busyness

“Beware the barrenness of a busy life.” — Socrates

“If you do not change direction, you may end up where you are heading.” — Lao Tzu

“Working hard for a long time without checking what the better things to be working on are is a hidden form of laziness. A laziness that disguises itself as something to be proud of.” — Julian Shapiro

“Busyness is no different from laziness when it doesn’t lead you to accomplish anything.” ― [@baileyProductivityProjectAccomplishing2016]


Perpetual Busyness: We’re in the midst of a global busyness crisis

  • The Busy Trap = The Rat Race — A treadmill to nowhere
    • = 瞎忙 = 窮忙 = 假勤奮 = 偽生產力 1
  • Often, we found there was a lot of movement, but no forward progress (like a “Rocking Horse” — always moving, but never going anywhere). 2
  • 有時候,我們會覺得自己很忙,好像做了很多事,卻根本沒做出什麼明顯的成績。有行動,卻沒有成果。辛苦了老半天,結果卻回到原點,開始時和結束時的狀態都差不多,沒什麼進展。這正是 「效率 (Efficient) 」與「效能 (Effective) 」 的關鍵區別。兩者看似相近,實則大不相同 — 如果方向錯了,即使做得再好,也只是徒勞無功。
  • Action: Break the busyness cycle. Don’t fall into “The Efficiency Trap.”

See Also


“Being In Motion vs. Taking Action” by James Clear

“Never mistake activity for achievement.” — John Wooden

  • You gain clarity through motion, but don’t mistake motion with action. Beware of false progress.

Don’t confuse being busy with being productive.


The most invisible form of wasted time is doing a good job on an unimportant task.


See Also

Footnotes

  1. Hard work is a secret form of procrastination or laziness due to a misallocation of time and energy.

  2. Rocking Horse (搖搖馬) ↔ Carousel (旋轉木馬)

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