In our society, a lot of emphasis is placed on being productive.
For example, in the economy, there are metrics for how productive the average worker is. In our private lives as well, people who feel overwhelmed with all they have to do may wonder, “How can I get more done?”
There have been many technological efforts to solve this problem. Labor-saving devices, like the dishwasher or vacuum cleaner, have been introduced as a method of doing in minutes what previously had taken hours.
Perhaps more than any other invention, the computer increased productivity. As computers have gotten faster and smaller, we can do more with them than ever before.
There is a question of how much labor these devices are actually saving, though. Despite using dozens, or even hundreds, of these, we feel busier than ever. They haven’t saved labor, really, but allowed more labor, of various kinds, to get done. They have allowed us to be more efficient.
Is that productivity, then? Being more efficient with our time and other resources?
Being the most efficient, however, is not always the best way to get the most done. Some people, for example, meditate regularly. Benefits to meditation vary from person to person, but often it allows calm, ordered thoughts. Which in turn allows for greater concentration, which can lead to getting more done. Sitting and being completely unproductive can lead to greater productivity later on.
Creativity is similar — letting your mind wander can help you to see things in a new way. But “letting your mind wander” is not obviously productive.
So what, exactly, is productivity? And can we increase it without exhausting our nervous system?
Related questions: How can we be more productive? Are we too busy? What do you think about when your mind is not preoccupied?
One of our nation’s most widely cited economic measures is Gross Domestic Product (GDP)—the total value of all goods and services produced each year. A growing GDP is often treated as a sign of national economic health. Yet GDP tells us only that something was produced and exchanged. It tells us very little about whether that thing is beneficial.
The number rises whether the product is a life-saving medical device or a toxic chemical sprayed on a farmer’s field. It increases whether a new technology helps us accomplish more or eliminates thousands of jobs. GDP would even grow if competing industries produced goods that undermine one another. Productivity, in other words, measures output, not purpose.
Productivity, I believe, is not an end in itself. Whether we are evaluating a nation, a community, or an individual, we must also ask what our productivity is producing and toward what ends. Output should be paired with values such as health, knowledge, creativity, sustainability, and human flourishing.
The same principle applies on a personal level. Do I want to be more efficient? Sure. But some of the most valuable parts of life are not efficient. Learning often requires experimentation, mistakes, and repetition—a slow process to be sure. Building relationships takes time. Creativity involves letting our minds wander.
Productivity is a useful measure, but it is an incomplete one. Whether we are judging a nation’s economy, a community’s success, or our own lives, productivity should be evaluated alongside the values we hope to advance. The question is not simply how much we produce, but whether what we produce contributes to healthier, wiser, and more meaningful lives.