The productivity traps

Productivity is one of those words we hear all the time in business, but we rarely stop to ask – what does it actually mean? It’s often used as a badge of honor (“I’ve been super productive today”) or a management KPI (“Let’s increase team productivity this quarter”).

But if we dig deeper, we realize that our understanding of productivity is full of distortions. That nagging sense that “we should have done so much more” is a signal. Something in how we think about productivity is off.

Let’s be clear: this isn’t a motivation problem. Most leaders are already pushing hard. The issue lies in what we believe productivity looks like and how those beliefs quietly lead us into traps. Recognize them, and you can start changing how your time and energy are used.

Activity isn’t accomplishment

Today’s workplace loves busyness. Full calendars, quick replies, constant motion – it all creates the illusion of progress. But much of this is just noise, while nothing actually moves the business forward.

The fear of being misunderstood or unseen leads people to focus on visibility over impact. The team is jumping between meetings, emails, and updates, just to reassure themselves that things are under control. Productivity becomes a show while essential decisions get delayed and real work gets crowded out.

This confusion between output and outcome is one of the biggest drains on personal productivity. It shifts our focus to the visible, immediate, and reactive instead of the valuable, strategic, and lasting.

The myth of multitasking

Multitasking feels necessary when you’re leading across functions: You can join a virtual meeting while still chatting with another group, or replying to a mail thread.

Tools like team chat apps make it worse. You might be working through a financial model or drafting a critical proposal, only to get interrupted by a “quick question” ping.

It breaks your concentration and pulls you into synchronous communication – work that demands an immediate response, even when it could have waited. People tend to think of responsiveness as productivity.

However, researchers have proved that the brain can’t perform two cognitive tasks at once. This constant switching results in shallow work – reactive, low-impact tasks that create motion without progress. Meanwhile, deep work – focused, high-value thinking – gets squeezed out.

It’s no surprise that strategy suffers when no one has time to think deeply. Studies show people take longer and perform worse when multitasking compared to focusing on one task at a time.

When metrics turn into targets

What gets measured gets managed. But sometimes, what gets managed gets manipulated.

The danger appears when KPIs are treated as goals rather than signals. A team tasked with “closing tickets faster” might hit the number by rushing responses instead of deep-diving into customers’ problems. Sales targets get hit, but at the cost of long-term customer fit.

Individuals start optimizing for the metric that gets reviewed, even when it undermines the business outcome it was supposed to support. When metrics become the mission, organizations end up chasing vanity instead of value.

The cost of invisible work

Some of the most valuable contributions in a business aren’t easily seen. Clarifying a messy process. Mentoring a team member. Calming tensions between departments. Thinking deeply about a decision before making it. This kind of work often leaves no digital trace, yet it creates stability, direction, and trust.

Unfortunately, in a culture obsessed with output, invisible work often gets overlooked in favor of quick wins or flashy deliverables. And when behind-the-scenes efforts are quietly dismissed, the organization loses something vital: its ability to think ahead, prevent issues, and grow sustainably.

If you judge productivity only by how much gets pushed out, you’ll ignore what actually holds your business together.

Tools are not a shortcut to clarity

New tools promise to make work easier, faster, and more organized. And many do – if they’re introduced at the right time, for the right reason. But all too often, teams look to tools to solve problems rooted in something deeper: unclear processes and unspoken expectations.

People - Process - Tool – these three elements must work in balance. But in practice, many businesses jump straight to the tool without first clarifying the process or preparing the people. When that happens, the tool doesn’t solve the problem. It just adds another layer of friction.

Before scaling with software, slow down and document the process. Make the work visible. Define roles, responsibilities, and the ideal flow. Only then should tools come in to support a system that’s already working on a small scale.

Why it all matters

These productivity pitfalls don’t always look like problems at first. They blend into our daily habits, our team rhythms, our tools, and systems.

But over time, they chip away at your energy as a leader. If you’ve ever looked at a full week and wondered, Why does it feel like we’re not getting anywhere? – this is why.

Once you see these patterns clearly, you can begin to shift them. But now that we know what productivity is not, then what is productivity, really?