Open Loops. Close Them.

Your brain keeps every unresolved situation active until it closes. Open loops compete for attention, fill gaps with worst-case scenarios and degrade sleep and focus.

What To Do
  • If it takes under two minutes — do it now.
  • Write it down with a specific next action and time — not "deal with X" but "call X on Thursday." Vague intentions do not satisfy the brain.
  • Separate fact from fiction — ask what actually happened, stripped of interpretation.
When There Is No Next Action
  • Write it down as unresolvable — explicitly labelling it stops the brain searching for a solution that does not exist.
  • Give it a time-box — "I will think about this on Sunday." Outside that window, redirect.
  • This is not forgetting. It is a deliberate decision to stop.

PS. The brain does not need the loop resolved. It needs it registered.