What Kind Of Productive Are You?

I have came to the realisation quite some time ago that I’m someone who simply CANNOT. SIT. STILL.

Just yesterday I had the rare opportunity of having nothing to do. So I was faced with 2 choices: Do I a) do research and read up on interesting stuff that will eventually birth my next Big Idea, or b) watch some random sitcoms like crazy?

Turns out that I went for option b) and I ended up watching close to a dozen episodes of 2 Broke Girls, simply cause I was afraid of having nothing to do (I think). If there was one thing yesterday’s R&R helped me realise, it was that I would choose keeping busy over being idle in a heartbeat. I’m guessing that there’s a thrill of being insanely productive I’ve gotten addicted to. I wonder how many of you out there feel this way sometimes too?

It might be the fact that I was a competitive athlete for a good 10 years of my life, juggling sports and studies, that eventually led to my need to always be producing some form of output. But since my college days, I haven’t actually been able to just focus on doing just one thing at any point in time of my life. I’ve been labelled a crazy multi-tasker (or slasher) for probably n no. of times, and at this moment, I have over 15 tabs open on my browser (something my colleague continually teases me about).

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Image Credit: Fast Company

You could say it was good timing that Fast Company ran a whole section on “Secrets of the Most Productive People” in their Dec/Jan issue. I love how they always run articles that speak to my an insecure part of my inner self when I’m starting to feel weird about a certain aspect of the way I feel I need to live. It’s like a little pat on the back to let me know that hey it’s okay, there are folks like that out there that you can learn from and emulate.

The thing I found most interesting about this whole topic of “being productive” is discussed is how FC dissected it into the different types of productive persons you may be. Suddenly being productive is no longer just a science, but also an art, totally dependent on what you’re like as a person, and also your lifestyle preferences and habits. So what kind of productive person are you? Take their quiz!

Base on what I understand of myself, it’s likely that I am a CONNECTOR + MULTI-TASKER, with the lifestyle habits of a NIGHT OWL. Which just means I have very poor health! Jokes aside, I do think that their productivity tip on focusing on one thing at a time once in a while may really do me some good in getting things done a little better. But hey, guess life is a journey of self-improvement eh?

So are you a productive person? If not, maybe it’s good time for some year-end reflection and gear up for 2014 with your game face on.

Image Credits: Fast Company