How to be Productive
The puzzle of the UK’s productivity is longstanding. We lag behind other European economies such as France and Germany, and do not seem to achieve the level of economic productivity that might be expected for the number of hours we collectively work.
Perhaps its our particular mix of industries, a lack of investment in our shared infrastructure, or a failure of education to prepare the populace for the world of work.
But these are questions for economists. We’re coaches.
Whatever the macro-economics at play for the nation as a whole: how is it that you personally can get to the end of the day with the warm glow of a good job well done? And how can you manage your team to do the same?
Your mental model for productivity is out of date
Part of the problem is that our mental model of productivity belongs in another century. A typical definition of productivity is the mathematical equation of outputs, relative to inputs. The bang you get for your buck. This works particularly well for manufacturing economies – units produced per hour, or goods produced from inputs supplied. But it’s difficult to translate this to the modern experience of work in the knowledge economy.
We don’t, for example, measure the value of a coaching session in terms of “questions per hour.” (A sweet relief for our clients, that.)
85% of jobs in the UK are now service-based. They have no tangible outputs. The worth of what we do is much more a question of value, than of volume. And whilst there’s still a relationship to some extent with ‘time in’… it’s certainly not linear.
(We’re yet to see the knowledge-worker who, at 25% through the allotted time for a task, has had 25% of an idea.)
A disconnect between task and outcome
Given the intangibility of our work, and the complexity of the systems in which we operate, it can be difficult to make the link between the task on which we labour, and the output we hope to achieve.
We may be working in a back office function. Perhaps we are just 1 person in a 5000-strong team. We might be a deep specialist whose contribution it is difficult to extrapolate back up to the organisation’s reason for being. Or you may be pivoting the business and the exact way in which you will serve your market is frankly – fundamentally unclear (at least, for now).
In the de-industrialised West is especially easy to lose track of what it’s all for.
We can be simultaneously industrious, and yet not at all productive, because our industry is unaimed and indiscriminate.
The curious appeal of “busy-ness”
The question about what purpose our labour serves is difficult. And, we might not like the answer.
So it can be easier, and more comforting, to distract ourselves with the simulacrum of productivity: busy-ness. When we complain about our workloads (“How am I? Oh – you know – busy!”) we should also be aware that a part of us really enjoys rushing about from meeting to meeting. We like the perpetual “ding!” of our devices. Even the missed lunchbreaks have their own appeal.
The truth is that when we ask our coachees and workshop groups for ideas about what supports their productivity, they’ve got no end of strategies. They’re just not using them.
Why? Because our industriousness, productive or not, serves its own purpose. It’s a powerful distraction from other anxieties.
We’d suggest that to be truly productive, it may be necessary to sit with your own discomfort. To ask -
What’s it all for?
How does what I’m doing today relate to an overall objective or goal in my work?
Who’s best placed for this work? (Is it me?)
What would change if I were to do …nothing at all?
It can help to have a companion by your side when you do.
The joy of work.
We don’t love “productivity hacks”.
Partly because, most people already know (better than they themselves realise) what makes you productive or not. And partly because a “hack” suggests a quick fix. (If it were easy, you’d have done it already.) But we will venture to recommend designing for more ‘flow state’ experiences in your week.
‘Flow’ is the inherently pleasurable experience of concentration on a task in which challenge is optimally balanced to absorb but not overwhelm attention. It’s often experienced by those who practice art, who play or listen to music. For some it might be gaming, or perhaps something physical like climbing.
Simply doing more of whichever of these activities you like best, and allowing yourself at least 90 minutes for this a week, without distractions, develops the habit and practice of flow, a little like practising meditation might help you to cultivate calm more broadly. It’s best to pick an optimal time of day (do you get into the ‘zone’ more easily at daybreak? After breakfast? In the evening?). You will also need, mind, to train your brain to expect and allow for periods of concentration, by building in digital downtime throughout the week.
It might be challenging at first. But doing so we can discover that our work need not be an endurance sport.
When we understand the meaning of our labour, and abandon “busy-ness” and distraction in favour of focus, productivity can be a pleasure, rather than a stick to beat ourselves with.
© fuseco, March 2025
This article was originally published in fuseco’s newsletter
