Why Productivity Is Snake Oil

The definition of productivity (such as time, labor, or materials) is to produce a desired outcome, output, or result. But why do I say it’s snake oil?

It’s unmeasured and undefined. What most people call productivity is really just busywork. We measure it in quantity before quality—and there’s a big difference.

There’s a quote: “Bite off more than you can chew.” That’s what people are doing in the pursuit of productivity. So we end up turning in half-hearted work, which we sometimes have to redo, just to say we got more done. It’s not attainable—there’s always more to do. So we rush, repeat, and burn out.

It’s not your fault. It’s the system you were pushed into. And that same system burns out people in similar professions—like software engineers—over and over again.

Let’s Talk About AI

Now we’re in the age of AI, and yeah, maybe I’m being a little dramatic, but it’s true: AI is going to change the way we work. It might not take your job outright, but it will make you feel more detached from your work—and maybe even from your passion.

We won’t grow as a society if we let AI do everything for us. If you use AI just to get more work done faster, you’ll be expected to do even more, and then burnout will hit even harder.

I’m Not Against Self-Help or Tools

Yes, I like reading self-help books. I’m currently reading How to Build a Second Brain by Tiago Forte. The intention behind it is to get better at my craft—to capture and reference things like my coffee setup, water temp, grind size, and not forget them.

So I’m not against productivity tools.

But I’m also not for being so obsessed with work that I lose all passion for it.