Toward a (Same-Old) New Vision of Productivity

Posted by Ian McKenzie

Written on January 8, 2009

: Image via Wikipedia

There’s been a lot of chatter over the past few months, in the productivity blogoshpere about the “death” of productivity or at least, the need to revisit our concept of productivity and how it connects to a whole-life focus. Dustin Wax is writing a series of posts on his new vision of productivity. He’s promised a twelve–part series and has posted seven so far. You can find them in the Productivity category at Lifehack.

I don’t think the questions around productivity, which Dustin—or other bloggers: Merlin Mann, Glen Stansberry or Leo Babauta—are addressing are anything new. There are and have always been those who see productivity as a means to an end and those that treat it as an end in itself.

It’s really no different than a golfer who thinks buying the latest, greatest club from Ping will improve their game, when a few hours at the driving range would do the same.

Day-Timer, started with a product called Lawyer’s Day in the early 50’s and the catalogue has done nothing but grow. Now they have, professional planners, wellness planners, home organizers, planner accessories and so much more.

I’ve known people who spent hours poring over the catalogue and building elaborate binder systems. They were so focused on the tools—the means—they never reached the ends. And that was long before hoards of bloggers were posting their productivity tips and tricks.

Similarly, people have been using home-grown methods to streamline processes or to serve as reminders long before anyone coined the phrase lifehack.

Another factor to keep in mind when considering productivity: it’s big business. Day-Timer, Day-Runner, Day-vid Allen (bad joke) are marketing products. They may firmly belief in the efficacy of the product they offer, but the bottom line is about the bottom line. I don’t begrudge David Allen each new variation or off-shoot of GTD (I first bought when it was MAP, Managing Actions and Projects), he is maintaining and growing a business.

Part of a successful product line are the upgrades and add ons, which add value and profit. However, just because something is the latest and newest doesn’t mean you need to race out to buy it.

I think there are two keys to effective productivity:

Use the system that works for you. My wife keeps well organized with a calendar the the list app. on her PDA. She remembers birthdays and anniversaries, knows what we need to buy the next time we’re at Home Depot and what songs she need to rehearse to accompany the choir. It’s simple and it works.Other’s prefer computer-based systems; some like cloud-based tools; and others still work with their 30–year old Day-Timer binder. the key is using what works best for you.
Recognize productivity is a means not an end. You are productive because… you want to advance in your career; you want time to spend with family; you want your home to look nice, etc. There are countless reasons to be organized and productive in life. You have to know what your reasons are and then build the systems which gets your there.

Meet the Blog: The Art of Personal Productivity

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