So many of us are engaged in an endless quest to become “productive”, yet never ask ourselves, why?

Why is it important to know why we want to be productive?

Firstly, the danger is that if we don’t know what we are doing it for, what will we do once we are more productive? For some people, their lives just become more crammed with endless lists of unfulfilling tasks. If we are to pursue productivity, there must be a purpose or a reward at the end of it.

Secondly, if it’s a goal to us, how do we know we have fulfiled it. For those of you who know about goal setting, you may have heard of SMART goals - Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time Related. We must know when we have met the goal (that it’s measurable), even if it is just through a feeling, such as fulfillment.

What do you want from productivity?

There are many things we want to achieve through productivity, and there is no one size fits all approach. Some of us want to get great grades whilst having a great social life, whilst others want to start a business or change the world as well as go to school.

It really is up to you what you want to achieve, but make sure you aren’t just pursuing productivity for the sake of filling your life with more un-fulfilling tasks.

I will leave you with a quote, which I feel summarizes this post quite nicely, reminding us to make sure we do something worthwhile with the time gained through being productive, even if it’s just having a great life full of adventure and enjoyment:

“Never again clutter your days or nights with so many menial and unimportant things that you have no time to accept a real challenge when it comes along. This applies to play as well as work. A day merely survived is no cause for celebration. You are not here to fritter away your precious hours when you have the ability to accomplish so much by making a slight change in your routine. No more busy work. No more hiding from success. Leave time, leave space, to grow. Now. Now! Not tomorrow!
(Og Mandino)

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This is Carl Hickson’s regular “Tuesday Tips” column, writing on all aspects of student productivity to help you become a more effective and stress free student.