The Difference Between Being Productive and Being Busy

Let's break it down by the definitions: Productive means producing or able to produce large amounts of goods or other commodities. Busy means having a great deal to do or keeping occupied. You might think at first glance, “doesn't being productive mean keeping busy?” This couldn't be further from the truth.

Busy = Ineffective. Disorganized.

Busy is not a badge of honor.

Shift your focus from busy to producing results.

Productive = Effective. Results.

Being productive means achieving daily (micro) goals that set you up to ultimately achieve long-term (macro) goals.

This can directly affect business-driven goals within your organization because it ensures that you’re working on tasks that have a greater return on investment versus tasks that just keep you busy. The goal is to produce results.

In other words… work smarter, not harder!

Five Tips To Ensure You’re Being Productive Today Instead Of Busy:

1. Create a strategic to-do list with actionable items (REVERSAL: Busy is compiling a to-do list to stay occupied throughout the day)

INTERPRETATION: When you’re being productive, you are planning your to-do list either the day before or the morning of. Prioritize critical tasks that may take more brain power at the top and tasks with the least amount of work (that you can get away with working on the next day if you run out of time) towards the bottom. Filling up your to-do list should never be the goal.

2. Say “no” to tasks that serve little to no purpose towards your goal. (REVERSAL: Busy is saying “yes” without thinking about the outcome)

INTERPRETATION: Productive decision making is taking on tasks that add value to your end goal. Busy tasks are taking up your time at the wrong time. Practice establishing what is urgent from what is important. If your teammate needs an important file that is hindering them from moving to the next step in their tasks, that is a productive action to take. However, if they’re wanting a photo for a file that isn’t going out until a week later, it can wait.

3. Create a system to stay focused. (REVERSAL: Busy is being prone to distractions)

INTERPRETATION: Being productive means being aware of distractions and creating a system to prevent them from hindering your work. This could be putting your phone on “Do Not Disturb” or using noise-canceling headphones in a loud environment.

4. Focus on one task at a time (REVERSAL: Busy is multitasking)

INTERPRETATION: Productivity starts with having a plan and then focusing on completing one task at a time. Being busy is trying to do 10 things at once with several tabs opened on your computer. This ties into the last point of limiting distractions. Multi-tasking could be distracting yourself from the task at hand. Plus, the time it takes for you to re-focus on a task could be used towards actually finishing it.

5. Know when to pause (REVERSAL: Busy is continuing on - and setting yourself up for burnout)

INTERPRETATION: Times have changed since we were able to give our energy to multiple things at once for days at a time. Being productive means knowing when to take a break or stop working altogether. Entrepreneur burnout is real and if you don't take care of yourself, you can’t perform at your best. Make time to pause and recharge because we all know in between meetings, tasks, events, and socializing, our battery can drain faster than we think.

In summary, each day, choose to reach your peak productivity levels by forgetting about looking and feeling busy and transform yourself into a goal-achieving, productivity machine. This will inevitably increase your profits, work environment mood, and so much more.

Focus your energy and resources solely on things that resonate with your purpose. If you learned something or found inspiration then share this blog with your colleagues, team members, or friends.

Let’s celebrate productivity today.