I'd like to introduce this blog post as a thought exercise on the topic of productivity and how we measure it. I could have gone about things differently, say, by brainstorming my thoughts on paper, figuring out what points to cover and what conclusion I'd like to make, then articulating my argument in the form of an essay. Instead, I chose to approach this topic in a different style, one which follows my natural train of thought. I will start with a thought, question it, and proceed to answer it, repeating this process until I feel satisfied enough to end the inquiry. Thinking via typing, really. This post could be a precursor to an essay, after I've figured out what I believe, or I may end it with uncertainty — this format gives me the option to do so. Indeed, the reason I'm doing this exercise is to work out some of my uncertainties. So then, let's begin.
Thought: Like many of us, I have a particular sickness that forces me to log the books I read on Goodreads, the movies I watch on Letterboxd, the fasts I complete on Zero (a fasting app), the runs I take on Nike Run Club. Nothing counts unless it can be measured, logged, presented to myself or others as proof of my accomplishments.
Question: Where does the impulse to measure tasks I consider in some way “productive” come from?
Answer: I think the dominant part of why we quantify our productivity in different areas of life is to keep ourselves accountable and stay on track with our goals. I'd like to read more books, especially those I think will help me grow intellectually, so logging the books I've read on Goodreads is useful for keeping track of my progress. Obviously, the website is used by many people as a means to accomplish their reading goals, which is why there's the Reading Challenge feature. Here, one can set the number of books they'd like to read in a year, and watch the progress bar fill up each time they log another book. Finally (if you read the books!), the bar will be filled up and you‘ll be given a "Congratulations!" for accomplishing your reading goals.
Final answer: The dominant part of why we quantify our productivity is to keep ourselves accountable and achieve our goals.
Question: Is this impulse good or bad or somewhere in the middle?
Answer: This impulse is good when it is utilized with the aim of achieving worthwhile goals, like reading 10 books in a year or running 3 times a week. It's unclear whether Letterboxd, a movie tracking website, falls into this category. I guess some people may have movie-watching goals. They may want to watch all of the classics, for example, to inform their understanding of culture at different points in time. Or they might just want to watch said classics, or another set of movies, with no further goal in mind. But I think these are fringe cases. I would guess that most people on Letterboxd don't have movie watching goals. Instead, the goal of tracking the movies you've watched is to share your taste in movies with your friends.
Similarly, all of the other websites and apps I mentioned in the beginning have social and sharing features. Goodreads adds your finished books to your update feed, or you can choose to share your post to the social platform of your choice. Zero allows you to download a photo displaying the stats about your completed fast so you can share it wherever you'd like. Same goes for Nike Run Club.
Question: Where does the impulse to share these completed activities come from?
Answer: Obviously, sharing these things heightens the sense of accomplishment. There is already a feeling of accomplishment when, say, completing a run. But you can increase your sense of accomplishment by sharing the run with others. “Wow, nice pace!" “Keep it up!" “OMG I need to start running again!!!" These comments feel good. Similarly, it feels good for your friends to see how well-read you are, how healthy you are, how sophisticated your taste in movies is.
Question: Is this impulse good or bad or somewhere in the middle?
Answer: This impulse seems to me to be pretty straightforwardly narcissistic. Once you've completed a goal for yourself, there shouldn't be any need to get extra praise from others.
Sure, this is a simplification — praise affirms that what we did was good, and it motivates us to continue working at our goals. I think some of this is okay, especially if the praise is coming from people we respect. I recognize that I'm motivated by praise from people I respect, like any of my past teachers. Hearing that my essay was worthwhile encourages me to write more. Indeed, I think that teachers should praise their students when they do well, or even if their end product wasn't amazing but they put in the effort. Motivating people gives them the confidence to keep trying and improving at whatever they're passionate about. It might even create a new passion where previously there wasn't one, again, like in the case of writing. A student doesn't think they're a good writer so they're not very interested in it, but their teacher compliments their work, which encourages them to write more, until they realize that actually they really like writing!
When it comes to these productivity (or, generally, tracking/logging) websites, though, how much does this apply? How many people in our friends list do we look up to in this way — as a teacher, a mentor, or an expert in some field? Do we really need the approval of a friendly acquaintance from high school to affirm our success and motivate us to reach our goals?
I do not know. I think context is important. Letterboxd becomes less and less relevant to this conversation — I think this one is mostly used to give friends a reference for our taste in movies. I'll stop focusing on that one. As for Goodreads, I think a digital library can also function as a reference for friends, especially if you know your friends are interested in your book recommendations. However, personally, I know that my primary motivation for using it is so that people will consider me well-read. I don't even have a good sense of who is in my Goodreads friends list or who checks up on my feed — I'm posting to the void. This is purely narcissistic. I want someone, anyone to see that I read books. Gross!
One more note about Goodreads: I think that posting reviews is something a little different. A review is a form of writing and it benefits others who are interested in a book, or your writing. Sharing reviews is worthwhile, in my opinion, even if we are partly motivated by the vain desire for others to simply see that we've read the book. At least a review is an original work that can be enjoyed by others, unlike a status update that "Ali Mercieca has completed Lolita (yet again!)". Similarly, running or fasting updates don't benefit others. They serve only ourselves. Correction: They may serve others, in the form of encouraging them to read/run/etc., but I'm not sure this is the healthiest way to become motivated to do something.
So, we measure productivity to help us achieve our goals, and we share our productivity for a) motivation and b) praise — sometimes, perhaps, only for b) praise. Where does one go from here, having become cognizant of one's motivations? (And by this I mean my motivations. I may have missed others which apply to you, dear reader.)
Questions:
1. Should productivity be measured?
2. Should productivity be shared?
Answers:
1. Yes, so long as the goal is worthwhile and the measurement helps us to achieve it. Measurement is not always necessary, but seeing our completed goals can be motivating and effective, so I think that it's fine. For instance, some people just go for a run and don't think much about it. They're probably active people in general. For the rest of us no-good-layabouts, tracking our runs helps encourage us to stay active. Again, likewise, tracking books might help someone read more and tracking fasts might help someone accomplish their health goals.
That said, it's important to stay vigilant about the fact that measuring our goals can influence our goals — and those influences may not always be positive. Health apps in particular can easily trigger obsessive behaviours if you're prone to them, which, if you use tracking apps, you might be. Running and fasting apps often present you with your “streak” — how many days in a row you went running or completed an intermittent fast. This can be helpful, but it implicitly promotes the idea that doing these activities every day is the optimal goal. And that is absolutely not true for the average person. It's in our own interest to stay mindful of how tracking our goals can influence how much we're focusing on them, and whether our goals have become obsessions. I think I'll be deleting my fasting app for this reason.
2. Whether these things should be shared is more murky territory. I think it depends on what your motivations for sharing are, whether the posts in question will have a positive, neutral, or negative effect on others, and whether sharing such things feels instinctively right or wrong to you.
To begin with, I would question my motivations. Why am I sharing this post? Is it so my friends will know more about me? Is it so people will think more highly of me? (Why do I need others to think more highly of me?) Is it to attract someone I'm romantically interested in? Is it to fit into a social circle? Is it to share an original piece of work I've created, for whoever may be interested? (What were my motivations behind creating that piece of work — To express an idea? To help others? To share a thought? To sound smart?) These are all questions we can ask ourselves before sharing any kind of post, really.
Thus ends my inquiry — I think I've sorted out most of my thoughts on the matter. No doubt this conversation can go down different paths, and I encourage anyone who had a different thought along the way to share it if they feel so inclined. There's certainly more to be said about all this.
Thank you for reading.
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