Why Doing More Is Making Us Less Successful?

Remember the good old days when productivity just meant finishing your homework before dinner? Now, it’s all about multitasking, time-blocking, and squeezing 25 hours out of a 24 hour day. The most surprising thing is that in our quest to do more, we often end up feeling like we have achieved very less.

Let’s face the harsh truth, we are obsessed with being busy. If you are not juggling three projects, attending back to back meetings, and replying to emails at midnight, are you even productive? But here is the catch, Being busy doesn’t always mean being effective.

A study by RescueTime found that knowledge workers spend only 2 hours and 48 minutes a day on productive tasks. Yes, you read that right. The rest of the time? Meetings, emails, and endless scrolling disguised as “research.”

And let’s not forget multitasking, the ultimate productivity myth. The American Psychological Association reports that multitasking can reduce productivity by up to 40%. So, just ponder and the next time you are very busy and you are trying to write an email while listening to your favorite songs and answering WhatsApp messages, remember, you are just fooling yourself.

You will be exhausted and all this so called achievement comes at a cost and that is burnout. The World Health Organization officially recognizes burnout as a workplace phenomenon. Well, what are the Symptoms? Exhaustion, cynicism, and a sudden urge to throw your laptop out the window.

In India, a 2022 study by LinkedIn found that 63% of professionals feel overworked, and 70% say they’ve experienced burnout in the past year. So, while we’re busy chasing productivity, we’re also chasing stress, anxiety, and sleepless nights.

The productivity paradox, first noted by economist Robert Solow in the 1980s, highlights how technological advancements haven’t always translated into higher efficiency. As Solow famously put it, “You can see the computer age everywhere but in the productivity statistics.” Decades later, the issue persists. The UK’s productivity growth has stagnated at just 0.3% annually over the past 16 years, despite widespread AI adoption.

Here is a radical question that I get now as I write this. What if we focused on doing less, but better? Maybe you can call it intentional productivity. Instead of cramming your to do list with 20 tasks, pick the three that actually matter.

Try the 80/20 rule (Pareto Principle): 80% of your results come from 20% of your efforts. So, stop sweating the small stuff and start prioritizing what truly moves the needle.

I am a fan of Pareto Principle because it is the truth and the earlier you accept it the better you will focus on those 20% of your efforts.

And for the love of God, take breaks. Research from the Draugiem Group found that the most productive people work for 52 minutes and then take a 17-minute break. So, step away from your screen, stretch, or grab a coffee. Your brain will thank you.

Productivity is not about doing more, it is about doing what matters. So, let us stop glorifying the hustle and start celebrating balance. Because at the end of the day, what’s the point of crossing everything off your to do list if you are too exhausted to enjoy the results?

These are my opinions, shaped by brief but meaningful experiences in my life. What about you?

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