Avoid Illusory progress / psychological productivity - with diverse scenarios
Below is a broader framework for the phenomenon you identified. I would call the central phenomenon illusory progress or psychological productivity : engaging in activities that provide the experience of progress without producing proportionate movement toward the underlying objective. Importantly, this is not necessarily laziness, stupidity, or conscious self-deception . Often the person is working hard. The problem is that the work is poorly connected to the outcome. The Psychology of Illusory Progress Why intelligent, hardworking adults spend enormous amounts of time doing things that feel productive but don't materially improve their lives 1. The fundamental distinction: activity is not progress People routinely make an implicit assumption: If I am spending significant time and effort on something related to my goal, I must be progressing toward it. That assumption is false. A person can spend: 1,000 hours studying and remain poorly prepared 500 hours researching businesses ...
