Yule Heibel's Library tagged productivity →  View Popular, Search in Google

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If you accept my notion that it's time to update productivity to encompass not merely how much toxic mass produced junk we churn out, faster--but to reflect whether or not said junk actually makes a difference to how meaningfully well our lives are lived--then perhaps a next-generation BLS's job isn't merely computing labor productivity, but socio-productivity as well--and making the figures public every month, quarter, and year. If it were to do that, I'd bet our economy would spin on it's very axis: the numbers we use to track its health, gauge its performance, and that Wall St uses to (mis)allocate our hard-won capital would all be dramatically altered--the informational structure of incentives would shift, and the great gears of prosperity might find a newer, more, well, productive, rhythm--because we'd optimizing not just for the greatest amount of industrial age junk to line the bleak exurban shelves, but for groundbreaking, socially useful breakthroughs.
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prosperity productivity economy umair_haque capitalism

Can't say I disagree...
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I think appointments are caustic to creativity.
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(Aside from the above, lots of other good stuff in this article. Go read.)

tumblr david_karp gtd productivity

The "post-productivity" mindset outlined by Linda Stone in this article reminds me of Juliet Schor's description of "plenitude"'s benefits and blessings.

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Post-productivity does not mean unproductive. It does mean, let's take the best and leave the rest, as our burned-out selves, our burned-out workforce and our burned-out economy take steps to move into a thriving and prosperous 21st century. This era of engagement is post-productivity because the motivations and metrics mine, in the best ways, our human assets (positive emotions, positive relationships, meaning, engagement) as well as profitability. I use the term post-productivity primarily as a reminder that a productivity-obsessed approach to an era of engagement takes us right back into the murky swamp.
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zappos tony_hsieh happiness linda_stone o'reilly productivity plenitude

Great article (self-explanatory title) by Kevin Purdy on lifehacker.

lifehacker productivity third_places reference how_to

Here's to spreading a tendency to (as one commenter put it) "unjacking and single-tasking," and letting go of the punishing drive to multi-task. Read the article for pointers on how (and why) to stop multi-tasking and embrace single-tasking instead.
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I think it's because our minds move considerably faster than the outside world. You can hear far more words a minute than someone else can speak. We have so much to do, why waste any time? So, while you're on the phone listening to someone, why not use that extra brain power to book a trip to Florence?

What we neglect to realize is that we're already using that brain power to pick up nuance, think about what we're hearing, access our creativity, and stay connected to what's happening around us. It's not really extra brain power. And diverting it has negative consequences.

So how do we resist the temptation?
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peter_bregman harvard_business multitasking singletasking productivity

Quality, not necessarily quantity:
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Stop measuring your people by the hours they put in, and focus instead on the value they produce. Make that your primary measurement. Then encourage your people to intermittently renew during the day (and on weekends, and over vacations), so that when they're working, they're really working.
That's the path to true productivity.
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productivity harvard_business work

Insightful (and often cutting) article on the status of innovation in Canada. Stephen Downes responded in a blog post, http://halfanhour.blogspot.com/2009/07/innovation-in-canada.html, basically agreeing, saying that we need a bit of free market and a bit of government direction as well, and that we (Canadians) need to wean ourselves from our corporate overlords.

In an aside, the G&M journalist (Konrad Yakabuski) notes that Canadians already log more work hours than Americans and are workaholics compared to Europeans - who innovate more and therefore, because they work smarter, don't need to work harder. As it happens, I was just wondering about Canadians and partying/ sociability over the beginning of July (what with Canada Day and Independence Day). Canadians are far less social than Americans, in my experience. For Canadians, sociability and partying means getting drunk - it always has, for as long as I can remember. Americans in this respect are actually the kinder, gentler people. Is it because of work?

innovation canada globeandmail productivity technology resources economic_development konrad_yakabuski