I used to think of productivity as a talent. A mysterious gift given to some and not to others.
But the deeper I get into the world of business, the more I realize that productivity, like so many other important abilities, is a habit.
More importantly, it’s a habit that anyone can develop.
What’s the Difference?
The idea of a talent has an air of mystery, doesn’t it? Something that you’re just born with; something that you can’t really explain.
That’s why the idea of talent is so dangerous. Talent makes people lazy. Throughout history, countless talented people have utterly failed in their endeavors because they relied too much on their mysterious gift to carry them forward.
But a habit is different.
There are good habits and bad habits, but all habits are things we can control. Changing a bad habit or developing a good one forces us to take action. To take responsibility for ourselves.
It’s very easy to blame a failure on a lack of talent. After all, who can hold an unfortunate lack of talent against you? It’s like a get-out-of-jail free card.
On the other hand, no one ever tries to shrug off a failure by blaming it on a bad habit. Can you imagine someone saying: “Well, it’s not really my fault that the business tanked; I just have a bad habit of being lazy.”
Why Productivity is a Habit
Merriam-Webster defines a habit as: an acquired mode of behavior that has become nearly or completely involuntary.
A habit is something that:
- Is persistent
- Is natural
- Is acquired
Productivity is all of these things.
For example, have you ever noticed that truly productive people are almost always active? Even when they’re not physically working, their minds are always thinking, connecting, and innovating. That’s the first sign of a habit. It’s persistent.
The second sign of a habit is being “natural.” Once you develop a habit, it gets hardwired into your routine; it becomes something you don’t even have to think about. Productivity is that way. It may be difficult to stay focused at first, but once you get used to working hard, it becomes effortless.
Being productive is also something that you learn. You must develop the ability to focus on an important task and ignore distractions. You must develop the ability to find more efficient ways to do things. You must develop the drive and persistence to overcome challenges.
That’s a habit – and a powerful one.
What Do You Think?
- Do you consider productivity a habit?
- Do you think that productivity is something anyone can develop?
- What are some good ways to become productive?
Leave a comment and share your thoughts!
Image Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/freddy/ / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
I think the Aristotle put it best with “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.” I find it very empowering to think this way.
I agree — productivity is a habit, and is something that anyone can develop — as long as they really want to.
Good ways of becoming productive? I'm not sure, really, but setting goals and achieving them is always a good place to start.