I suspect I’m no different than most folks in having explored ways to make more money, create more free time and generally try to improve my enjoyment of life. There are thousands of websites whose primary message is how to find happiness through Zen, through increased productivity, through increased organization of their lives and so forth. And I read quite a number of them because they do occasionally provide some spark of interest or stimulate me to perceive things in different ways.

Lately, though, I’ve begun to question how much, really, all these productivity and organization techniques help. More pointedly, I question, despite all the talk, whether most jobs are even geared to reward productivity. After all, for most people, the stated goal of increased productivity is to get things done more quickly so that we have more time for the things we really enjoy. But our jobs are geared toward a clock — working nine to five.

Now, certainly there are some jobs for which this approach works. Freelance writers and programmers come to mind, together with some sales people. These folks have flexibility in their schedules. For them, improved organizaion and increased productivity have direct effects. They can complete the work they set for themselves for the day, then move on to other things. For most of us, though, the process may actually be counter productive.

For the office worker or other person whose pay is predicated on a timeclock, being more productive may not be a good thing. I’m going to have to be there for eight hours, regardless of how much — or how little — I get done. In fact, if I’m really efficient and productive, the boss sees me with idle time on my hands, or sees how efficiently I operate and begins to load even more work on me. Now, did I accomplish my goal?  No. In fact, all I did was to complicate my life with ever more work!

So, how do we get around this? The time clock and the concept of paying someone for their time stems from the industrial days. In many organizations, productivity is determined based on how many widgets, calls, sales, visits, etc are accomplished in a given period of time. And, to one degree or another this system works. Times have changed and the industrial mindset may not be the best way to view things today.

As an example, I teach. My employer requires that I be on-site eight hours a day, forty hours a week. Yet, I only have 25 hours of student contact in the classroom and perhaps another two to four hours each week meeting with students over various issues. Beyond those, say thirty hours, I spend the rest of the time reading, writing and reviewing lecture notes, and preparing for upcoming classes. But, these activities don’t necessarily need to be done in my office, on campus. I can read just as easily (and sometimes more easily) at home.

Why would I want to be more efficient in my work? There is no incentive for me to do so.

Maybe it’s time for a change. Maybe employers need to begin defining jobs in terms of what is to be accomplished, rather than in terms of hours spent “on the job”. Perhaps we, as employees, need to find ways to make our jobs goal based. Then, when we’ve achieved a given goal or objective, we’re done for the day. Then we can reap the rewards of organizing our time and energy into more efficient processes.