Let’s make something clear, being busy is extremely easy and can be achieved with very little effort. You can make up an almost infinite task list of trivial things that at the end of the day will have filled your working hours, maybe even overtime, but did not moved the bar much on the really important things, either at work or at home.

Being busy does not equal being productive and, vice versa, being productive does not mean to always be super busy.

As I wrote previously: productivity is doing the most appropriate task (and thus advancing the most appropriate project) at any given moment in the situation you are in. Being productive required conscious decision-making…and (some) effort.

It might very well be that the best thing to do at a given moment is nothing! Just relax, recharge and take the long walk or jog in fresh air. It might just generate that new cool idea or solve that nagging issue with an innovative solution.

In How to clam your mind, Chris Bailey further described the art of productivity as “knowing when we should care about productivity in the first place”.

Which one of these have you been today: busy or productive? Are you in a situation where you can with confidence select the most appropriate course of action at any given time (mostly)?