Personal Productivity

Are productive people born or made?

AUTHOR: Francisco Sáez
tags Motivation Science

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Are productive people born or made?

In today’s world there is an increasing demand for productivity. We are expected to have the ability to make things happen, in whatever the roles we perform in our society.

There are still people who think that, simply, productivity is not their thing. They think they do not have the personality traits needed to be a productive person. Can you learn to be productive? Can you learn to make things happen?

Of course you can. As with any other skill, there are people who have a natural tendency to be more productive because their brains understand and accept the involved concepts in a more intuitive way. According to K. Anders Ericsson, Swedish scientist and psychologist, the innate differences two people may exhibit in certain abilities can be compensated by a learning process known as deliberate practice. It involves more than simply repeating tasks. It is about defining objectives, consciously follow their progress and concentrate on both technique and outcome. According to the findings of his work, experts are made, not born. Practice makes perfect.

There are procedures and techniques to help you doing more with less effort, focus on your priorities and avoid an endless number of distractions. These procedures can be taught and can be learned. Therefore, to be truly productive you just need to learn what behaviors will facilitate you getting things done, and try to adopt them.

Indeed, one of the reasons why GTD has spread enormously around the world is that it is a method that anyone can learn, teach and share. As with any other process that can be learned, it will be easier for some than for others, but no one is exempt of possibilities.

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Francisco Sáez
@franciscojsaez

Francisco is the founder and CEO of FacileThings. He is also a Software Engineer who is passionate about personal productivity and the GTD philosophy as a means to a better life.

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3 comments

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Commented about 12 years ago Glen McNamee

Productive people are definitely born. They might not be born productive, but they are definitely born, and not cloned in vats.

avatar Glen McNamee

Productive people are definitely born. They might not be born productive, but they are definitely born, and not cloned in vats.

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Commented about 12 years ago autom

Being productive is an acquired skill, indeed. And it takes consistency and frequency of behavioural patterning for this to be become a skill that becomes second nature.

Discipline, efficiency wrapped in repetitive routine would typically characterize what I envision as a basic model that productive personality types follow.

avatar autom

Being productive is an acquired skill, indeed. And it takes consistency and frequency of behavioural patterning for this to be become a skill that becomes second nature.

Discipline, efficiency wrapped in repetitive routine would typically characterize what I envision as a basic model that productive personality types follow.

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Commented about 12 years ago Francisco Sáez

Haha, that was a sharp point @Glenn.

I totally agree with you, @Autom. Repetitive routines help acquire and improve our skills.

avatar Francisco Sáez

Haha, that was a sharp point @Glenn.

I totally agree with you, @Autom. Repetitive routines help acquire and improve our skills.

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