Productivity in knowledge work evolved from the industrial age's tangible output measurements to the mid-20th century's challenge of defining productivity in brain-intensive work. Initially, productivity was tied to visible activity, acting as a proxy for useful effort. The advent of technology in the 20th century transformed productivity measures, with digital tools enabling continuous activity display and work volume expansion. This led to a rise in what was termed pseudo-productivity, where the emphasis was on constant visible activity rather than actual meaningful output. The pandemic further highlighted the shortcomings of this approach to productivity in knowledge work.