We chase productivity like it’s the prize. Optimize the schedule. Streamline the workflow. Clear the inbox. And while none of that is inherently wrong, it’s not always right either.
You’re aiming for productivity. You should be aiming for prioritization.
Because the goal isn’t to get more done—it’s to get the right things done. And to do that, you need more than productivity. You need presence. You need progress. You need to prioritize.
Presence and Progress: The True Markers of Prioritization
Prioritization isn’t just about choosing what matters most. It’s about continually aligning yourself with what matters now.
And that requires two things: presence and progress.
Presence is about awareness. It’s the ability to pause and pay attention—to yourself, your context, and your commitments. You can’t prioritize if you’re not present. Otherwise, you’re reacting, not responding. You’re defaulting to urgency rather than acting from clarity.
Progress, on the other hand, is about movement. But not frantic movement. Not busyness. It’s the kind of progress that comes from forward motion with intention behind it. Even small steps count when they’re in the direction you’ve deliberately chosen.
When presence and progress come together, prioritization becomes not just a strategy, but a practice. You start to say “yes” with weight. You learn to say “no” without guilt. You stop measuring your days by how much you got done and start measuring them by how closely you lived in alignment with what mattered.
That’s the real aim.
Where Productivity Fits In
Productivity isn’t the villain here. It still has its place. But it’s a vehicle, not a destination.
Think of it like this: prioritization is the compass. Productivity is the car. Without the compass, you might be driving fast—but in the wrong direction.
So the next time you feel pressure to “be more productive,” ask yourself a better question:
“Am I prioritizing what truly matters right now?”
Because when you focus on prioritization, productivity becomes a consequence—not a chase.