It’s not about productivity

God has a definition of productivity, and it isn’t connected to how many items we check off our to-do list.

Jun 06, 2024

Be still, and know that I am God! I will be honored by every nation. I will be honored throughout the world. (Psalm 46:10)

Our world is obsessed with productivity. We have hundreds if not thousands of YouTube channels focused on time management and organization. Planners and stationary and calendars are massive industries.

I have a theory that a lot of culture’s addiction to productivity is driven by the Millennials and GenX folks, those of us who grew up with the core of our identity shaped by performance-driven perfection. We don’t know how to say no. Why would we say no in the first place? We’d miss out on an opportunity to demonstrate what valuable employees/people we are.

The harder we work, the more we get done, the more we put on our to-do lists; it’s a vicious cycle that only ends when we spontaneously combust. We have to work. We have to be absurdly busy. If we’re not constantly under stress and pressure, we tell ourselves that we’re forgetting something or not living up to our true potential.

Is it any wonder the entire Millennial generation is completely burned out? It’s ironic, but there are entire studies and books that have recently started calling Millennials “the burnout generation.”

But that’s not the way it’s supposed to be. That’s not how God designed us to function. God has a definition of productivity, and it isn’t connected to how many items we check off our to-do list. God has a definition of success, and it doesn’t have anything to do with the decimals in our paycheck.

We all get so busy, so focused, so dependent on the rush of deadlines and timelines and smartphone alarms, and don’t get me wrong—there is worth and value in productivity as defined by culture. Work matters. Dedication to a goal is important and even godly. But when your dedication to your to-do list replaces your relationship with God, you’ve got a problem.

If you can’t spend time with God because you are too busy, my friend, your priorities are wrong. Your pursuit of productivity will leave you a burned-out, exhausted shell, and when you meet God in eternity, nothing that you have produced in this life will survive.

What good is productivity when it has no eternal value? What good is striving for perfection in a world where nothing can be perfect? Have you even stopped assess your goals and strategies for their value to God?

Can you believe that God’s greatest goal is to connect with you on a personal level? Is that something you can accept? Yes? So why don’t we do it? Why can’t we make time to engage with God? Where do we get the idea that quiet time with Jesus isn’t productive? Why do we so easily believe the lie that rest isn’t productive?

God doesn’t care about your productivity if you aren’t acting in obedience. He’d rather have your heart than your completed task list.

Learn to be still. Make stillness a habit you embrace in your life a regular basis. It doesn’t matter if it’s in a coffee shop. It doesn’t matter if it’s in your car for five minutes. It doesn’t matter where or how; just do it. Make space for five minutes of stillness. And don’t listen to the lies that you don’t have time for it.

My friend, you don’t have time for anything less.