21st Century Family

Does productivity make you a stiff/wooden family or does it enable you to experience more in life? The first question to ask is, “What is productivity?” To start off with to be productive you have to produce. To measure what one produces you generally try to measure output. For example: “I was able to accomplish 20 tasks today which allowed me to close out two projects and get started on two more” …or: “I got completely caught up on laundry, did the dishes, made the kids lunch, took each kid to their activity / etc / etc.” In general it seems there is a perception that people who are great list makers and “action” people are the most productive. However, this all depends on “what” you are measuring! Highly relational people might not get as many tasks completed because they are “tuned in” to a kids need to communicate about something. This person might stop what they are doing right then and there because they realize the value of the moment. This requires a vision for the unseen. If a kid is hurting inside (unseen) and his/her body language has changed subtly (the only clue you might get) but they are trying to hide it…a quick question might draw out a flood of conversation. The person trying to get through 10 tasks may not notice the subtle changes in body language or take the time to ask the question and listen to the response. Why? …because it will make them feel “less” productive!! The question then becomes, “which way do I want to err?” I know I’ll never be perfectly balanced but I want to err on the side of _____. In my case I know I have to strive for balance but I always want to err on the side of family and relationships. There are so many times that a teachable moment or a sharing moment with a spouse or friend just happens in the middle of “quantity time.” When you are busy it takes being proactive to schedule “quantity time.”  How can you increase your “relational productivity?”