{"id":9914,"date":"2017-05-01T08:55:48","date_gmt":"2017-05-01T12:55:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/alifeofproductivity.com\/?p=9914"},"modified":"2021-12-03T17:28:00","modified_gmt":"2021-12-03T17:28:00","slug":"how-to-measure-your-productivity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chrisbailey.com\/how-to-measure-your-productivity\/","title":{"rendered":"How to measure your productivity"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Takeaway:<\/b> Productivity is all about accomplishing what we intend to\u2014that\u2019s why we should measure our productivity against our intentions.<\/span><\/p>\n

Estimated Reading Time:<\/strong> 2 minutes, 18s<\/span>.<\/div><\/div>\n

A shift occurred several decades ago that completely uprooted what being productive meant: we started doing knowledge work with our brains, rather than assembly line work with our bodies.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Productivity meant something very different with assembly line work. If we were efficient<\/strong> and produced a ton of widgets during our shift, we were productive. This definition doesn’t work today. It\u2019s easy to be efficient on the wrong things\u2014like if we were to follow 10,000 people on Twitter, and become ultra-efficient at keeping up with every one of them.<\/p>\n

In a similar way, a lot of people equate productivity with getting more done<\/strong>. But simply getting more done doesn’t make us more productive. If one day you have four pointless meetings, hop on two conference calls to update your boss on your quarterly budget, read every news story, and catch up with the unimportant email you’ve received, you’ve gotten a lot of stuff done, but it didn’t necessarily move your work forward in a meaningful way.<\/p>\n

Another productivity definition that comes close, but just misses the mark, is getting more important<\/em> stuff done<\/strong>. This idea works most of the time. But what if the most productive thing you could do one day is totally step back from your projects, so you\u2019re able to recharge and work with more energy later on? Or what if it’s the weekend, and the most meaningful way you could spend your time is to disconnect and spend time with your family?<\/p>\n

I’d argue that none of these definitions work well today.<\/p>\n

With the knowledge-based work we do today, we are productive when we accomplish what we intend to.<\/p>\n

My favorite word in the English language is intention. Working with intention is all about focusing on what’s important\u2014and doing so with purpose. When we live with intention outside of work, we create a more meaningful life for ourselves at home.<\/p>\n

Intention is also what makes us human. Other animals can’t step back from what they’re doing, imagine several potential futures, and then choose the most productive and meaningful path. This intention-based definition of productivity also accounts for the fact that energy and focus are a critical component of productivity\u2014and recognizes that sometimes doing nothing at all is key to recharging so we can become more productive later on.<\/p>\n

To measure your productivity against your intentions, you need to carve out intentions for yourself in the first place.<\/p>\n

We’re the most productive when we work and live intentionally. As a result, intentions are the meter stick we should measure our productivity against.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Why intention-based productivity is what works best in today\u2019s world<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9916,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nHow to measure your productivity - Chris Bailey<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Why intention-based productivity is what works best in today\u2019s world\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/chrisbailey.com\/how-to-measure-your-productivity\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How to measure your productivity - Chris Bailey\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Why intention-based productivity is what works best in today\u2019s world\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/chrisbailey.com\/how-to-measure-your-productivity\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Chris Bailey\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-05-01T12:55:48+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-12-03T17:28:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/chrisbailey.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/measuring-tape-detail-3-1205283-1279x1142-1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1279\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"900\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Chris Bailey\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@https:\/\/twitter.com\/chris_bailey\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@chris_bailey\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/chrisbailey.com\/how-to-measure-your-productivity\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/chrisbailey.com\/how-to-measure-your-productivity\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Chris Bailey\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/chrisbailey.com\/#\/schema\/person\/52e99dd14925b1bfe8c1034b8d40ed70\"},\"headline\":\"How to measure your productivity\",\"datePublished\":\"2017-05-01T12:55:48+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-12-03T17:28:00+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/chrisbailey.com\/how-to-measure-your-productivity\/\"},\"wordCount\":474,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/chrisbailey.com\/#\/schema\/person\/52e99dd14925b1bfe8c1034b8d40ed70\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/chrisbailey.com\/how-to-measure-your-productivity\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/chrisbailey.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/measuring-tape-detail-3-1205283-1279x1142-1.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"General Productivity\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/chrisbailey.com\/how-to-measure-your-productivity\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/chrisbailey.com\/how-to-measure-your-productivity\/\",\"name\":\"How to measure your productivity - 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