# Too Busy to be Productive By:: [[Ross Jackson]] 2024-03-02 Businesses are filled with busy people. There are plenty of things to do within organizations. Being busy is often viewed as being productive. It isn’t. At a minimum, it is at least not the case that being busy is inherently the same as being productive. Being busy could more easily be viewed as a sign of inefficiency rather than productivity. Yet, it isn’t typically interpreted in that way. Those in the upper echelon of an organization are perhaps the most prone to this behavior. This contributes to executive hypocrisy in which those at the top expect immediate responses to their questions but take an indefinitely long time to respond, if they ever do, to inquiries coming from below them within the organization. Productivity requires focus. Being busy is almost always chaotic. Being busy is a show an individual engages in to benefit those around oneself. It is a way to gain the benefits of being productive without knowing how to do anything productive. Being productive requires actual knowledge as to how to accomplish something. Being productive is more difficult and often less rewarding organizationally than being busy. Rational people working within such organizations adapt to the observed preferences. Being busy is rewarded, but being productive is more difficult and not the primary focus. Therefore, one will focus on being busy. People with that focus attend many meetings and are involved in many projects. Their day is full. They are on the move. They are engaged, at least superficially, with nearly every department and key personnel within the organization. This person is in a perfect position to be productive, but they are too busy. Being too busy to be productive is an issue. It is an issue to which those in the upper echelon of organizations are likely to look the other way. They want busy employees. Action is easy; progress is hard. Conflating the two allows one to gain all the ease of doing things without the challenging work of figuring out what, if anything, any of it means. Being busy could suggest that one is essential. It could also reveal that one has no idea what one is doing and is largely unproductive and ineffective. It is telling that organizations only focus on those two concerns once an individual is perceived as lazy. A busy person can be unproductive and ineffective and will likely be promoted rather than fired. #### Related Items [[Productivity]] [[Business]] [[Organization]] [[Work]] [[Efficiency]] [[Focus]] [[Busy]]