I’m all about productivity. I enjoy figuring out ways to do things more efficiently (I remember reading “Cheaper by the Dozen” as a kid and was fascinated by the father’s ways to increase efficiency!). Considering that I have a number of things on my mental checklist that I need to take care of before I leave in January, I usually try to make the most of my days off in completing the list.
According to my brain, yesterday was not a productive day. I got one thing done… I washed my tennis shoes. That’s it. A whole day off, and I managed to go to a friend’s house and throw my shoes in the washing machine. That’s it.
According to my body, yesterday was a very productive day, because it succeeded in debilitating me to the point of staying in bed for almost the entire day to give it time to fight a bug.
So, although I don’t feel as though I got anything done yesterday, my body was very successful in doing its job. I think that sometimes we have the wrong perspective on what is “productive.” If I think about that word, my chain of thought might go something like this… “Productive… Produce (verb)… Produce (noun)… Fruit…” So that’s what being productive is. Bearing fruit.
Paul’s prayer for the Philippians was that they would be “…filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ – to the glory and praise of God” (Phil 1:11). Is the fruit that my “productivity” is bearing fruit of righteousness? Does it come through Jesus (am I abiding in Him as the Vine)? Is it for His glory?
These are important questions that I need to ask myself about my productivity. Otherwise I might find that what I’m doing isn’t really that productive at all… and what I’m neglecting is what will bring the most fruit.