I read an interesting blog post recently on the Lie of Busy, addressing issues of productivity and work-life balance. Much of the advice I’d read before (the danger of email processing etc), but i still think it’s a good summary. If you’re ‘busy’ just skip down and read the five lies halfway down and then there are nine practical tips on productivity.

I was particularly struck by the first one – the lie of temporary. That’s the idea that we’re working hard for something in the short-term for that ‘one day’ in the future when we can relax. Sort of like the person who works so hard for retirement, and then dies a month later. Much busyness has no goal or finish point – the goalposts move. I’ve been thinking particularly of my targets in fitness and reading. On the fitness, I can work really hard, every day, and even if I sculpt the perfect torso and an amazing level of fitness, it’ll start fading the moment I stop training, and stopping the intensity is inevitable. On reading – I try to read around 30 books a year. But in the US around a million different books are published each year. if I read 30 or 50 books a year makes very little difference. By the end of my life, I’ll have barely made a dent in the world’s canon of great books. We haven’t even begun to talk about the amazing plays and films out there.

So, honestly what’s the point? A key idea in the article is to enjoy the journey, because there’s no destination at the end, so don’t expect the pleasure to come then. If you’re not enjoying getting fit, then forget it. If you’re not enjoying the reading, don’t bother, put the book down. is there a point working for that six pack? Especially if you’re no longer a teenager dreaming of attracting girls? Probably not, or at least be realistic that you can have a nicer body – something your wife might appreciate for a few years, and then let it go when you hit forty. You’ll never be fit enough or well-read enough. And if we got political, the consumer society wants you to keep running on the treadmill until you drop.