It’s easy to show up at the office, fire off emails, sit through meetings, and feel productive. It feels good. It feels busy. But it’s an illusion.

Busyness is satisfying because it tricks us into feeling accomplished. But activity isn’t the same as progress. You can be extremely efficient at clearing your inbox, organizing files, or attending back-to-back meetings, but none of that matters if you’re not being effective.

Efficiency is about doing tasks right, effectiveness is about doing the right tasks. And the worst thing you can do is be highly efficient at something you shouldn’t be doing at all.

There’s a guy at my company who’s involved in everything. He’s in every Slack channel, every meeting — you can’t escape him. People admire him because he looks productive. But I’d argue he’s a master procrastinator. With 100+ browser tabs open at all times, his attention is spread so thin that he’s not actually getting things done — at least not the things that matter.

This guy is stuck in a procrastination trap, because it’s easier to stay busy with little tasks than to face the big, important problems. The ones without deadlines. The ones that require deep thought and tough decisions. The ones we push off because they’re hard.

Real productivity isn’t about being busy. It’s about solving the right problems. And to do that, you need to focus — really focus — on what matters most. That’s not easy in a world designed to distract you. But it’s the only way to get meaningful work done.

Task switching is poison for the brain

According to RescueTime, the average tech worker checks their notifications every six minutes. Even worse, about 35.5% of workers do it every three minutes. That’s insane. It’s like working with a TikTok brain.

Let’s get this straight: there’s no such thing as multitasking — it’s just task-switching. And task-switching is productivity’s kryptonite. Research shows it takes about 23 minutes to regain focus after a distraction. When you switch tasks, your brain has to disengage from the first task and reorient itself to the new one. This process slows you down and increases errors as your brain struggles to refocus. Add endless Slack pings or email alerts to the mix, and your productivity nosedives.

Humans can only focus on one task at a time. With manual labor, this is obvious — you only have two hands. But with thinking, it’s less tangible. The abstract nature of knowledge work tricks us into believing we can cram an infinite number of tasks into our brains. That’s why we try to multitask, and why it’s so destructive. Multitasking is a productivity killer, plain and simple.

Distractions are everywhere — you can’t avoid them. But you can reduce their impact. Start small: turn off notifications and block time in your calendar for deep work. Make it harder for distractions to reach you. By protecting your focus, you give your brain a fighting chance to stay on track.

To do great work you need to slow down

Productivity is often mistaken for speed. We rush through tasks to feel accomplished, checking off boxes and moving on to the next thing. But speed doesn’t matter if you’re solving the wrong problem. If you’re working fast but achieving little, you’re focused on the wrong things.

We’re not factory workers measured by how many widgets we ship per hour. We use our brains. And solutions to complex problems come on their own timelines — they can take a minute or a year. Productivity isn’t about time spent at your desk. As Cal Newport argues in Slow Productivity we should obsess over quality, not quantity.

Creative work — like designing, programming, or writing — requires deep focus. It’s why it takes at least 30 minutes to orient yourself, understand where you are, and decide what to do next. It’s like welding iron: you have to heat the metal before you can shape it.

Good work is slow because it’s hard. Tackling complex problems takes deep thought, and that’s uncomfortable. I get why answering Slack messages or clearing your inbox feels easier — it’s instant gratification. But let’s be honest: those tasks are often just procrastination in disguise.

Crossing off items on your to-do list gives you a dopamine hit, sure. But if those tasks aren’t moving you closer to a meaningful outcome, they’re pointless. Be brave. Face the hard challenges head-on. The solutions you’re looking for are hidden in the discomfort you’re trying to avoid.

Don’t let others manage your attention

Your attention is your most valuable resource. But if you’re not careful, everyone else will manage it for you. Every Slack message, every email, every “got a minute?” is someone else’s agenda taking over yours.

Interruptions kill your flow. It’s like being stopped cold while running at full speed — there’s no easy way to recover. You lose momentum, and your progress stalls.

If you don’t take control of your attention, you’ll spend your day reacting to others. There will always be fires to put out, and everyone has their own priorities. It’s not malice — it’s just human nature. But if you let other people dictate your focus, you’ll never get to what matters most to you.

Prioritizing means saying no — a lot. There are countless good ideas, but you’ve already committed to one. Make it clear to others that you’re intentional about your time. Keep a list of things you’ve chosen to say no to, and let that guide your decisions.

Strategically managing your attention doesn’t just save time — it also saves your sanity. Being busy today will only make you busier tomorrow if you don’t set boundaries. Save time to think, question, delegate, and prioritize. It’s not a luxury — it’s essential for producing great work.

Focus on what matters

The easiest thing to do is show up at the office, write emails, and sit through meetings. It feels productive. It feels busy. But it’s not. Letting the inertia of work drag you along isn’t smart — you need to be strategic about how you invest your time.

Stop obsessing over speed or checking items off a list. That’s not what productivity is about.

Pause. Breathe. Reevaluate what’s on your plate. Are you tackling the right problems? Or are you letting distractions dictate your day? Productivity starts with making conscious choices about where to direct your energy.

Don’t be the person with 100+ tabs open in their browser. Don’t be the one who says yes to everything and achieves nothing meaningful. Productivity isn’t about doing more — it’s about doing what’s important.

The most productive people aren’t the ones who never get off track — they’re the ones who get back on track faster. They know their priorities, stick to them, and ignore the rest.

Choose wisely. Stay focused. And watch how much more impactful your work becomes. Don’t settle for being busy. Be productive.

The productivity trap: why busyness feels so good was originally published in UX Planet on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.