Productivity is the measure of efficacy of a productive effort. In the paradigm of the life plan, productivity is a measure of how much joy can be experienced within the finite limits of life.
Human productivity is Pareto distributed: 80% of what matters is contained in 20% of available options, and this pattern repeats in all subsegments: A single task can be more important than all the others combined.
It is highly unlikely that anyone not paying careful attention to prioritization is even remotely approaching how productive they could be. The most valuable activities carry the highest cost, and what is most difficult is the most likely to be avoided. Most people spend most of their time on the most trivial activities.
Because productivity, like wealth, is Pareto distributed, almost all productivity is concentrated in just a small percentage of people, no matter how big or small the sample of people measured. While there are overlaps between wealth and productivity, there are also differences. Not all productivity produces wealth, and not all wealthy people are productive. While you know of some of the wealthiest people in the world, you probably have no idea who the most productive people are. What this means is that while you know how wealthy extremely wealthy people are, it’s unlikely you have any clue just how productive a human can be.1
Normal people see hyper-productive people as miraculous oddities or examples of overzealousness.2 Both perspectives are wrong in serious ways. To see the hyper-productive as miraculous oddities dismisses the fact that it is a choice, and it is something that anyone can do if they learn how and choose to pay the price. To see the hyperproductive as overzealous is to miss the point that normal life can ever bring more than the normal condition, which is obviously inadequate.
Unlike wealth, which is at least a little dependent on outside circumstances, productivity can be taught and its exercise is purely a matter of choice. This is precisely what this book and the life plan do.