One of the things I hear most often from people who are skeptical about personal productivity ideas is that they don't want every moment of their day to be scheduled. Neither do I, and except in rare periods when I'm extra busy at both work and home, I have a lot of unscheduled time.
I have come to think, though, that the concern people are expressing isn't really about scheduling time at all. As I've read and thought more about how we as a society approach time and life, I see something out of whack, and I think that is what people are reacting to when they reject productivity ideas. And frankly, I don't blame them.
What I think is out of whack is that we've built a world that judges value based mainly on money. Is something worth doing? Often we answer that question by asking if it will make money. Is someone successful? We judge by looking at how much money that person has. In this world, productivity advice can feel like advice for how to squeeze more monetary value out of your time.
I've never thought about productivity that way. I've always said that I try to get my paid work done in 40 hours a week so that I have ample time for the rest of my life. But this last year of being back at a full time "regular" job has made me realize that I have bought into the "money is what matters" ethos more than I thought.
As longtime readers may remember, one of the things I started when I was running my own business was a small publishing company, Annorlunda Books. I've kept it going since going back to a regular position, but it has sometimes been a struggle. It doesn't make much money. In fact, last year, it lost money. I've wondered if I should perhaps close it down, since it is not "successful." But everytime I think of closing it, I think of how much I'd miss making the books. I can easily afford to keep it going, even if it isn't going to make a lot of money. Maybe it doesn't need to make a lot of money. Maybe making the books and finding readers for them is enough.
I'm still working through my thoughts on this. I'll probably do some of that here and on the blog. Productivity for me has never been about producing more, so perhaps I shouldn't say I have an interest in personal productivity. I have an interest in making the most of my time, and in figuring out what "the most" really means to me. I'm pretty good at the "making the most of my time" part now, although I still have rough patches now and then. What I need to work on now is really understanding what "the most" means.
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