person working at desk with multiple screens and tasks showing busy but unfocused work
Notes From a Long Career

Confusing Activity With Accomplishment (Still Killing You in 2026)

I wrote about this back in 2009. The idea was simple then, and it hasn’t changed: most people confuse activity with accomplishment. If anything, it’s worse now. We have more tools, more systems, and more ways to organize, track, and optimize how we work. You can build an entire environment around your productivity – apps, dashboards, workflows—and still end the day with nothing meaningful to show for it. That’s the trap. Busy feels like progress…

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