11 Differences Between Busy And Productive People

Source : Lifehack

Do you find yourself saying to people how busy you are or how you cannot make time for coffee or to share in a celebration because you will be busy working on something. Most people can confirm having said this one time or the other.

While everyone may want to convey how busy they are, this does not always result to a successful individual. You may be busy all the time but at the end of the day, have no results to show for. Why? Because there is busy people and then there is productive people.

So, What’s the difference ?

1.Busy people want to look like they have a mission.Productive people have a mission for their lives.

Busy people hide their doubt about the destination of their lives by acting confident in their little steps.
Productive people allow others to see the doubt in their little steps because they are clear on the destination.

2.Busy people have many priorities. Productive people have few priorities

Nobody is ever too busy, if they care they will make time. Life is a question of priorities. If you have 3 priorities, you have priorities. If you have 25 priorities, you have a mess.The pareto priniciple is that 80% of your desired results come from 20% of your activity.

Henry Ford built a fortune not by building better cars, but by building a better system for making cars. Busy people try to make better cars, productive people develop better systems for making cars.

3.Busy people say yes quickly. Productive people say yes slowly

Warren Buffet’s definition of integrity is: “You say no to most things”.
If you don’t say “no” to most things, you are diving your life up into millions of little pieces spread out amongst other people’s priorities. Integrity is that your values are clear and that your time is going to serve those values.

4.Busy people focus on action. Productive people focus on clarity before action

To focus on the top 20% of activities, you must gain clarity about what those activities are for yourself. The greatest resource you will ever have to guide you to live a good life is your own personal experience.

Sadly, most people only document their life in Facebook status updates. Keep a diary and take 5 minutes every day to reflect on the past day, on what worked, on what didn’t work; and some time on what inspires you.

5.Busy people keep all doors open. Productive people close doors

As a young person it is good to open options. It is good to want to travel, to learn languages, to climb mountains, togo to university, to work in tech, to live in another country. However, there comes a point in life where one must let go of most options and focus on what they must do.

6.Busy people talk about how little time they have. Productive people make time for what is important

Any time we spend on excuses is time not spent on creation. If you allow yourself to practice excuses, you will get better and better at excuses. Productive people don’t use time as an excuse. An action either supports their highest values and mission, or it does not. If it does not, they don’t do it – even if they have a whole day off.

7.Busy people multitask. Productive people focus

Productive people know about focus. Identify a task to be done,.Set a timer to 20 minutes. Work on the task until the time sounds. Any distraction (I must check email, I must get some water, I must go to the bathroom) and you reset the timer to 20. How much will you have done at the end of the day?

8.Busy people respond quickly to emails. Productive people take their time

Email is a handy list of priorities. The problem: they are other people’s priorities, not yours. If you respond to every email, you are dividing up your life into a thousand tiny bits that serve other people’s priorities.
There are 3 choices when you first review your email inbox: Delete, Do, Defer.

9.Busy people want other people to be busy. Productive people want others to be effective

Busy managers measure hours of activity, frustrated by others looking relaxed, looking like they have time or looking like they are enjoying their work. Productive managers measure output, love seeing others enjoy their work and love creating an environment in which others can excel.

Busy people are frustrated. They want to be valued for their effort, not for their results. Productivity is about valuing the journey towards excellence.

10.Busy people talk about how they will change. Productive people are making those changes.

Spend less time talking about what you will do and dedicate that time to creating the first step. What can you do with the resources, knowledge and support that you have now? Do that. It is amazing how the universe rewards the person who stops talking and begins.

Choose to become a productive person and success will come to you.