2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44
From the first visit to kindergarten, we are connected to a constant productivity race. To grow up and achieve anything in life, you need to get up early, attend all classes, do your homework, go to bed early, and repeat the cycle over and over again. This is how we move all our life. But we are missing something.
For 20 years we are just learning to be productive. First you learn your lessons, then you go to play. The more you learn, the more praise you get. Why do we focus so much on productivity at such an early age? Why, almost from birth, are we obsessed with success?
And as soon as we graduate from university, we learn the following truth: time is money. Wherever you go, with whomever you talk, everyone unanimously and with a clever look evaluates the time by the amount of money earned. Is there a variable missing in this equation? Why is everyone chasing money and time? Is this the meaning of life? Is it really that on the last day of life everyone will think only about this?
Let's list the reasons why you shouldn't focus on productivity.
Productivity, success, well-being
The obsession with productivity is closely related to the American Dream. You need to work hard to buy expensive things, to live in comfort, and then maybe there will be more time to enjoy life.
There is no complete freedom. If you want financial freedom, you will lose physical freedom. If you want to be free physically, there will be little money. Just don't tie your happiness to success and vice versa.
Most people fall into this trap. They work so hard that they have no time to live. Expectations that are too high for oneself result in stress and depression. People plow so hard in their 30s that by the age of 40 they burn out or get sick so badly that they consider it happiness to stay alive. There is no time for enjoying life and fun.
Most of the working age people waste their health just to spend what they earn on medicine.
The biggest risk is the risk of wasting your life doing the wrong thing. And think you can buy yourself the freedom to do it later.
Randy Komisar "The Monk and the Riddle"
Productivity and efficiency
Productivity is easily confused with efficiency. Being busy doesn't mean being helpful. If the to-do list is empty, this does not mean that all the tasks from it were completed well.
Have you ever had to work on several projects at once? This is a disgusting occupation. How best to focus on one task and make sure it's done well. And then move on to the next one. But sometimes you have to work on many projects at the same time.
You need to learn to say "no", and not to grab all the offers to earn. Opportunities will come again. And health is not. And it should be the priority. Do not be nervous, stressed, if you can sit down, think calmly and do the job better.
People think that single-mindedness means agreeing to whatever suggestions you can work with. But this is not at all the case. You need to give up hundreds of good ideas in order to bring your own to mind. Careful selection is essential. I am just as proud of what we did not do as of what we did. Innovation is the ability to say no a thousand times.
Steve Jobs
Productivity and happiness
When you are healthy and happy, it reflects in everything you do. When you wake up refreshed, inspired and happy, your brain is working at full power. The result is good work.
When people think in horror about how they will go to work on Monday, it is because they leave part of themselves at home. Why not see what happens if you challenge employees to put all their talents to work? If you reward them not for the fact that they will do the job “like everyone else”, but for the fact that they will be able to expand their horizons, will they be bold, creative, open to everything new?
Tony Hsieh CEO of Zappos
This is why many companies place so much emphasis on a corporate culture that implies that employees enjoy their work. Take a look at the experiences of Zappos, Google, Johnson & Johnson. These are companies with ambitious goals and broad views. They understand how important the health and well-being of employees is. These are the determining factors that attract people to work. Moreover, they understand the importance of play: it not only helps to recharge and find common ground with colleagues, but also provides fuel for creative ideas.
Whatever we do, whatever we want to achieve, at the end of the day we need a dose of joy and happiness. Success means nothing without dear people. Wealth is meaningless without health. Realize this and live life to the fullest. Remember: you can't be so busy that you don't have time to live.
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