The Open Loop
Okay, Actually is a podcast for people who are working hard and starting to wonder if the problem is them. It's not. In under 30 minutes, we dig into what's truly broken and figure out how to build a solution that can actually work.
In this episode, I talk about inputs: specifically all the places things come at you that you're not fully tracking, and what it actually costs you to hold those channels open in the background.
Spoiler: it's more than you think. If you've ever found something in a folder you forgot existed and felt equal parts relieved and mortified, this episode's for you.
00:00 A Hotel Room, a Balcony, and a Booby Trap
04:26 The Drip Not Flood
06:36 Open Channels Cost
08:20 Zeigarnik Effect Explained
09:57 Preventable Surprises
12:21 Scanning and Anxiety
14:13 How to Do an Input Audit
16:43 Four Audit Questions
20:40 15 Minute Challenge and Wrap Up
Four questions to ask once you have your list:
Volume, and is it constant or occasional? How much is actually coming through this channel, and is that traffic always on or only active sometimes? Constant and occasional require completely different responses.
Stakes. If something came through this channel and you missed it, what's the actual consequence? Some of your highest-volume channels are full of noise and some of your quietest are where the most important things hide.
Did I choose this, or did I accept it by default? Some of what you're carrying you never agreed to carry. You can't put all of it down, but you can put some of it down.
What am I actively avoiding on this list? There's almost always something! This is less a productivity problem than a thing worth knowing about yourself.
The audit isn't a to do list; it's a mirror.
