It’s curious how we tend to measure our performance through time. Minutes, hours, days… in the end, just numbers. And while it may seem like an objective way to tell if we are “making progress,” it’s really a double-edged sword. What does that number actually mean? Sometimes it motivates us, but other times it drains us. I believe what really matters is not the figure itself, but how we feel during the process.

We live in a culture where everything must be turned into clear, achievable, measurable goals. There’s a certain comfort in that order. The idea that we can map out a path with predictable milestones and move forward almost mechanically offers some reassurance in the face of life’s unpredictability.

But there’s a hidden cost. When everything is measured by how much it contributes to a goal, we lose the space for discovery, for spontaneity. Goals, when well designed, can be useful. Yet we rarely talk about what we sacrifice in return: flexibility, intuition, enjoyment. And that’s something worth looking at more closely.

I came across this line of questioning in the book Why Greatness Cannot Be Planned: The Myth of the Objective.

I used to plan everything—goals, schedules, detailed arguments for why I had to do each task. But I realized that in the process I was losing something essential: intuition and motivation. Every task began to feel like an obligation I had to check off to move forward on the map of my objectives. Paradoxically, that drained my desire to do anything at all.

Today I think differently. I still keep some plans, but I don’t tie myself to them. I don’t force myself to stick with something that doesn’t motivate me or that my curiosity doesn’t want to explore. The difference now is that I act out of genuine motivation.

I also rest when I feel like resting. There’s no point in forcing ourselves to work when the body is asking for a break. That idea of unbreakable discipline, so celebrated in today’s culture and in business philosophy, seems to clash directly with human well-being.

Of course, it also helps that I’m on vacation right now and enjoy a lot of freedom. I understand there are many other situations where discipline is the best tool, and even harder ones where rest isn’t even an option. I guess there are circumstances where no flexibility is possible, and I doubt our current society offers any good solution for that. What I do believe, though, is that constantly measuring everything under the label of “productivity” is harmful to our health. Because if our worth depends solely on that, then any activity outside of productivity ends up giving us no value at all.

References

  • Stanley, K. O., & Lehman, J. (2015). Why Greatness Cannot Be Planned: The Myth of the Objective. Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-15524-1

  • Martin Fowler (2003) Cannot Measure Productivity. https://martinfowler.com/bliki/CannotMeasureProductivity.html