Busy vs. Productive
by Brad Bollenbach, December 16, 2007

Guy Looking Busy

Slow down and remember this: Most things make no difference. Being busy is a form of mental laziness—lazy thinking and indiscriminate action.

– Timothy Ferriss

“Work smarter, not harder” is one of the ultimate clichés. Like most clichés, few people actually do it. The busy outnumber the productive by a wide margin. Whether you’re a boss, an employee, or working for yourself, we’ve all had our treadmilling moments. Here’s the difference, from a geek perspective:

Busy Productive
Rolls their own Uses someone else’s
Makes it “elegant” and “extensible” Makes it work
Responds to your email within a few minutes Responds to your email within a few days
Ready. Aim. Aim. Aim. Ready. Fire. Aim.
Makes the boss happy Makes the client happy
Seeks consensus Encourages creative self-expression
Writes a detailed specification Implements a prototype
Looks like they’re busy Looks like they’re slacking off
Finishes it this evening Finishes it tomorrow
What else can we add? What else can we remove?
How should we fix this? Do we need to fix this?
Sees the toolchain as a competitive advantage Sees the user-kickassness as a competitive advantage
Let’s get everyone’s feedback on this DO IT

Busy-ness is impressive. It puts you in the heat of the action. It gives you an elevated sense of importance. You’re always late for social engagements, barely have enough time for family get-togethers, and hardly get a moment’s sleep. Emails get exchanged, meetings fill up your schedule, worldwide teleconferences become the norm–there’s even the occasional hope of revenue exceeding expenses. You’re like a rock star without the music.

Of course, it’s all just an illusion. A commitment to anything more than your standard workday is a commitment to work harder, not smarter. There are only so many hours per day that you can produce world-class, creative output. Building something that changes people’s lives is extremely hard, but looking like you’re part of something big is much easier.

Want a challenge? Remove a feature. Cut your deadline in half. Deliver rather than debate. Instead of being the devil’s advocate, be the user’s advocate. Eliminate half your RSS feeds. Stop making it pluggable and start making it work.

If you had to come up with one action you could take to put less time and effort into something and still get the same, or better results, what would it be?

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Comments
Are you busy or productive « SuzeMuse on December 17th, 2007 at 12:19 pm #

[…] to Suzemuse Are you busy or productiveZen and the Art of Playing GuitarThings I have learned since starting my own […]

T on December 17th, 2007 at 12:43 pm #

“What else can we add” vs. “What else can we remove?”

Genius.

Craig Huggart on December 20th, 2007 at 7:52 am #

Excellent post. I loved the chart. So much wisdom in an easy to read format.

I especially agree with “Makes it work”. Sometimes I deal with developers who want to make this super solution that will take 6 months when I would much rather have something that “works” in 1 month.

Craig

Занят ≠ Продуктивен on January 28th, 2008 at 9:04 pm #

[…] статьи: Busy vs. Productive Автор: Brad Bollenbach Перевод: Сергей […]

What Works for Me » “It doesn’t have to be perfect, it just has to be done.” on March 5th, 2008 at 2:17 pm #

[…] And that’s the point of this post: The value of imperfection. Imperfection allows us to relate to the world. And perfection isn’t achievable anyway. You’ll feel more fulfilled and satisfied (as I do!) if you just focus on getting thing done rather than getting them to a point that you consider “perfect” (and isn’t it funny how, even when you arrive at this point - and it is rare - that you never quite feel good about it?). Brad Bollenback at 30 sleeps brutally rebels against these tendencies here. […]

Fubiz on March 14th, 2008 at 1:42 pm #

Good tips!

Shanti Braford on March 14th, 2008 at 2:11 pm #

Good stuff.

I only have to work 5 days a month now, if I really want to.

haha 80 hour a week silicon valley suckers.

blog.Herbietown » perfectionism and consulting: oil and water? on March 15th, 2008 at 6:30 pm #

[…] http://30sleeps.com/blog/2007/12/16/busy-vs-productive/ […]

Jorge Diaz Tambley on March 15th, 2008 at 6:59 pm #

Great article, many things we should remember and often forget

Regards

warpedvisions.org » Blog Archive » Are you busy? on March 15th, 2008 at 10:17 pm #

[…] 15th, 2008 in Links Busy versus Productive, an interesting contrast. The question is: do I agree with the article because it’s what I […]

antifaust » Blog Archive » links for 2008-03-16 on March 16th, 2008 at 3:19 am #

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Nash on March 16th, 2008 at 9:53 am #

“Ready. Fire. Aim.”

Not very productive ;)

Tim on March 16th, 2008 at 7:10 pm #

Wow, what a knockout! Great article, really thought-provoking stuff.

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links for 2008-03-17 « Brent Sordyl’s Blog on March 17th, 2008 at 10:22 am #

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Priorities « Zeno’s Parcel Service on April 9th, 2008 at 5:07 am #

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Are you busy or productive? On the subject of sustainable pace » Enlight Solutions » Dan Pickett's Blog on April 12th, 2008 at 1:27 pm #

[…] [del.icio.us’ed] me this article and I really dug it. Work has been really crazy lately - we’ve been ramping up development […]

Rafal on April 19th, 2008 at 3:00 pm #

Brilliant and Simple.
Best

Davie on May 6th, 2008 at 4:13 am #

300 is a nice analogy :D i think i sit on the busy side of the fence. i don’t agree with some of the things you said, but definitely you changed the way i think a little

Hip-Hop on May 24th, 2008 at 6:27 pm #

Yes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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