BUSY OR PRODUCTIVE; WHICH ONE ARE YOU?
Are you often busy, but you look back after a month and wonder where all the time has gone? Do you often feel that you are spending a lot of time on something, but not getting much done?
In our busy world today, many of us are good at being busy but not productive. Here are 7 differences between busy people and productive people. Which group are you in?
1. Busy people work hard. Productive people work hard and work smart.
Busy people have great work ethics, which is why they are always busy. The problem is not that they don’t work hard, but that they don’t work smart. They work linearly without considering if there are better ways to do things.
On the other hand, productive people focus on being effective first, then efficient. They are constantly looking for better ways to achieve the same outcome.
- Efficiency = Doing the tiny steps of a larger task quickly
- Effectiveness = Finding the most optimal way to do something, perhaps even removing the need to do the task itself
2. Busy people get drowned in the details. Productive people keep their eyes on the macro and micro.
Busy people often get drowned in the details. They are too concerned about the difference between details A and B when it’s more important to pick one and go. For example,
- In an online business, it doesn’t matter whether you pick template A or B if you are just starting out. Just pick one and go. Revise later when you get more insights. Until you test it, you don’t know what people would like.
- Same for writing your first blog articles — it doesn’t matter if your writing is not that great. Just write and learn as you go along! My work was not perfect when I started and it still isn’t! But that hasn’t stopped me from writing and publishing new posts, and growing my blog to what it is today.
3. Busy people let other people set their direction. Productive people set their direction and evaluate their progress against this direction.
Even though society may try to sell you certain paths as the “right” choice, this doesn’t mean that they are right for you. Industries grow and shrink, and some industries become obsolete as technologies and markets evolve. Instead of buying into what others try to sell you as the truth, think about what you want for yourself. What is your passion? What is your vision? Even if you can’t do this right away, you can work towards it. It’s more important to work towards what you want, even if slowly, rather than do something you hate for the rest of your life.
4. Busy people say yes to everything. Productive people say yes/no choice-fully.
Busy people never say no: they say yes to everything. As a result, they fill their schedules with things that keep them busy but don’t change their life.
Productive people say yes very choicefully. Why?
- They know that each “yes” today will take up their time later on.
- They also know that many yeses to the wrong things, even if they are small, will eventually lead them to the wrong path.
5. Busy people jump onto every trend. Productive people evaluate the pros/cons before doing something.
In Singapore, food crazes are a national pastime. Every few months there is a new food in town, after which people go out of the way to try it, often queuing for hours, sometimes in the hot sun.
There’s nothing wrong with following social trends if you’re doing them for sport. But understand that societal trends are largely market movements. When one trend is over, another will take its place. It never ends. Just because everyone is doing X doesn’t mean you need to follow suit. Consider its value rather than diving headfirst into every trend.
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