There are many reasons folks are feeling drained these days — poor sleep, health issues, financial stress, job-related burnout and exposure to so many distressing events in the news, among others. But there’s one smaller, more insidious factor that may be weighing you down more than you realize: all of your “open loops.”
If you’re not familiar with the term, open loops refer to a type of mental clutter made up of various unfinished tasks and other loose ends. Think: phone calls you haven’t returned, emails or texts you haven’t replied to, appointments you’ve been putting off, conversations you’ve been avoiding, packages you need to send back, subscriptions you need to cancel or other pending items on your to-do list.
All of these open loops occupy space in your brain, nagging at you and draining you of your energy. This may be explained by something called the Zeigarnik Effect, named after psychologist Bluma Zeigarnik, which says that humans have a tendency to remember uncompleted tasks much better than completed ones. This makes sense as it helps us get things done, health podcaster Liz Moody explained on a recent episode of the “Liz Moody Podcast.”
When we finish a task, “we close the loop in our brains that’s keeping track of the important aspects of that task that we need to remember in order to complete it successfully,” she said in the episode.
But when the loops are left open, it “creates a state of heightened mental tension that acts like a mental placeholder, keeping whatever task is at play active in our working memory,” Moody continued. “If we have dozens of unfinished tasks just piling up, we are just piling on that tension. We are upping our cognitive load and we are leading to this huge state of mental exhaustion.”
Not only that, certain unfinished tasks can also create shame that affects our self-esteem. For example, you might generally think of yourself as a good friend, but you’ve been avoiding reaching out to someone important in your life, said psychologist Lee Chambers, founder of Male Allies UK.
“You now see yourself as a bad friend, and that might be more draining than the task itself,” he told HuffPost.
We asked experts for advice on how to do a better job of closing loops so we can regain some clarity, focus, energy and a sense of agency over our lives. Read on for their tips:
Write them down.
Start with a brain dump: Make a list of all the open loops swirling around in your mind.
“Just having them in my notebook means I have more space, as I’m not juggling them all in my head,” Chambers said. “Then I can write next to them: What’s the first action I should take to start closing? And by writing the action, I’m committing to doing something.”
Break down bigger tasks into smaller steps.
Larger tasks or projects that can’t be completed in one sitting have a way of lingering on your to-do list for far too long. This can “feel like a perpetual open loop that you’re always ‘working on,’” productivity expert and author Grace Marshall told HuffPost.
So instead of putting “finish decluttering kitchen” on your to-do list, it may be helpful to just jot down one bite-sized step like “organize spice rack.”
“Writing your next action gives you a clear route to closing a loop,” Marshall said. “Yes, there may be other loops after that. But at least you’re closing loops and making progress.”
Finish what you start.
“As much as possible, when you start a task, finish it,” Moody suggested in the podcast episode. “When you start folding laundry, finish folding laundry. Don’t get up from an email until you hit that send button.”
But when that’s not doable, try the five-minute rule.
Getting started on an unpleasant task is more daunting if we think it’s going to take a long time or we don’t know how long it’s going to take. This leads to avoidance and procrastination, Los Angeles clinical psychologist Ryan Howes told HuffPost. That’s where the five-minute rule comes in: Commit to doing the un-fun thing for just five minutes to build some momentum.
“Many people use this mind game on themselves, and say, ‘I’ll just work out, return emails, fold laundry, clean the bathroom for the next five minutes, and then I’ll stop for today,’” said Howes, author of the “Mental Health Journal for Men.”
“If this is enough to get them started, they often find the task isn’t as difficult or endless as they feared, and they’ll keep pushing to the end. Even if you do stop after five minutes, that’s a small amount of progress you did make today.”
Your “open loops” — the incomplete tasks in your brain — could be weighing you down.
Turn off notifications.
All of those pings and popups from your phone and computer create constant interruptions that divert your attention and disrupt your flow. When you stop what you’re doing to read a new email or check a Slack notification, you’re less likely to finish the task at hand.
“Turning off notifications, or going onto Do Not Disturb, can be a game changer, because it allows you to focus on closing the loop, rather than have your attention hijacked by every new incoming thing — pulling your attention towards opening loops rather than closing them,” Marshall said.
Moody said she sets aside specific times throughout the day to check her email and Slack.
“Then I don’t feel as anxious about missing the notifications popping up because I know I already have a plan to tackle it,” she said in the episode.
Designate a “life admin” day.
Choose a day once a week or so to check a bunch of life admin tasks off your list — things like making the doctor’s appointment, paying a bill, returning something you ordered online or calling the cable company. So maybe every Friday afternoon, you set aside a chunk of time to take care of some of these annoying but necessary duties.
“You’ll actually get an immediate closed loop effect by just making a plan for one of these days,” Moody said in the episode. “And then when you have the day, you’re going to get more benefits from all the loops you’re going to close.”
Or take a when/then approach.
In other words, when X happens, then I will do Y. This reassures your brain you have a plan for tackling the open loop.
“We can park it until then. It helps to create a pause — and distance — and gives a level of certainty in setting that ‘when,’ which can be a specific date, or a set of circumstances,” Marshall said.
For example, “When I finish this assignment, then I will spend 20 minutes answering emails.”
Hype yourself up with a reward.
Give yourself something desirable to look forward to when you complete an unfinished task.
“So you really need to finish your taxes and call grandma, but the season finale of your favorite show just dropped? Get going on your taxes and phone call, and make your show the reward for successfully finishing these ‘should’ tasks,” Howes said. “And I promise you, you’ll enjoy the show much more if these loops are closed first.”
Give yourself permission to delete some loops.
These days, many of us have more open loops than we can ever realistically close. If your list is feeling overwhelming, it’s OK to cancel, rather than close, some of them to lighten your load.
“Close down all those tabs and start with a fresh browser. Archive last year’s emails. Take things off your to-do list that are no longer worth doing,” Marshall said.
“Put the to-be-read pile of books that are toppling over on your nightstand back on the bookshelf. You can pick it back up again and reopen the loop when you’re ready — if ever — rather than have a perpetual open loop hanging over you.”
Change your self-talk.
“Some people have spent so long trying to catch up on their open loops, they believe that’s just who they are: someone who is always behind and playing catch-up,” Howes said.
For folks who fall into this category, it can be helpful to create a new narrative, he explained. So instead of telling yourself, “I’m a procrastinator who’s always putting out fires,” try out a mantra like, “I love tackling my shoulds so I can get back to what I want to do.”
“[This] can help adjust efforts and motivation to get through the pain quickly so you can enjoy everything else.” Howes said.
Oscar Wong via Getty Images
Struggling with your “open loops” could be a sign of a bigger issue.
Having too many open loops could be a sign of a larger issue.
It’s important to mention that, in some cases, difficulty closing loops isn’t just a matter of run-of-the-mill procrastination that can be resolved by a simple shift in approach or mindset. Sometimes there are underlying factors getting in your way.
“Most obviously, people with ADHD often report having way too many tabs open and so many half-finished projects they feel overwhelmed,” Howes said. “Looking into ADHD assessments and treatment may be helpful for people who feel like their loops are chronically open and never seem to close.”
Challenges with energy and motivation can also be symptoms of depression, anxiety, OCD and other mental health conditions, Howes noted.
“If the tricks and tips mentioned above don’t seem to make a difference in your ability to close loops, you might want to reach out to a therapist to see if something else is going on,” he said. “With some therapy, medication, or other intervention, you may find that closing loops isn’t as difficult as it seemed.”
Lastly, know that having some open loops is just a fact of life.
As Chambers said, “Open loops are not the enemy, they are part of being human.” Even when we close one batch, new ones are inevitably going to pop up again and again and again.
Also, it’s OK to purposely leave some loops open to create boundaries around your time and energy. We don’t have to be available constantly or rush to take care of everything that demands our attention.
“If we are holding a loop open with intention, it can often be beneficial, allowing us to hold that space,” Chambers said. “But it is important we review this often enough to notice if we have accumulated too many or are becoming overloaded.”
Sometimes, holding back and not immediately springing into action is the work.
“Telling yourself that waiting is the work — that pausing or creating space is just as productive, sometimes more, as getting things done — can help us to realize that maybe this isn’t an open loop we need to close,” said Marshall. “Rather, it’s one that we can hold and allow to unfold.”
The original version of this story was published on HuffPost at an earlier date.
