Activity or Productivity

Most things we do don't matter! Harsh? Yes I know, but true nonetheless. At least if we are being honest.

The reality is that there are usually only a handful of activities that really make a difference in helping us achieve our goals. Some of these activities may seem obvious when you think about them but this can be misleading. It is often the simplest things we take for granted. For some reason, we expect things that work to be hard, or complicated, or even worse—secret.  

This may true of many things, but it is not true of everything—especially not of the things that apply to you in achieving your goals. The particulars may work out to be extremely complex and convoluted, but the principles are often the same.  

In this article, we will begin our exploration of the vital few activities that make a huge difference in our progress towards success. Specifically, we will look closely at the very concept of activity as a foundation for future articles.

Let us begin.  

Activate

The word activity is used so often that we don’t really think about what it means. But once its meaning settles in for you, you may find that your view and choices about your activities will shift. Let us frolic briefly into what I learned when breaking down the word—activity.

The “act” part is easy enough. It is related to action and it simply could mean doing. No surprises there. It is the “vit” part that got me interested.  

Vit is an old Latin word meaning life or living. It shows up in words like revitalize (to give life again), vitality (being alive) and, you guessed it, vital. In fact, the word activus from which we get “active” has philosophical origins recorded as far back as the 16th century and means “liveliness”. 

As I learned this, I began to look at activity very differently. It is more than something we simply do. It is something we create. Let me explain.  

Activity is the stuff of life

Every activity we take part in creates a dynamic between action and life energy. This dynamic can be positive. That is, the actions enhance our life force. Or the dynamic can be negative. That is, the activity depletes our life force either in quantity or quality. 

Like credit cards or cheques give direction to money, activity gives direction to life energy. Sometimes we spend, sometimes we squander. But what we really want to do is invest.  

This definition is tied deeply to my personal philosophy on what it means to be productive. In the same way that busyness does not mean you are in business, activity does not mean productivity.

More word-nerd stuff--Activity vs Productivity

Whenever I give seminars on personal productivity, I often ask participants to share their definition of productivity. One of my personal favourites from an audience member formed the inspiration for this article here.

What I did not share in that article is the definition I propose in those seminars. And in the spirit of word-games, here is it

Productivity is product-activity. That is, performing activities that lead to a desired product (or result)

Anthony Sanni

Spend, invest or squander

With our frolic into amateur etymology over, the question becomes—what activities create a positive dynamic and which ones do not? In other words, what are good activity investments? Which ones will lead to the desired product?

The specifics will differ from person to person. A professional soccer player may invest heavily in the activity of vigorous physical training for hours a day, while a writer may require only a few hours a week. The writer though will (should) spend many hours writing—likely more than the soccer player may (or should) care for.  

In other words, a day in the life of a successful writer and star soccer player will look very different on the surface. The same goes for successful doctors, software developers, stay-at-home parents, entrepreneurs, teachers, musicians and on and on. But for all these diverse cases, a closer look will reveal intriguing patterns that can be distilled into a few vital themes.  

It is those vital few activities that we are concerned with. And more importantly how you can apply them to create more success and fulfillment in your life. By redirecting your energy from less effective things to these vital few activities, you will find that you will be doing less but achieving more. You will also be enhancing your vitality in the process. 

In the next article, we will begin to explore these vital activities. Until then, be your best and do your best.