Let's be productive today! Let's achieve something, work a little bit on the goals I have set for myself. Being productive is about getting results, right? But what if I wanted to become the best League of Legends player in the world? What if I would sit behind my computer for ten hours a day to practice and work towards my goal. What if, after two months of playing endlessly and constantly improving I would reach my goal and be the best there is. Would people see my time invested as productive? Probably not... So why is that?
Being productive is something hard to measure these days, and it's because it's unavoidably linked to the way society understands it. The process isn't very important in the way people understand productivity, and you can even make a case that the results or the skills you have achieved in the process aren't particularly important either. I give you an example:
I use the example of gaming because it's something that I personally can relate to and it's something of present-day. When I was a teenager I was a vivid gamer. I could spend hours each day trying to beat a certain level in a game or try to get the number one spot in a competitive online game. It was a way to release some stress and to enjoy my free time. After a while, I got quite good it it and I was proud of the things I achieved. My parents, however, never showed much interest in this hobby of mine. They thought I was simply wasting my time and I could've spent all those wasted hours on more "productive" or useful things.
I've had a lot of discussions with my parents about this. In the last couple of years there's done a huge amount of scientific study to the consequences of gaming. Instead of it all being negative (too violent, too monotone...), the results were overwhelmingly positive. It was shown that gaming could be advantageous for increased memory capacity, might make you smarter, was linked to an increase in brain matter and helped with levels of concentration and focus. (source). So gaming can be beneficial in the development of people, so therefore the act itself could be seen as being productive, right? Why is it then that the great majority of people will think that five hours of reading a book is time better spent than five hours of gaming? Reading a book probably has the same advantages as listed above, but still it's seen in a different way. Why is that?
This question is a difficult one to answer because it probably has to do with the generation gap between me and my parents and maybe a more conservative look on the advantages of certain technology. But it's an interesting question nevertheless. Is it necessary to work hard before you can say you are being productive? Can you be productive while lazy? it sounds a bit contradictory, but maybe it's perfectly possible to achieve. Do you always have to be busy before you can say you had a productive day? Perhaps not. Perhaps it's time we need to rethink the definition of productivity. Maybe it shouldn't always be about work, staying busy and getting results. Maybe it should be more about working towards our goals, whatever they might be. If we all could feel productive and appreciated for it, even if it's while working towards different goals, wouldn't the road to happiness become a little easier to ride for many? I like to believe so...
I'm interested in how you guys think about this topic, so feel free to reply in the comment section below.
Thanks for reading, see you next time!
