The Productivity Trap: A Holiday Lesson

December 23, 2016 by Joshua
in Inc.com

My Inc. post today, “The Productivity Trap: A Holiday Lesson,” begins

The Productivity Trap: A Holiday Lesson

The value of time away being time away, if you use it well.

My client, “Dan,” was a producer. Working in finance, he sold services to hedge funds. He was his firm’s number 1 seller.

For being number 1, his managers rewarded him with recognition and attention. The more he produced, the more reward he felt. The more reward he felt, the more he produced.

He felt like a champion… until he took time to reflect on his situation. Then he saw the cycle of reward and productivity not as championship training but like a hamster wheel.

He didn’t have ownership in his firm. Nor did his tiered, team-based compensation structure make his productivity result in more pay. The more he looked at his situation, the more he saw no material difference between being number 1 and number 3.

The Value of Time Away

Many of us are about to take a long weekend or even a week. Some people, sadly, are so stressed by work they can only use the time to unwind. Some see vacation as a source of more stress, just of a different kind, like from family.

Time away gives perspective. Time away gives distance. Time away enables you to think, review, and reflect on a different time scale.

Read the rest at The Productivity Trap: A Holiday Lesson.

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