The Problem With Productivity
And why we love progress
Why The Art of Progress and not The Art of Productivity?
The reason is simple - “productivity” carries some baggage.
A simple scroll down LinkedIn lane finds a nauseating number of experts, gurus, and influencers selling tips, tricks, and hacks to optimize every corner of life. At times, it feels unreasonable—sometimes even dehumanizing.
Dehumanizing because it doesn’t factor in our humanity.
It assumes we live in a vacuum without interpersonal conflicts, health issues, family commitments, and a million things that can go wrong on any given day.
Said another way, our humanity usually gets in the way of our productivity.
That’s frustrating—and beautiful.
It’s All About Progress
This is why I focus on progress.
Progress means moving the ball down the field, little by little, toward our goals.
Progress is getting back on the saddle after falling off—no matter how many times you stumble. Progress is about not giving up. It’s about playing the long game, celebrating small wins, and leaning into steady growth.
Progress is part science and part art. It’s about sustainable productivity and living with healthy rhythms.
Productivity with a Human Touch
This isn’t about squeezing every last drop out of life—it’s about living in a way that doesn’t go against the grain of our humanity.
Progress accounts for life’s complexities. It doesn’t leave room for regret. Instead, it brings freedom, margin, growth, and joy.
Sure, we’ll talk a lot about being more productive. I love sharing tips, tricks, and learnings. But we’ll talking about sustainable productivity. An important adjective with a big impact. We’re being productive in a sustainable, realistic, way. One focused more on wins and less on losses.
That’s why this newsletter isn’t called The Art of Productivity.
At The Art of Progress—because moving forward, little by little, is where real life happens.