Grab your phone and start speaking into it. Shuffle some papers. Check your email, then your WhatsApp. Walk somewhere, exchange a word or two with a colleague, stop by the coffee machine, grab some papers, walk around with them... wow, you’re really doing stuff! But are you really?

You may have heard things like:

“Busyness is the new stupid.” – Warren Buffet
“Most things make no difference. Being busy is a form of laziness—lazy thinking and indiscriminate action.” – Tim Ferriss
“Love of the bustle is not industry.” – Seneca

In knowledge work, there’s no clear way to measure output. Since the 1950s, we’ve struggled to define productivity. In the absence of visible results, we default to pseudo-productivity, where activity replaces actual impact. As Cal Newport explains, technology fuels this illusion, turning our days into performing dedication instead of demonstrating results.

Why is it so hard to actually focus on one thing!

Ever felt that internal resistance when you sit down to actually focus?

It stings to realize that much of our busyness is just avoidance—procrastination disguised as productivity. It’s not that we’re inherently lazy or undisciplined. Our brain is wired this way, and the environment we operate in doesn’t help.

Andrew Huberman breaks this down brilliantly. He explains why focusing in a distracted world is so hard:

Our brain naturally prefers a reflective, free-associative state rather than deep focus. It operates in the default mode network (DMN)—which is active when we’re daydreaming, scrolling, or passively absorbing information.

When we try to switch to focus mode, the brain resists and needs to go through a process Huberman calls DPO:

• Duration – How long will this take?
• Pathway – What’s the structure or process?
• Outcome – What does success look like?

Without clear answers to these, our brain stays in avoidance mode, opting for easier distractions instead.

Your Brain, Your Productivity, Your Well-Being

Did you know that excessive multitasking can reduce cognitive output? Each time you switch tasks, your brain burns energy inefficiently—like a car constantly changing gears instead of cruising efficiently.

Now that we understand the neurology of focus and the modern work traps, what can we actually do?

Pack Your Productivity Toolkit and avoid WxW

It's really not about the lack of structured approaches to work but rather the difficulty to apply them. Here are three timeless approaches to counteract our natural tendency toward distraction that when put in practice, really do work!

1. Pareto’s 80/20 Rule (Vilfredo Pareto)

• 80% of results come from 20% of efforts.
• 80% of problems stem from 20% of causes.
• Ask yourself:
  • Which 20% of tasks, clients, or habits generate 80% of my results?
  • Which 20% of distractions create 80% of my wasted time?
• Be ruthless—eliminate or delegate the rest.

2. Parkinson’s Law

• Work expands to fill the time available for its completion.
• Set short, well-defined deadlines to force efficiency.
• Challenge the 9-to-5 mindset—does the work really require that much time, or are you filling it with unnecessary tasks?

Use these two laws together:
✅ Limit tasks to the important to shorten work time. (80/20 Rule)
✅ Shorten work time to limit tasks to the important. (Parkinson’s Law)

3. Ockham’s Razor

• The simplest solution is often the best.
• Cut unnecessary complexity in decision-making, tasks, and workflows.
• If something feels overcomplicated, it probably is.

Making It Stick

Even with the best principles, our habits won’t change overnight. Tim Ferriss offers a simple practice to keep yourself in check:

Three times a day, stop and ask yourself:
Am I being productive, or just active?
Am I inventing things to do to avoid the important?

This simple pattern interrupt can pull you out of meaningless busyness and back into real productivity.

From Chaos to Clarity

I have to thank Tim Ferriss, Andrew Huberman, and Cal Newport for shedding light on the human operating system in this age of distraction. They offer a way out of the cycle—away from performative busyness and into intentional, meaningful work.

Because while deep, intentional work is the key to both effectiveness and fulfillment, constant distraction and scattered busyness pave the way to burnout, anxiety, and even depression.

So, ask yourself:

Who am I trying to look busy for?

Not worth it.