The Difference Between Being Productive And Busy

Many of you might have heard the saying that “nothing good comes easy” or “if it is this easy, everyone should be doing it “.

But I hate to admit that we heard wrong all along.

What do I mean?

It is possible to get something good easily and while the means to getting good things is easy, not everyone will still get what they want because they are;

Busy but not productive.

Now you may ask,

How can one be busy and yet not productive?

Well, before I go on, I’d like to state that “busy” as used here doesn’t mean that you’re wasting your time binge-watching Instagram reels or your favorite series, busy here means that you’re doing real “sensible” work.

So back to the question, how can one be busy and yet, not productive?

The answer is quite simple just as everything in life actually is;

What you’re doing right now is not satisfying any purpose or helping you to achieve any of your goals.

Now, every human being has their metric of success so there will be no perfect example to illustrate this but anytime you engage in a so-called profitable activity and you don’t feel like it’s contributing anything to your life, then you’re busy and not productive.

Unfortunately, the majority of humans spend their life chasing things completely different from their goals because of the circumstances of life thrown at them.

As a result of this diversion, we cause ourselves a lot of emotional trauma and even bodily stress when we feel the effort we’re putting into what we’re doing is not enough to give the results we desire.

There are some ways to know if you’re being productive or just being busy.

They are;

While working on that project, time doesn’t seem to exist.

Have you ever been so engrossed in a particular activity that kept your attention so much that you could be robbed clean of all your possessions and you won’t know?

That’s what a person who is working toward his goal feels like.

There is this flow the person has that makes it look like the work shouldn’t end, like an oarsman rowing his boat in the direction of the current.

And this flow is present because what the person is doing rhymes perfectly with what the body wants and when you do what the body wants, the body reluctantly permits you to stop that activity.

That’s what causes addiction but now, you’re addicted to work because that’s what you want.

Another way to know if you’re being productive and not busy is that there’s;

Synchronization.

Ever heard the phrase “when a man is determined to do something, nature works hand in hand with him to make sure that thing is done”?

Well, it only applies to those who are “flowing with the current”.

When you are doing what your heart desires, everything just seems to fall into place in every area they need to.

Yes, there might be some discrepancies along the way but generally, things seem to fit right with you when you’re doing what your heart wants you to do.


There is no real and feasible trick to finding out your life’s purpose but one thing’s for sure, when you start doing it, you will know that you have found it.

If you have already found out what your life’s purpose is but you haven’t started working to achieve it, you need to.

Find a connecting dot from what you’re presently doing and match it with what your real goal is and work on common ground.

The truth is that no matter how hard you try and earn from a particular endeavor, as long as it is not related to your goals, they will always remain stressful and you will have to push yourself to the limits to achieve results.

While on the other hand, you can follow your goals, find out how to optimize it to the best version it can be, and get both a livelihood and satisfaction from it.

I’m done with my talk and I leave the rest for you.

Whatever you choose to do with this information is up to you.

But before you leave this space to carry out your plans,

Don’t forget to like this post and share it for others to view it.

All done?

Now we can all march into our separate lives and implement what we have learned today.

Or not.

As I said earlier, it’s your life.

Do with it as you please.