The pursuit of a productivity panacea stunts its growth. A new breed of technocrats has emerged in recent years. Their commodity is productivity, specifically “fixing” productivity with technology. While some cases respond well to a technological solution, others don't. Understanding which is which will avoid frustration. Framing the subject I believe there are two types of productive work: Churning and exploratory. Churning productivity is for workloads with a concrete end goal: An issue that needs fixing, the reminders you need to complete today, or the work mail inbox you want to clear....