We often talk about being productive. Did you have a productive day? I was productive today? I want my kids to be productive members of society?
But what do those sentences mean, and should productivity even be the goal?
So many are talking about productivity. From business people to life coaches, even I recently wrote about productivity. Before we assume that productivity is the ideal, let’s take a look at what that really means and evaluate if that is indeed a goal and a virtue we should take on.
According to Webster’s, to be productive means:
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: doing or achieving a lot : working hard and getting good results
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: producing or able to produce something especially in large amounts
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: causing or resulting in something
On face value, all of that sounds good, great even. We should desire to work hard and get good results and we should aspire our children grow to do the same. So then why do I have a visceral reaction at times when I hear the word productive or productivity?
I think maybe the Webster’s definition has been hijacked to mean non-stop, full-throttle, all-in work. At least, that is the impression I get sometimes when I hear people talk about this topic.
It could be my own perception, and could very well be an incorrect one. But I know for me, there are times when my work needs to stop because maybe I’m worn out, or my kids need me, or there is an event to get to, and I have a hinge of guilt that, “I’m not being productive,” because my sit down work has ceased.
I know, you’re not like this at all. You never struggle with it. It’s only me. That’s okay, I’ll talk to myself then.
In these moments, when I have indeed done or achieved a lot and worked hard and have gotten good results, and yet I feel guilt when I call it quits for the day, I’m forgetting something that Jon Acuff says, “Make time for rest. Doing nothing is a counterintuitive, but critical, part of hustle.”
I physically cannot go full throttle 24/7, and neither can you. Thankfully, I don’t have to. I can put in a solid block of focused work and then shift my attention to other matters, guilt free. I can go outside and play catch with my son or sit at the kitchen table and color with my daughter. Work will always be there, but that time of connection with my children is irreplaceable and short lived. I will not have those opportunities forever, and at the same time that I am connecting with them and building that relationship for their good, it is also for my good because when I do sit back down to work I will be refreshed and energized, and absent of any guilt that I’ve been neglecting my more important responsibilities, the 4 little lives entrusted to me.