# But First the Knight Organized Their Calendar By:: [[Brian Heath]] 2023-05-01 Productivity is a huge topic in the self-help genre. Thousands of books and YouTube videos are dedicated to the topic. They each promote or review various systems that claim to help you better manage your time and resources. All of this is done in the name of maximizing your potential. Some of these systems are useful and effective. However, none are foolproof. What works for one person does not work for another. Perhaps this explains the proliferation of books, courses, and training materials. Alternatively, perhaps the proliferation is due to people becoming increasingly unproductive. But, are we suffering a productivity crisis? Hardly. Economic productivity is higher than it's ever been. If anything, the growth in productivity self-help is to squeeze every second out of every day to remain competitive. While individuals are unique and competition is intense, productivity has become a perverse form of entertainment. Instead of fairytales and science fiction, we watch stories of people achieving productivity levels we could only dream about. We are encouraged to close our eyes to envision how productive we could be if we followed their processes and systems. Instead of being productive, we watch others being productive or imagine ourselves as productive. Instead of going on an adventure, we read about others doing it. Humans have been telling stories from the very beginning. These stories play a vital in our humanity. They teach us about love, survival, friendship, morality, and meaning. And, while there have always been stories of work and perseverance, I find it enlightening and disturbing how modern workplace productivity has become a meme on par with saving a village from the evil dragon. #### Related Items [[Organization]] [[Work]] [[Culture]] [[Storytelling]] [[Entertainment]] [[Productivity]] [[Efficiency]]