months, and years go.
Why I go fast:
To learn more, be better, to move ahead in my career. Being able to do more has allowed me to show skills and interests beyond what I was just hired to do. It has opened up new opportunities, and in two cases, led directly to my next job.
I am curious about the world, I want to absorb as much of it as I can. There is a space for slowly meandering through some days, and for dashing through them as if you were running to catch a New York subway train.
There is space for both. It's not an either or situation, and to be fair, it very very rarely is. I have gotten much better at knowing my balance, and living it, than I was ever before. I can sense when I am starting to over-commit, I delegate with more ease and less fear, and sometimes I own the fact that some things will never happen. And it will still be okay.