People think productivity is about working efficiently.

Not true. Efficiency is only HALF the story:

You see, most productivity advice is actually EFFICIENCY advice.

– "How I reached inbox zero"
– "9 tips for better meetings"
– "The only morning routine you'll ever need"

They explain how to do things better. But that isn't productivity.

Productivity means more than efficiency. To be productive, you have to work efficiently on IMPORTANT things.

In short: Productivity = Efficiency x Purpose

If you plot efficiency against purpose, you discover the four states of work.

Our friend productivity is top-right. But what about the other quadrants?

The opposite of productivity is stagnation.
– You don't know what to do
– You're not making any effort

E.g. watching Netflix for so long it asks if you're still there.

The next quadrant is our old enemy: procrastination.
– You know EXACTLY what you should be doing
– But you can't stay focused enough to do it

E.g. tidying your desk instead of writing a report.

The final quadrant is the dangerous one. Busyness.
– You're working REALLY hard
– But it's on completely unimportant stuff

E.g. replying to emails all day. It feels productive, but it really isn't.

Why is it important to know the difference? Because people fixate on tactics. They look for lifehacks, efficiency tricks, and "9 tips to do X".

Instead, they should be asking themselves: "How can I change the world for the better?".

And then doing something truly productive.

That's all folks. If you enjoyed this thread, please retweet or like the first tweet so we can kill busyness once and for all. https://twitter.com/MrDuncanJones/status/1308126698626527233?s=20