Redefining Productivity

Episode 77 of the Faithful on the Clock podcast, hosted by Wanda Thibodeaux, titled "Redefining Productivity" was published on July 3, 2023 and runs 12 minutes.

July 3, 2023 ·12m · Faithful on the Clock

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Episode Description

Faithful on the Clock is a podcast with the mission of getting your work and faith aligned. We want you to understand Who you're serving and why so you can get more joy and legacy from every minute spent on the clock. Thanks for joining us and taking this step toward a more fulfilling job and relationship with God!

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In this episode...

Redefining Productivity

https://faithfulontheclock.com/redefining-productivity

Most professionals talk on a regular basis about being productive. But what does that word even mean? Episode 77 of Faithful on the Clock seeks to redefine the term toward a more meaningful application that gets you away from dollars and cents and one-upmanship.

Timestamps:

[00:04] - Intro

[00:33] - A recent article implied that it’s not OK for people to simply BE—instead, they have to always be doing MORE.

[01:17] - There’s a hierarchy in terms of what is productive and what isn’t.

[02:55] - Defining productivity only in terms of dollars and cents is damaging because it limits the positive ways we could spend our time.

[03:53] - Productivity needs to be defined individually based on goals and personality.

[04:25] - You probably wouldn’t label God’s 6 days of creation as unproductive. In the same way, many other things on Earth are productive but often are not properly assessed as having good value.

[05:40] - Productivity might be defined simply as working toward the completion of tasks. This definition acknowledges that many productive activities cannot be quantified, as well as the fact that results can take a long time to gain.

[07:34] - Productivity ties back to your priorities, which connect back to your values, which always should connect back to God.

[08:00] - Assess what gifts you have and what you feel matters.

[08:48] - All of us need some productivity to yield dollars and cents, but don’t make it a hierarchy. You will know you are using your time productively because you will feel more human. Consider the thesis of Jenny Odell’s book, How to Do Nothing, Resisting the Attention Economy, which is that we have the power to decide where to put our attention.

[10:12] - Prayer

[11:33] - Outro/What’s coming up next

Key takeaways:

A recent article offered tips for how work-at-home moms could be more productive, suggesting that productivity is something that attaches only to work or paid time. That concept reveals a bias toward a hierarchy system in which we tend to see productivity in terms of quantifiable metrics and attach it to careers instead of general tasks and goals.
Defining productivity only in terms of dollars and cents or competitiveness limits the positive ways we spend our time. It’s better to define productivity based on how we personally want to prioritize and pay attention.
God was enormously productive during the six days in which He created the world. Yet, He was not paid for it and none of the work was measured. The creation story demonstrates that there are many things that are productive that we’ve pushed aside as not having value.
Productivity can be defined simply as working toward the completion of tasks. It is constructive and always includes improvement, even when innovative destruction is a step in the process. It’s often necessary to play the long game and wait to see results.
Productivity, as a matter of prioritization, should always connect to your values and God’s commandments. It should take His plan for you into consideration, meaning that you should be mindful of the gifts He’s given you and how you could apply those gifts.
Avoid turning productivity into a hierarchy. Many things that are not quantifiable are productive and have a great influence on you, others, or the world. You can know you are being productive when what you are doing makes you feel more human. You can explore this concept more in depth in Jenny Odell’s book, How to Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy.

CTAs:

Identify 3 key areas where you would like to focus your attention and energy and define why you want to be productive in those areas above others.
Read Jenny Odell’s book, How to Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy (or listen to an audiobook version). Note any parts that particularly resonate with you.

What’s coming up next:

One of the strongest ideas in the corporate world is that if you just put in more effort, you’ll get noticed. Episode 78 of Faithful on the Clock uses a recent study to show how pushing too far to get the attention of a group or boss can backfire and make them overlook you. It encourages you to reflect on your current assumptions about fairness and reward, as well as your current work-life balance beliefs.

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