We can even make a small note every hour and ask ourselves what important thing we accomplished during that hour.
NV Paulose, Chairman, Global TV +91 98441 82044
We often complain that we do not have enough time. Our days are full of meetings, messages, phone calls, emails and tasks. We move from one activity to another and, by the end of the day, feel exhausted. Being busy has become so closely associated with being productive that we rarely stop to ask a simple question: What did I actually accomplish today? I learned this lesson from an employee named Joy when I was working at Indian Express. Joy had already suffered two heart attacks. At that time, people were much more worried about the possibility of a third heart attack, so the branch manager took me aside and told me to make sure Joy did not put himself under too much pressure. I was genuinely concerned about him. I called Joy and told him that if he was not doing any work, I had no problem with that, but he should make sure that he was relaxing. A few days later, I asked him how his schedule was. His answer surprised me. He said, “Hectic.”
I decided to reduce his workload. I spoke to the sales officer and asked him to take one of Joy’s responsibilities and give it to somebody else. After a few days, I asked Joy again how his schedule was. “Hectic,” he said. So I removed another responsibility. This continued until Joy had only one small task. His work began at two in the afternoon. He had to go to the computer room, open the computer, enter a password, check a list, tick a name if necessary, and print the document. The printer was old, so occasionally it would stop working, and he would have to repeat the process. The whole task might take thirty minutes. I called Joy again and asked how his schedule was. “Hectic,” he said. I could hardly believe it. So I asked the sales officer to change Joy’s password. The next morning, Joy went to the computer room at nine o’clock, even though his work was not supposed to begin until two. He came running back and told me that something was wrong with the computer because he could not access it. I told him, “Joy, your password has been changed. Now you can relax.” A few days later, I asked him again how he was doing. His answer was the same. “Hectic.”
Finally, I decided to understand what was really happening. At around twelve o’clock one day, I called Joy and asked him to bring me a piece of paper and a pen. I asked him to sit down and write everything he had done since arriving at the office at nine o’clock. I turned back to my own work. Five minutes passed. The paper was blank. Ten minutes passed. Still nothing. Fifteen minutes passed. Twenty minutes passed. Eventually, Joy stood up and said, “Sir, you told me to relax.” I told him, “No, Joy. I told you to relax. You are relaxing without knowing that you are relaxing.” That was the problem. He had become so accustomed to feeling busy that even having almost nothing to do felt like a hectic schedule. And I realized that this is not only Joy’s problem. It is a problem many of us have. We can spend an entire day moving around, checking our phones, attending meetings, answering messages, and responding to other people’s demands, yet at the end of the day struggle to identify the one meaningful thing we actually accomplished.
The same problem exists with our phones. I have benefited immensely from technology, and I cannot imagine many aspects of modern life without it. But the same instrument that helps us can also consume us. I can pick up my phone for one small reason and suddenly find myself watching reels, moving from one video to another, and losing an entire part of my day. The danger is not that we use our phones. The danger is that we stop being conscious of how we use them. That is why I sometimes deliberately switch off my phone and move on to something else. Productivity does not always mean doing more. Sometimes it means knowing what deserves your attention and deliberately refusing to give your attention to everything else. If we do not make that choice, the world will make it for us. Every message will demand a response. Every notification will demand attention. Every new piece of content will invite us to consume it. Eventually, we become busy without being productive.
Perhaps the most useful question we can ask ourselves is not, “How busy was I today?” but, “What did I actually do with my time?” We can even make a small note every hour and ask ourselves what important thing we accomplished during that hour. Was it a brick, something important that moves our life or work forward? Was it a stone, something useful but less important? Was it a pebble or sand, something that could wait? Or was it simply water filling whatever space was left? We cannot do great things every minute. But we can do small, meaningful things consistently. We can make one good decision, complete one important task, help one person, learn something, or move one step closer to an important goal. The real danger is not having a busy day. The real danger is reaching the end of a busy day and discovering that we were busy without knowing what we were doing. Do not confuse movement with progress. And do not confuse relaxation with rest when you have never consciously chosen to rest.
