Plus, the worker responsible for driving the tractor in a straight line for hours on end was able to focus on other, more productive tasks on the farm.
But incremental innovations and designs are well within reach.Automation will claim ever more productive tasks, including, perhaps, in skilled professions accustomed to being spared the disruptive impacts of technological change.
Fully one-third of drivers say the amount of time they spend sitting in the car is "very frustrating," and more than half say they would rather spend time doing more productive tasks than driving.
And not only is the well water clean, women can spend their extra four hours on more productive tasks, like earning money or growing nutritious food.
While Californians could surely put this technology to a much needed use, I hope for the sake of the families in countries like Ethiopia -- that the WarkaWater towers provide them with safe, clean water, thereby saving lives and affording them opportunities to stave off the cycles of poverty, and enable them precious time for more productive tasks.
Around 6,000 watermills were built to grind flour, freeing up labour for other more productive agricultural tasks.
Around 6,000 watermills of varying power and efficiency had been built in order to grind flour, freeing up peasant labour for other more productive agricultural tasks.
Our existing approach to employee engagement only produces brick-layers: people who perform tasks for money; people who may briefly become more productive in these tasks via one-off awards, bonuses and other motivations (whose positive effects fade as quickly as sugar highs); and people who feel stuck in unsatisfying, dead-end jobs when they truly desire careers.
In this case, apprentices spend only one day per week in vocational school, spend more time in productive activities and are initially more productive in skilled tasks.
Also, restricting the problem space by narrowing options, preselecting data, or offloading more routine parts of the task can help learners focus resources on the aspects of the task more productive for learning.
