If you’re like most people - you’ve got so much on your plate, that you are walking around with things that are undone. You probably could give me a laundry list if I asked: Emails that are unanswered, people you need to speak with, tasks you need to knock out.
Most try to fit these in the cracks of their day - squeezing in a few quick elements between meetings, or maybe even waiting until the evening when the day is long over, to try to crank some of these things out.
If you want to change your working life…don’t just fit them in.
Block time to just “close your loops.”
Do it when your energy is high, don’t allow anything to distract you - and push through it. Make it a regular feature on your calendar. Perhaps every Thursday you block 90 minutes to just close loops before your week ends.
Close your loops, and clear your head.
People function best when they don’t have tasks hanging over their head, and can focus fully on present and plan for the future. Don’t be continually dragged into the open loops of your professional life - they’ll keep you looking backward. Put aside time regularly, knock them out, and create the mental space to blaze ahead.
Taking time to close open loops is such an important steps for a life of clarity. The mental space taken by these open loops deplete our cognitive ability. Trying to keep these open lops in mind, close our minds.