Busy Doesn’t Always Mean Productive

We are all very busy, but we’re not always very productive. The reason for this is two-fold: sometimes this is because our focus is on the wrong tasks, and sometimes it’s because the work we do does not produce the results we were hoping for. 

On the surface, being busy and being productive look the same, but the key difference is that being productive means producing results. Many leaders are more worried about their employees occupying their full workday than they are about ensuring that their employees are focusing on the most impactful tasks. Being busy means doing things, whereas being productive means doing the right things. The work itself is not what leads to success; it’s the quality and value of the work that matters.

Furthermore, when employees feel like they are just given busywork instead of meaningful responsibilities, they are more likely to experience frustration or boredom. People need a sense of purpose in their work, so if they feel like what they’re doing is not making a difference, they will start to fill their time with other things or they will look for a job elsewhere that can fulfill their purpose. To avoid this, employees need to be given the opportunity to perform the jobs they’re good at, they need to understand and buy into the mission of the organization, and they need to be able to ask questions of and collaborate with the rest of the team.

It is up to the leader to divide responsibilities appropriately and ensure that employees are receiving regular coaching and feedback. Assigning a task to someone and then never following up with the individual about what the result was and why it mattered can lead to them questioning the importance of the task. There needs to be open and regular communication among leaders and employees. When employees are kept informed, they can better understand how their role affects the rest of the organization.

The other reason employees are not always productive is because they have not achieved the desired results. It can be frustrating to put in so much time and effort to not see the fruits of one’s labor. For example, an employee can spend a lot of time working on a product that does not end up selling well. Since productivity is directly tied to the outcome reached in relation to the amount of time, effort, and resources they put into the product, and the work did not yield the intended results, then the employee was busy but not productive. If they are able to change that outcome and the product performs well on the market, then all of their work was productive.

As an organization, it is important to recognize and prioritize the most impactful tasks. Don’t assign work just for the sake of keeping your employees busy, but rather get them to focus on what truly makes a difference. In the words of Warren Buffett, “Knowing what to leave out is just as important as knowing what to focus on.” And if your employees have time left in their workday after completing what needs to get done, allow them to use that time for personal development and creative thinking. Don’t just stay busy; stay productive.

-Meghan Slaughter