Busy, Lazy, or Productive? Understanding the Difference!

If you want to see progress in your career-building efforts, you need to be good at identifying the actual things that will move the needle in your journey!

I worked for someone about 2 years ago who had just started their business and was trying to build it up, but after working for the business for about a month, I had a strong feeling the business was going to fail unless the management was changed.

And sure enough, the business ran out of money and had to close. The main reason that caused it is that the team was super busy every single day with activities that were just not a priority.

The team was 95% busy and only 5% productive.

At one point, I had to chat with the CEO and share my thoughts with them, but it turns out it was something they had to learn by themselves through failure.

And in my experience, this is something that clearly separates the people who rise up from the ground and achieve their goals from the ones who stay down fighting to get up.

The truth is, most people are on the ground trying to rise up, and if you are at that level, the first thing you need to do is understand the difference between being busy, being productive, and being lazy, then hold yourself to account every single day.

Being busy is simply doing everything that looks good and fancy. For example, if you are trying to start freelancing or virtual assistance, trying to build a brand is something that will simply keep you busy, not get you to the first stage of success, which is finding your first client.

There are so many things you can do to stay busy without being productive every day.

And if you are on that track, you are most likely not going to go anywhere. At some point, you will either burn out or give up.

Being lazy, on the other hand, is making excuses for why you are not doing what you are supposed to do.

Spending time watching an entire movie series within 2 days, but watching a 10-minute tutorial feels like a lot of work.

Talking about getting started without actually getting started: 

“I will start when I have this or when I have that.” 

“If I could find a mentor, I would have started this thing.”

There are hundreds of reasons not to take action, and the people who take action every day do it not because they don’t have any problems; they take action because they set their priorities right.

The last thing is being productive! This is where you want to be if you want to rise up.

Being productive is doing only the things that are needed to move you closer to your next goal.

Being productive requires clarity.

You start by asking yourself what is the first thing you need to achieve as soon as possible, and what are the actual things that will take you there?

Maybe your first goal is finding your first client, so what exactly are the things you need to be doing every day to help you get that first client?

Maybe you need to create a good portfolio to present yourself to potential clients. Where should you create your portfolio? What should your portfolio include? What will make your portfolio effective?

Maybe you already have the right portfolio. What is the next immediate thing you should focus on to achieve the goal of finding your first client?

Maybe you need to learn how to identify the right potential clients and write a proposal tailored to each specific job.

Having this kind of clear focus will help you know exactly what you should be doing to get you to that immediate next goal.

And when you figure out exactly where you are and what you need to do, then everything you do will be around solving that challenge in front of you.

Being busy will not help you succeed. Being lazy will certainly not help you succeed. Being busy with the things that matter is what will help you succeed. In other words, being busy with productive actions.

Have a talk with yourself and look at your daily activities, and see whether you are being busy, lazy, or productive.

Then hold yourself to account every day.

Keep this in your mind: Your daily actions are your priorities! And what you choose as a priority will determine your reality in the next 5 years.

Choose your priorities wisely!

Cheers🥂