Being busy is not the same as being productive

…busyness and exhaustion are often unrelated to the task of producing meaningful results…

Cal Newport. The 3-Hour Fields Medal: A Slow Productivity Case Study.

Being busy is not the same thing as being productive. One of these is about filling time, while the other is about creating value. Be careful that you’re not confusing busyness with productivity.

It’s not so much the number of hours you put into each working day; it’s how much focus and intention you bring to bear on whatever you’re working on during those hours. Working to the point of exhaustion isn’t the solution to a lack of meaningful outcomes.

It’s easy to be busy. But it’s hard to cut out or reduce the low-value activities that don’t drive meaningful projects forward.