Productivity

The root word of productivity is productive or fertile. It is the result of an activity. We say good land is fertile land meaning it is valuable because it has the ability to produce. If managed right it can make us wealthy by giving us income. Land without managed activity cannot make us wealthy.

A banker once visited a farmer. As he drove along the white fences of the well-kept buildings and well-manicured lawns he was amazed at the beauty. He commented to the farmer, “God has given you the most beautiful farm in this valley.” The farmer looked at his fields and thought of the hard work and effort it took to produce and replied, “You should have seen it when only God had it.” The potential was in the land and in the farmer, but it took the productiveness of the farmer to be successful.

Productivity means we have to participate actively with concepts, ideas and resources to transform them into something greater. The end result of productivity is to build a prosperous society. In every person there is potential. We are born with the ability to produce. It is our responsibility to use productivity to manage our potential. Our failure is usually because of our lack of productivity. If we are not productive, expect nothing, but when we use our abilities we will make progress towards our potential. In society, a lack of productivity creates poverty.

The key to effectiveness is to manage hard work and productivity on one side, with control and organization on the other side. We should never stand back and be satisfied with just being organized. Organization without productivity equals failure. Many times production is swallowed up by fixing messes. Building creates sawdust and dirt; we cannot be productive without having some type of disorder. If we can master organization while being productive, our lives will be very successful.

Too many unproductive, organized chiefs (clean stables) spend most of their time enjoying their benefit programs, and are not being productive. That's why we downsize. Being productive may not seem to be in style, and it may seem unorganized at times, but it still works best for the bottom line. Thank goodness for work horses messing up the stable, they generate income.

In many organizations there is a lot of time wasted in our daily routine doing personal activities instead of producing. Our motivation should be to increase our value by developing new ideas and increase our personal productivity. We can fall into a rut forgetting the real world is competitive, efficient and most of all creative. When we work without being conscious of why we do what we do and for whom we do it, this can affect our character and cause us to be unproductive.

1. It will take us out of an attitude of complacency.

2. It will make us conscious of time.

3. It will make us responsible for our abilities and ideas.

4. It will motivate us, give us confidence and hope.

1. Earn your way through life. Life is a gift and what we do with it is in our hands. Things don't just happen, we must make them happen.

2. Manage what you produce. Learn to maintain your land and eliminate waste.

3. Be efficient. Learn the difference between quality and quantity. Utilize benchmarks to show whether or not your projects are progressing. This allows you to balance hard work with productivity. Work smarter not harder.

4. Learn to be organized. Many people simply don't know how to organize and they lose productivity. A craftsman knows how to keep his tools in order. Don't waste a lot of time looking for things that you have misplaced.

Individuals, communities and nations have to be productive. People have to keep working, creating and developing dreams, this gives structure to our imagination. If we stop creating we will not grow mentally. Growth comes from people who are doing something. Become a producer, not just a consumer. If we consume more than we produce we will go bankrupt, individually and as a society.

We are not born with wealth, but have been given the ability to create it. The key to wealthy living is a productive life. Every human being enters and leaves this world without material wealth. The only thing we leave is our character and reputation. Our character is developed by how productive we have been in our work and in our lives.

Have you kept your position in life by being productive?

Do you consider yourself a producer or a consumer?

Do you have a tendency to be overly organized or productively messy?