Productivity is a Vector
Thinking of productivity in two dimensions can help you make better choices and get more done.
In my never-ending pursuit of increased productivity, I’m continuously exploring different ways of understanding the subject; breaking it down and applying best practices to my own endeavors — however imperfectly.
An analogy for productivity I like is one of vectors, from math and physics. Productivity is like a vector because it has both a magnitude and a direction.
Since productivity can only be measured in relation to a goal, to be productive means to direct one’s efforts in the pursuit of something you want to achieve. This direction to which productivity is focused is the goal.
Productivity can also be high or low, it can have a magnitude or an amount. To be productive is to produce something. The production is measured as some given output per unit of time, in economic terms.
This definition of productivity captures the tension between efficiency vs. effectiveness, that is, doing things right vs. doing the right thing.
If we only conceive of productivity in terms of efficiency (units produced over time) we end up being “productive” in a facile sense, producing things without a purpose. Productivity itself becomes the goal, not a means to a goal.
On the other hand, if we only care about effectiveness — the direction we’re going — we can take too long to get there or maybe not at all. In other words, to work on the right thing but not work fast enough, or hard enough, or smart enough.
If one has to come before the other then it seems to me that we must prioritize effectiveness over efficiency. Working in the direction of our goal or goals takes precedence over the sheer magnitude of effort. It won’t matter how hard you try if you’re headed in the wrong direction. Yet of course, if we can be efficient in our pursuits as well we will reach our goals more quickly.
Conceiving of productivity in two dimensions, like a vector, reminds us that we have to be productive in both the economic sense as well as in the outcome-oriented sense.
