‘Productive’ Vs ‘Busy’

Were you busy today…. Switching effortlessly from one task to the other… Running around getting things rolling from one desk to the other… Answering a few emails here… Assisting someone with their tasks there…. Shuttling between meetings with your phone ringing off the hook!!! What a way to work!!! You felt important! People seem to need you; may be even want you.… What a way to get through the day!!! You reflect through the events of the day and retire satisfied… Feeling useful!!!

Alternately, you were silent and in the zone…. Actually working! You were not (necessarily) busy…. But you were focused! You knew your goals, you had your tasks clearly laid out…. And all of them amounted to a pre-determined outcome… You may not have accomplished everything that you set out to as you finished your day, but you knew how far you came and how much further you have to go the next day!

If your day seemed like the latter as against the former, you are now venturing into the realms of being ‘Productive’….

It’s not until you start understanding ‘productivity’ that you find it disgusting to have one of those ‘busy’ days…. Not until you are working to please yourself as against others…. Not until you care more about what you ‘need accomplished’ as against ‘appear to be accomplishing’….