Productivity: Definition, Formula, And Tools

Productivity definition, what is the productivity formula, or what are the best productivity tools to increase your productivity! If you are looking for the answers to these queries, it is crystal clear that either you are struggling with being productive or you want to raise your productivity level up to the summit.

Anyways, you have grounded on the perfect station. Because here I am going to walk you through the ultimate guide to your productivity goals for which, let’s be honest, I have probably spent 300 hectic hours that approximately equal to one and a half week (there were some procrastinating hours in between, though) looking for information and facts to help you overcome all the time-consuming the problems that cause you to be unproductive.

Productivity: Definition, Formula, And Tools

1.  What is Productivity?

The Ultimate Productivity Definition: In some ways, the question “what is productivity” is actually a very deep question to answer whose worth we evermore tend to neglect. Yet it is defined as follows:

1. A measure of the efficiency of a person in converting inputs into useful outputs.
2. Efficient use of resources, labor, energy, or information, in the production of various services.
3. A measure of performance or output.

Or probably something else. But the key point here to remark is the definition varies from time to time and person to person due to the variety of lifestyles we all lead.   So, my recommendation here for you is to “develop your own definition” that should fit you and your lifestyle as a life-long learner or a high-school or college student. I know that is time-consuming and hard but believe me, the hard work you do today pays off tomorrow. Otherwise, you can opt for any of the definitions above as a standard and take off.

2. How Productivity is Important?

We shall ask a straight-A student or an entrepreneur the importance for they have struggled with it and then succeeded in doing what they score A in, mainly due to this remarkable skill.  

But let’s settle the topic on a general table of discussion, being productive can aid in increasing and utilizing the available resources and producing the desired output.

For instance, if you are productive, you can manage your time with no struggle. You are enjoying your weekends meanwhile completing all your assignments, preparing for the upcoming tests, or learning a very new skill.

The skill will eventually help you establish the career you dream of every morning before walking out of the bed. Or probably every night before you check off tasks you accomplished.

3. Productivity and Efficiency

As a person, we always wish for another 2 extra hours a day but let’s be real because that is nearly impossible on earth. There might have been some good luck if we were on any other planet, maybe.

For instance, let’s suppose that the angel planet the earth’s sister planet Mars Because its days are way longer than its years. The fun fact is 243 days on earth equal only a day on Mars. It might be 5,832 hours a day probably. (Let me know down below if I am correct.)

However, long hours mean more procrastination. And sometimes even though you accomplish all the tasks and feel lucky to be the productive pro, there still remain some gaps because getting all things done doesn’t guarantee efficiency.

So, how do we assure efficiency by being productive?

There are actually tons of strategies to assure efficiency in everything you do from your schoolwork to your responsibilities as a big boy/girl of your parent.

You can have a tour of all those strategies by reading our best study tips for college students. These tips aren’t only helpful in your studies but also your personal life because once you learn to run any one of them smoothly, you will be able to enjoy the other one too.

4. Productivity and Happiness:

Are Happy People More Productive?

The world can be brutal. We all chase after talent, technology, and trends to meet up with the competitive edge. However, there is another crucial matter too. It’s our main goal; it’s happiness.

Besides everything we do, everything we achieve; we need to prioritize happiness more. Because undoubtedly happy people are more productive. And so are happy students.

Therefore, there have been several major pieces of research such as the work of Professor Andrew Oswald and his team from the University of Warwick.

Consequently, they say:

“We find that human happiness has large and positive causal effects on productivity.

Positive emotions appear to invigorate human beings, while negative emotions have the opposite effect.”

Also, according to research, happiness boosts productivity by 12%. Hence, it is crucial to note that your happiness matters in every field.

5. Productivity Tools

Due to our life-long quest for an idle and productive life, we come across tons of tools that this way or the other way could help us in making an idle life not only for ourselves but also for others. A life which others could opt for as a standard; a life which might inspire people to live life to its fullest.

As I mentioned there are tons of such resources or tools which can confuse you and me effortlessly and leave us wandering around. But to make this journey a comfortable one, below I have specified some of those worth utilizing tools. So, I hope you benefit from them. Then, let us celebrate the seemingly tiny success together by commenting it down below.

6. Productivity Blogs, Podcasts, And Apps

The online world is getting popular with each passing day and it is kind of ruling our lives. We spend hours and hours on a screen not knowing anything about our surroundings. We are ruining our lives bit by bit but the Internet isn’t here for this reason. It has a pretty noble reason to exist in our lives only if we could use them wisely.

So, below are some of the best Online Tools to Help you become more productive!

1. Productivity Blogs

Check out the following blogs, then, let us know if they have been helpful to you.

A: Dumb Little Man

This one gives you almost every actionable tip and a how-to guide to make living fun and easy. The contents also include tips for bigger and prominent topics such as happiness, relationship, and health.

B: Zen Habits

This is one of my go-to and favorite blogs. And I loved his recent article “When Fear is Stopping You From Pursuing Meaningful Work”. Leo Babauta has been running this site since the 2000s and his content isn’t just on mindfulness but a lot more than that. He focuses on making a change at a time.

C: LifeDev

This site is specially designed for creative people because its contents focus on creativity a lot in addition to productivity. So, it tells how creative people can be productive or probably vice versa. And that is it for this section. If you want more suggestions let us know down below.

Also Read: Top 14 Useful Websites Every Student Should Know About

2. Productivity Podcasts

Listen to these amazing productivity podcasts then let us know if they were effective.

A: Getting Things Done (GTD)

The author of Getting Things Done or GTD uses his GTD system to help listeners achieve what he calls “Mind Like Water.

B: The 5 AM Miracle

This weekly podcast is all about dominating your day before breakfast. It helps you develop strong and unshakeable habits and rituals.

C: Extreme Productivity with Kevin Kruse

The New York Times best-selling author uncovers the secrets to building strong habits and breaking habits that cause overwhelming feelings.  

3. Productivity Apps

To learn about productivity apps be sure to check out our Top 10 Productivity Apps to Boost your productivity.

Best free Apps for Android and iPhone or Top 10 Applications to Customize Your Phone to Get Most out of Your Phone might interest you as well.

7. Productivity Books

Let’s sneak peek into the world of pen and paper out of the digital world. Books have always been the best resource forever for almost everything. Either it is breaking bad habits, preparing for any college assignment, or just spending some quality alone, books have always been our best friends.

Therefore, in addition to all the wonderful tools, here I recommend you this very powerful tool. Below I will name some of the best productivity books.

A. The Power of Habits

In The Power of Habits, the award-winning business reporter takes his readers to the edge of scientific discoveries. In his book, he thoroughly explains how habits are formed, why they exist, and how to change them.

Because only if you can deal with your habits, you will be able to be productive until the end of the day.

B. The Productivity Project

This is an amazing book in which the author Chris Bailey will teach the very important insights:

1. slowing down to work more deliberately;
2. the 20-second rule to distract yourself from the inevitable distractions;
3. shrinking or eliminating the unimportant;
4. striving for imperfection;
5. the rule of three;
6. scheduling less time for important tasks;

C: Getting Things Done

In addition to his podcast, David Allen’s book is worth mentioning here. In his book, he will tell you how to:

1. Feel fine about what you are not doing
2. Plan projects and get them all unstuck
3. use “do it, delegate it, defer it, and drop it” rule
4.  Reassess goals and stay concentrated in changing situations

and much more.

8. The Productivity Formula

How Productivity is Measured?

In a world where countless life hacks and morning routines exist, we are all looking for the greatest way to boost productivity.  As life-long learners, we all want to achieve more in the shortest amount of time.

But the real challenge is proving the worth of our effort and that is where we all fail. As a result, we either celebrate too much or too little in addition to failing to pinpoint the gaps to be filled. So, here I will walk you through the formula to measure how productive you have been.

The Formula to Calculate Your Productivity

Let’s stop making it sound like breaking mount Everest into perfect pieces (I hope it sounds well plus I need to learn how to use metaphors well).

Basically, to calculate your net productivity all you need to do is divide your input by your output.

How to Use the Formula

Let’s break it down! Let us suppose, on Monday, you worked or studied from 6 AM till 5 Pm. In total, you worked for 11 hours which is your input. Consequently, you finished your

1. the art project which might have taken you 2 to 3 hours
2. revised some math formulas: let’s say for 1 and a half hour
3. went out for a walk to refresh for an hour
4. then, did some reading for an hour maybe
5. and did some grocery shopping of course

All in all, your input’s 9 to 11 hours for that day. Now sit back and figure our your achievements which will be your output and divide that by your 11-hour input. You will get your net productivity.

9. How Productivity Can be Enhanced Through Teamwork

Let’s suppose you have a project for which you have to collaborate with some of your fellows. To perfectly get your project done before the deadline, you are worried if your collaboration with your fallows can make sure you will complete your project successfully. Or you want to know if teamwork can aid in productivity.

But the importance of team-work can’t be stress enough. Because when you work in a team, you get to discover different talents around you which you never knew about. Then, if you could make a smoothy out of all the talent, the sky will be the limit; I think it was more than I had to say, anyways let’s keep the story up by some example.

Examples of Teamwork and Excellence

1. For instance, the legendary Steve Jobs revolutionized the entire digital world. honestly, his innovations couldn’t have gone viral without his team of hard-working professionals.
2. Or our classroom hasn’t been decorated so beautifully if my college fellows hadn’t helped each other.

Ways Teamwork Increases Productivity

Below are the ways teamwork increases productivity.

A: Sharing Work-Load

For instance, if anyone in a group has a lot on their plate while another has less, he can give a hand. This way they will be able to achieve more in less time.

B: Brainstorming

As I mentioned above, when you work in a team, you get to come across various types of talent and more ideas. Hence, there are chances of not only completing your project a lot faster but also achieving success.

So, those were the 2 most important ways of teamwork increasing productivity. Also, if you have more ways or tips and tricks, let us know down below.

10. How is Productivity Affected When We Multitask?

There are tons of reasons put there on the Internet telling us how Multitasking reduces productivity and in some ways, they are quite right but the no 1 problem is not multitasking itself. The problem is we have no clue about what we should multitask and what we shouldn’t.

Therefore, I would say yes, multitasking reduces your productivity but let us put a glimpse on the other side of the picture too. If we could understand what to multitask or what not to or at least how to multitask, we would then be able to multitask without damaging our productivity.

So, be sure to check out Multitasking and Everything You Need to Know About It.

11. How Much Productivity is Lost Due to Social Media?

Approximately, 40% of the global population uses social media and according to the Pew survey, nearly 94% of the teens spend nine to eleven hours on social media. On the other hand, 69% of U.S. adults are on social media.

Majority of teens waste 11 hours on Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat or YouTube. Over the past year, we have are more prone to social media addiction. As a result, the amount of quality time we should spend either chilling with family or working are decreasing.

Certainly, social media is time-consuming. And undoubtedly, there is no use in talking about productivity if we don’t spend a proper amount of time doing something.

After we spend a huge amount of time online, we realize our responsibilities, our assignments, or test we need to prepare for. But only if we any time remaining, we can start to work.  But it is then too late. Then, we are looking for ways to stay motivated, to get better in our studies, to build healthy relationships, or even health. So, the lesson you must take-away from here is we need to prioritize things that matter at the end of the day.

Learn more about Social Media Use in 2018

Wrapping Up

Hence that is all for the guide to Productivity and most of the important topic belonging to Productivity. IF you have any questions or suggestion, let us know down below.