Is Productivity Really So Important?

Well, there goes summer. Was your summer less a sipping-mocktails-from-a-floaty-in-the-lake kind of summer and more a, at least I can see a lake while I’m on this Zoom call kind of summer? Yeah, mine too.

That’s what I signed up for when I decided to write a book this year. But I’m not here to talk about how writing a book ate my lake time. I’m here to talk about how it forced me to stop ignoring things I needed to face. I’ve long suspected my subconscious convinces me to write books when there’s a lesson I need to learn myself.

Yup, this summer, I swallowed more of my own medicine than mocktails.

One idea from the new book really threw me for a loop. I’m sharing because it explains why you’ll see something different from me this year—and because I think it’s something we all need to be thinking about.

It’s the idea I start the book with. The tip of the spear. But ouch, it’s sharp.

Three Ways to Focus

What you focus on at work makes all the difference in what you get as a result.

Option 1: Focus on Activity — The Busyness Illusion

You can focus on activity. Log long hours, grind, and keep up with every meeting, every email, every Slack ping. The result? You become very busy.

Option 2: Focus on Outputs — The Productivity Trap

You can measure yourself by what you deliver. Deliver presentations, ship projects, and send reports. The result? You become productive.

Ooo. Productivity. That’s good, right? Isn’t it?!

Well…productive is better than busy, but still a trap. Writing this book made me realize our obsession with productivity is a huge problem. And when I say our, I mean for me too.

I’ve spent years focused on being productive. A blog post and a YouTube video every week. No matter where I am, I don’t go to bed Sunday night until they’re live. Even if I’m bleary-eyed, lit only by the glow of my laptop, I keep going until I hit publish.

Maybe your version looks different. Maybe it’s inbox zero, spotless dashboards, or endlessly polished decks. Whatever form it takes, the compulsion feels noble—your productivity is a significant contributor to your self-esteem.

Mine certainly was. Running a consulting firm, giving keynotes, and still producing content made me proud. I wasn’t a flash in the pan. I was in it for the long haul.

But here’s the truth: I was trapped. Like a Jedi snared by an Ewok fuzzball. And like Luke and Leia, getting free was going to hurt.

Option 3: Focus on Outcomes — The Effectiveness Edge

Getting out of the productivity trap means realizing that work isn’t about activity or outputs; it’s about outcomes. What change are you creating in the world? That’s what determines whether you’re successful and whether you’re creating value.

Did sales go up? Did your training increase the value of the feedback managers give? Did you fend off cyberattacks?

Busyness doesn’t count. Productivity doesn’t count. Only effectiveness matters.

And here’s the kicker: I wasn’t practicing what I was preaching.

The outcome I’m chasing is a world where work is a more positive and meaningful part of your life. Yes, your life. You are my why.

More specifically, my mission is to make teamwork work better so you and your colleagues can achieve amazing things together. That’s the mission of our company, and I am crystal clear on it.

And still, I lost sight of whether all the content I was churning out was helping to achieve those outcomes.

Facing the Brutal Facts

Where are your efforts not giving you the outcomes you need?

Because I know it’s not about effort. And it’s not about productivity. We have to admit that both are irrelevant if they aren’t effective.

I don’t have it figured out yet. I know I won’t be tied to a weekly schedule anymore. But beyond that, I’m still working on it. And it’s rattled me. I don’t feel proud of being a content machine anymore. I feel a little stupid for taking so long to realize my work was propping up my own sense of worth instead of making your work easier.

Not Just Me

If misery loves company, the best thing I could do with this realization was share it with people I respect.

I asked my mastermind group if they, too, were comforting themselves with productivity while ignoring signs it wasn’t working. The answer was unanimous: Ugh. Absolutely.

One admitted she kept coaching an employee who was never going to succeed, simply because giving feedback felt productive. I see it in my clients too: launching products that land with a thud, investing in processes that look sophisticated but don’t deliver value, or “transformations” that never ask the questions that would actually change the business.

What About You?

It’s uncomfortable to answer this honestly, but recentering on outcomes is the only way to fight burnout. Not only because it reconnects us to what matters, but because it’s the only way to do less of what doesn’t.

So—where are you mistaking productivity for progress?

If we can call it out, we can stop it. We can free ourselves to do less of what doesn’t matter—and more of what does.

The post Is Productivity Really So Important? appeared first on Liane Davey.