How Teams Confuse Activity With Progress
Most teams aren’t struggling because they’re lazy or unmotivated.
They’re struggling because they’re busy.
Calendars are full. Dashboards are active. Content is shipping. Meetings keep happening.
And yet the work feels flatter, safer, and less effective than it should.
This is motion without progress.
It isn’t the absence of effort.
It’s effort that doesn’t move anything forward.
And once a team gets stuck here, the work slowly loses clarity, creativity, and impact.
That’s why I work with themes as a north star.
Once the mission and values are clear, the theme becomes the crucible we test everything against. If an action doesn’t make sense through that lens, it doesn’t ship. If it aligns, it gets energy and focus.
A clear theme cuts noise and acts like a divining rod—showing us where to dig and where to stop.
What Is Busywork?
Busywork is any task that looks productive but doesn’t meaningfully change outcomes.
It’s motion without progress.
It often shows up as:
Content published because “we need to stay active,” not because it serves a clear purpose
Meetings that produce more meetings, with the real work starting after 5 PM
Reports that don’t inform decisions, only dashboards no one knows how to use
Campaigns optimized for metrics no one can clearly explain or defend
A hastily written mass email sent because it’s on the editorial calendar
An appeal so uninspiring the staff themselves wouldn’t give to it
None of these things are inherently bad. Most of them exist for good reasons.
The problem is when they become substitutes for thinking.
When activity replaces clarity, teams stop asking harder—and more important—questions:
Who is this actually for?
What decision does this support?
What would change if we didn’t do this?
When those questions disappear, work keeps moving—but nothing moves forward.
Why Teams Fall Into the Trap
Motion feels safe.
It lowers anxiety by giving people something to do. It creates visible proof of effort. It protects teams from the discomfort of uncertainty, disagreement, and hard decisions.
Clarity, on the other hand, requires choices.
And choices carry risk.
It’s easier to ship another post than to decide what actually matters.
It’s easier to schedule another meeting than to name the real constraint.
It’s easier to measure output than to evaluate effectiveness.
Over time, motion gets rewarded.
Thinking becomes optional.
The Cost No One Talks About
The real cost of busywork isn’t inefficiency.
It’s erosion.
Creative teams disengage.
Makers stop caring about quality.
Marketing turns into noise instead of signal.
Trust, both internally and externally will slowly fade.
Good work doesn’t disappear overnight.
It gets squeezed out by urgency, process, and constant motion that looks productive but isn’t.
Activity vs. Effectiveness
Being busy and being effective are not the same thing.
Effectiveness isn’t about doing more. It’s about doing the right things with intention, and having the discipline to stop doing what doesn’t matter.
A simple diagnostic question helps reveal the difference:
If this disappeared tomorrow, would anything meaningful change?
If the answer is no, you’re likely looking at busywork.
What Actually Moves Work Forward
The opposite of busywork isn’t rest.
It’s coherence.
Coherence happens when:
Decisions align with purpose
Work connects instead of fragments
Communication reflects real priorities
Fewer things are done, but done with care
Teams that value coherence don’t move faster at first.
They move clearer.
And clarity compounds.
Where to Start
You don’t fix busywork by adding another system or tool.
You fix it by creating space for better thinking.
Start by asking:
What are we doing out of habit?
What are we afraid to stop?
Where has motion replaced meaning?
These questions are uncomfortable and that’s the point.
This post expands on ideas discussed in the Portnoy Media Lab Podcast. Episode 1 explores this topic in more depth through conversation and reflection.
