Writer and computer science professor Cal Newport writes in his new book Slow Productivity about a condition we probably all have found ourselves mired in—pseudoproductivity. When I was younger we called it “busy work.” That is work designed to make us appear busy even while accomplishing almost nothing.
I began doing promotional work for a company called Quickbase this year. This company was completely new to me. They develop software for manufacturing and construction industries—ERP, Project Management, MES, and the like. Their competitive differential is no code. When you purchase their solutions you don’t need a few consultants and huge computer system.
They have defined an enemy to productivity they call “gray work.” Their solution is designed to render gray work moot.
Recently, Quickbase surveyed 2,000 workers in the United States and United Kingdom on the state of work and productivity. 54% of respondents reported that it’s harder than ever to be productive day-to-day.
58% of respondents said they spend less than 20 hours per week on meaningful work—the truly important stuff that that drives actual results. And 45% of respondents say they are spending 11+ hours per week doing nothing but chasing information from different people across multiple systems.
And despite our best technological innovations and intentions, more tools do not necessarily make things better—an immense nine out of 10 respondents report feeling overwhelmed to some degree by the sheer amount of software solutions they use daily—the very solutions that are supposed to increase productivity.
Now overlay this with the fact that 66% of respondents report that their organizations are actively increasing investments in software designed to theoretically enhance productivity, work management, and collaboration, and it adds up to a productivity gap that is growing every day. What can we do about it? You’re about to find out.
You can download the report at this link. It is worthwhile reading. And thinking about. And figuring out how to implement solutions that eliminate (or minimize) gray work or pseudoproductivity.
