You’re doing better than you think. Here’s why. - Ozan Varol

What Does “Productivity” Mean?

1 THE RISE AND FALL OF PSEUDO-PRODUCTIVITY

I might have published more academic papers than you last year, but this might have been, in part, due to a time-consuming but important committee that you chaired. In this scenario, am I really a more productive employee?

It was from this uncertainty that a simple alternative emerged: using visible activity as a crude proxy for actual productivity. If you can see me in my office—or, if I’m remote, see my email replies and chat messages arriving regularly—then, at the very least, you know I’m doing something.