Busy vs. Productive

David Sutton, 23 August 2010

Definition of ‘Busy’ = actively or fully engaged or occupied.

Definition of ‘Productive’ = producing or capable of producing.

Often the line between being busy and being productive is very blurred, after all have you ever asked someone to do something and you get the reply;’ Sorry I’m being productive’ , no it’s always; ‘No sorry I’m too busy’.

Although I feel this is a case of the blind leading the blind I have written my first thoughts about being busy vs. being productive below:

1. Time flies when you’re having fun, it also has the same effect when you’re busy, time flies by and you realise that you haven’t managed to get anything done; however have you ever noticed that when you’re ‘being productive’ you realize that you have managed to get a large amount of work done in a minimal amount of time.

2. You can be busy and get nothing done; I could be busy for the rest of the year on one thing and not get a thing done. It’s when you are productive that you accomplish projects.

3. Being busy is often just an excuse to avoid something that is more important and needs to get done; do that thing today and get it out of the way it will lift a lot of the weight off your shoulders. You don’t want your boss chasing you up on whether you have completed a task, you want to be telling him that you have finished the task before he has to say anything.

4. The only time you should be busy is when you are planning e.g.: scheduling tasks in your calendar. Once you have done planning you will be much more productive and you will know how much time you will have to spend on each project or task.

5. Work on one thing at a time; I believe you can only be productive when you are focused on one thing. When working clear your head and make sure you are focused on the one thing that you are meant to and nothing else; sure someone may come up with something that you may need to do that is when you put it in your ‘to –do’ list.

6. Avoid interruptions – this goes with the previous comment but if you are getting phone calls this is only going to delay you and make you unproductive, if they want to contact you they will send an email or leave a message and you can get back to them in your own time.

Being Busy is easy and it helps no one, Being productive is a more difficult habit to get into but it helps everyone. I am not sure that what I have said in this post will change your ways or make you more productive, it just outlines what being busy vs. being productive is and offers a few suggestions. If you have any other thoughts or comments that you would like to add don’t hesitate to comment as I would like to hear any feedback that you may have.