The difference between productive and prolific.

There's an art to creating hit after hit after hit.

As a recent permanent resident of the Taylor Swift fandom, this week I’ve naturally been playing TTPD on repeat. I’ve listened to the lyrics “I’m so depressed I act like it’s my birthday” so many times that I have become almost as unhinged as they are.

As I’ve bopped along I’ve wondered…

How does Ms Swift consistently release bangers?! How does she produce smash hit after smash hit, album after album? I mean, this woman simply does not miss!

Come to think of it, how does anyone create hit after hit after hit? How does John Grisham publish back to back best selling thrillers? How does artist CJ Hendry produce annual installations each one more grandiose than the last? And how has Zoe Foster Blake developed so many hero products she’s become skincare’s modern age Wonder Woman?

There’s no question all of these people are at the top of their game and I’m sure they’re highly productive. But it goes beyond just that. They’re prolific too.

Productive versus Prolific

Productive is defined as the capability to produce something in abundance.

When I think about productivity I think about efficiency. I think about being more streamlined. Better organised. More systematic. Doing more. Producing more outputs. Productivity is a violent force to get as much shit done as possible, as quickly as possible, to free up time elsewhere.

Prolific, on the other hand, is producing something in abundance.

Prolificacy (yep it’s a word, I looked it up) is about creating the space for ideas to burst into our brains. Sometimes it’s about flying up to the clouds and not being down in the detail. It’s collecting inspiration obsessively. It’s about weaving together disparate concepts to create something unique - songs, albums, books, articles, newsletters, products, Tiktoks, podcasts, businesses…pick your poison - and it’s about doing this on repeat.

At first glance you might think the two terms are the same, but they’re not; the difference is subtle but vast. While both are about quantity, productive optimises for efficiency whereas prolific optimises for creativity.

Productivity is a systemised process for freeing up time in our life. Prolificacy is how we choose to use that free time to tap into our creative force.

Productive is hurried. It’s frenzied. It’s frazzled.

Prolific is razzle. It’s dazzle.

Change the frame

I’ve always been an efficiency super-fan and have often tried to increase my productivity in the hopes it’ll make me more prolific, but I’m learning this is the completely wrong frame.

I attempt to free up time and energy in my life: I time block, I task batch, I create systems and follow them to a tee. But I fail to consider how to spend that newly acquired time and inevitably simply choose to do more. Write more emails, tick more boxes, hustle for more hours, say yes more often, take on more things.

I feel tired writing this and even more exhausted reading it.

Sure, I’m productive as fuck but this is not what prolific looks like. Prolific is sometimes less, not more. It’s less busy-ness, less hurry, fewer tasks, fewer commitments. It’s about sourcing inspiration. It’s about the curation of ideas. It’s about distilling those ideas into a unique product or perspective. And more than anything, it’s about having the courage and discipline to release these creations into the world. Doing so is hard when I’m obsessing over how to reduce the time it takes to clear the inbox.

All this to say…I’m bringing a new energy into May. A shift in focus from productive to prolific. A greater emphasis on inputs than outputs. I’m shelving my checklists and the crushing need to optimise.

Instead, I’m choosing to fly.

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🎧 My 4 Step Prolific Process

I’m continuing to play with voice notes because yolo, why not! In this week’s auditory experiment I dive into the four stages I try to follow when I create stuff: this newsletter, startup strategies, new products, all of it.

1. Collection of inspiration [2:12]

2. Curation of ideas [4:07]

3. Distillation of perspective [5:25]

4. Delivery of the output [7:45]

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😉 If you heard my secret ask at the end of the voice note…

Let me know below!

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