Today's obsession with productivity
Productivity. Such an interesting word used by nearly everyone. What does it mean exactly? Efficiency. It means doing more work in less time. That sounds like the optimal state to be in at all times. Everyone wants to be productive, everyone wants to be efficient. However, it comes to the point of obsession. The word is plastered on every blog, every book, every billboard. Dozens of apps are centered around being productive, you have special productivity journals, productivity alarms and productivity pens. I bet you soon there will be productivity nail polish.
It's an attractive word with an attractive meaning, and since today's society is all about technology and using time efficiently, no wonder this is the case. As Max Weber said: 'waste of time is the first and in principle the deadliest of sins', one I think we could all agree with.
Now I am not saying we should stop being productive, stop using productive apps and stop trying to 'improve ourselves', I am simply commenting on how popular it is getting. I love being productive and I am addicted to blogs which help you with time management and efficiency. The basis of productivity is 'work smarter not harder', which I think is absolutely great. People are trying to use their brain in creative ways to bring out their maximum potential, it's fantastic! It's about controlling time. We are so busy nowadays and everything happens so fast that we like that feeling of owning our time, and that is what productivity essentially facilitates us.
You are waiting for the big BUT. To be honest, I don't think there is one, only that we need to be careful. Instead of spending hours reading articles on how to be productive, or downloading productivity apps, we need to actually put them into action. The system includes organisation AND action, since without the action there is absolutely no point in organising. Once you set your schedule in, start following it and putting it to use.
The only dangerous part of productivity is the empty promise of 'I'll start tomorrow' and the waste of time of elaborating that promise. Apart from that, I encourage everyone to look to be more productive and seek to improve their time management! Instead of obsessing with the ideology of productivity we need to start applying it and that's when we will see our lives drastically change.