Introduction
Human productivity has exploded over the last three centuries.
Machines help us everywhere: producing, moving, farming, building. In France, productivity even multiplied by several dozen times over two centuries.
So here's an uncomfortable question: why try to become "even more productive" individually, when we could already use the productivity gains we've accumulated collectively to work less?
Why we don't work less despite progress
If almost nobody "gets" those productivity gains back as free time, it's often for a simple reason: instead of working less, we chose to consume more.
A steak and fries once in a while is fine.
But do you need strawberries in winter, flying to the other side of the world every year, or buying a bigger house than you need "just in case"?
Consuming more mechanically means spending more, which means working more.
A purchase is not only a price. It is also a chunk of life converted into money.
Before a big expense, a useful question is: how much work does this expense "force" you to do, and is the trade really worth it?
Separate real needs from default pressure
The problem is that society constantly pushes you toward "more."
Advertising, social comparison, status, career... everything pulls in the same direction, without giving you time to check whether it matches your real needs.
Once basic needs are covered, many essential things cannot be bought: belonging, relationships, quality of life, fulfillment, health, time.
And the ultimate trap is working so much to fund more consumption... that you no longer have time to enjoy what actually makes you happy.
Reconcile your goals with your company's goals
Your goal may be to work less.
A company's goal, by definition, is to maximize performance, which often means asking for more output, often more hours, sometimes more mental availability.
In that context, improving your methods helps, but it's not the only lever. The first step, for those who can, is clarifying what "enough" is.
What salary is enough for you to live well? Not "the maximum possible," but "enough" to feel secure.
The answer varies from person to person, but asking the question changes how you make trade-offs.
This naturally extends the question asked in what productivity is really for: becoming more productive should not make you work more, but free time for what matters.
Three practical ways to work less (when possible)
1) Chosen part-time
Moving to a 4-day week (or another format) can be a very rational trade-off if you've already reached your "enough" level.
A bonus people often underestimate: a day off can reduce some expenses (do it yourself, cook, organize, repair), which reinforces the "enough" effect.
2) Choose a conscious career path
Climbing the ladder can bring more money and sometimes more interesting work, but also more pressure, more mental load, more hours.
The point is not to refuse on principle. It's to decide consciously: do you accept the trade-offs, or have you already reached your "enough"?
3) For independent workers, set a voluntary cap
If you're a freelancer, self-employed, or business owner, you can sometimes cap your workload and refuse the surplus.
It's the opposite of the usual reflex, but it fits the core idea: convert part of the gains into free time rather than endless growth.
Conclusion
Society praises "more."
You can praise enough.
And if you still want to improve your productivity, do it as a lever in service of a bigger goal, not as a race. That's also what the progress paradox shows: tools and progress do not automatically free you. It depends on how you use them, and what you choose to aim for.