Using Biometric Sensors to Measure Productivity

Abstract

If we want to be productive, it would be great if we could track productivity in some way, such that it is possible to determine what factors help and hinder productivity. Biometric sensors may be helpful for such productivity tracking. But what does being productive mean? A simplistic notion of productivity is being able to pay attention without getting distracted. Indeed, to be productive in simple tasks such as filling out routine forms, one needs to carefully monitor one’s goals and ensure not to get distracted. On the other hand, for more complex tasks such as developing a new software architecture or implementing a complex function, one also needs creativity and outside-the- box thinking, which is incompatible with a singular focus. In other words, aspects of productivity such as creativity depend not on concentration but on its opposite: mind- wandering [1], which is a process of task-unrelated thinking. How would that work? Mind-wandering, when it involves thinking about other things while you are engaged in a task such as writing a computer program can help you to access new information that brings an alternative perspective on what you are doing. This means that when the contents of mind-wandering are monitored and are not too engrossing, it can in fact be very useful. Moreover, this also means that a singular focus does not always indicate productivity because, for example, being very concentrated on a single stupid task such as writing the same line of code over and over again is not very productive.