The Problem of
Open Loops and Uncertainty

Curing the Productivity Pandemic: Part 1

For as long as I can remember, life’s always been a whirlwind of commitments and to-dos. And to stay on top of it, I’ve got to be productive. Efficiency is the name of the game and productivity is the score that measures it. I spend lots of time optimizing my lifestyle to progress faster and further. While I’ve made some progress, it seems like a never-ending battle.

It’s not just me who has these thoughts. Over the past month, I’ve spoken with friends and the answer to the question, “How’s it going?” is always the same. “Life’s been busy”. Everyone is trying to catch up, keep up, and get ahead. But at what cost?

In a world where productivity is the key to success, why are anxiety and depression rates at their all-time high? Why do we see our friends burnout from work? Why do we feel like we’re not good enough for today’s standards?

In our desire for increased productivity, we have strayed from the true path of progress. We are suffering from a productivity pandemic that prevents us from building the life we need. And with an infection this prevalent, band-aid solutions won’t do anything.

We need a cure that will eradicate this illness once and for all. To do that, we must understand why and how the productivity pandemic originated. In the first part of the Curing the Productivity Pandemic series, I’ll share the origins of the productivity pandemic and its two variants. By the end, you’ll have the skills to diagnose this disease, for yourselves and others. Let’s dive in.

What Causes The Productivity Pandemic

I discovered the productivity pandemic after a series of catchup conversations with friends. After hearing the same “Life is busy” answer, I would ask my friends to explain. What does “busy” even mean anyway? Although they were different situations, each person shared feelings of overwhelm and a desire to be more productive. A desire to get things done. But where did these feelings come from? I had to dig deeper.

Below are my findings on the origin of the productivity pandemic. We’ll use the roadmap below to understand this complicated disease.

Commitment → Open loops → Uncertainty → Inaction → Perceived or pressured productivity → Productivity pandemic

The Commitment Curse

The Commitment Curse says that “the power of freedom comes at the price of commitment”. The ability to choose means that we have to spend time and energy on making the decision as well as following through on it. As you’ll see below, the burden of commitment can quickly spiral out of control.

Open Loops

Our days are comprised of two things: 1) Fulfilling the commitments we already have and 2) Agreeing to new ones. Let’s define these undertakings as open loops, unfinished commitments that require human resources like time, energy, money, or even mental capacity. Our desire to be productive comes from these open loops. The “commitment curse” creates a never-ending cycle of open loops we need to close. There’s always something that needs to be done.

The Veil of Uncertainty

Open loops are dangerous because they create uncertainty. There’s no guarantee on how much time, effort, and energy a commitment will take. Stack multiple open loops together and now we have the burden of managing them. This build-up can feel like stumbling through the fog, not knowing what to do or where to go next.

With too much uncertainty, procrastination takes effect. We spend more time navigating the pile of open loops instead of taking action to close them. We devote time to prioritizing the most important or urgent things. We set aside harder tasks for moments when we have more time. We accumulate a massive heap of outdated trash that needs to be cleaned up. Management drains more of our resources than action.

Paralysis By Inaction

The combination of open loops and uncertainty leads to two options.

1. Struggle through an ongoing cycle of catch-up or

2. Drop all of our commitments and start fresh.

No one wants to make this decision and as a result, we become paralyzed. And at our weakest, the productivity pandemic offers a temporary fix. I’ve been victim to it and maybe you have too.

The Two Variants of the Productivity Pandemic

When life becomes stressful, our fight-or-flight response triggers. In self-defense, we either disguise the open-loop problem or try to fight our way through it. This temporary solution alleviates short-term symptoms like stress and overwhelm but at the price of progress. Below, I’ll walk you through the mind of someone infected by the productivity pandemic. Spoiler, it’s me.

Perceived productivity

Hmm, what to do… what to do? It’s another busy day at work and there’s so much that needs to get done. First, let’s set the mood. Hmm, what playlist should I choose? With my AirPods on, I’m ready to get… wait, how did my desk get so messy? I should clean it. A clean space creates a clear mind. 5 minutes later and now I’m ready. Well actually, maybe some tea would be nice. Yeah, let’s do that. Okay, it’s time to get started for real. I have so much I need to get done today, I should make a to-do list and plan it out. Wow, look at me. I’m being so productive!

On life’s busier days, we can sometimes get a little delusional. It’s easy to start with the simpler tasks but when we reach the most important jobs, there’s friction. The perceived productivity variant tricks people into doing things that seem valuable when in reality, the payoff is minimal. Infected individuals often distract themselves with minor tasks to procrastinate the harder, critical work. When left untreated, the hard things don’t get done and no progress happens.

Some common symptoms of perceived productivity are:

• Frequent multitasking

• Starting tasks without actually finishing them

• Always being “in motion” without any action

• Spending lots of time “keeping themselves busy” instead of getting things done

Pressured productivity

3 days, 3 hotels, and over 1000 pages of research presentations. I was in Indianapolis for the INFORMS 2022 Conference. And, I wanted to do it all. I planned out each day with sessions from 8 am to 7 pm. On Day 1, it was go time. The very first session, my hand scribbled furiously across my notebook, trying to capture every word being spoken. I sprinted from room to room trying to absorb as much information as possible. By the end of the day, I collapsed into bed, my feet sore and brain spent. I learned a ton, but what did I have to show for it? Hunger, fatigue, and barely any social interaction. It was clear this approach wasn’t sustainable.

Whether due to time constraints or sheer amounts of work, we sometimes feel like we have to fly to the moon and back. This “stepping on the gas” feeling is a sign of pressured productivity, a variant where people push themselves to achieve productivity at the expense of their health. At a certain point, people break down and burn out, making life even harder than it was before.

Some common symptoms of pressured productivity are:

• Recurring stress or anxiety about getting work done

• Feeling the need to “always be on top of it”

• Constant sacrifices of physical, mental, and social health to get things done

• Frequent comparison to others

The Cure To The Productivity Pandemic

Every choice we make creates an open-loop commitment full of uncertainty. This cycle is inevitable because it’s impossible to fulfill every commitment all at once. We’ll always be committed to at least one open loop for life. But will we always have to endure uncertainty? Unfortunately, yes.

However, does the Veil of Uncertainty have to cloud our entire life? What if we could shine a light to guide us where we want to go? What could that do for us?

A step in the right direction allows us to see farther into the distance. Ten steps later, we’ve made progress. After one hundred steps, our lives could be changed for the better.

If that’s the potential, where is this proclaimed “flashlight”? If the problem is uncertainty, the solution must be clarity. We must shine a light on the issues that hide in the midst of our thoughts. The cure is Minimum Viable Clarity (MVC). It’s a simple philosophy summarized by this question.

Life doesn’t require us to be all-seeing gods yet we shouldn’t just wander around aimlessly. What we need is just enough visibility to head in the right direction. We need enough clarity to take that next step.

This could be messaging that person you’ve been meaning to connect with or creating a plan to get work done over the weekend. Remember, it just needs to give you enough clarity to start taking action.

I hope this sheds some light on the productivity pandemic that hides behind the busyness of everyday life. For the enormous impact it has on our lives, we don’t talk about it enough. If you know someone who has experienced this before, please share this knowledge with them. Tell them that life doesn’t have to be stressful and overwhelming. Let’s eradicate this disease, once and for all.

In the next parts, I’ll share how we can apply this MVC concept to the different resources that open loops consume like energy, time, and knowledge. Until then, take care of yourself.

If you liked what you read, could you share this article with a friend? https://concepts-of-life.beehiiv.com/p/the-problem-of-open-loops-and-uncertainty

As part of our community, we would love to hear your thoughts on the productivity pandemic. Is this something you’ve experienced before? What will you do now that you know about the productivity pandemic? Feel free to share your story in the comments.

Discover The Productivity Pandemic in Life

• Want to learn more about open loops? Check out David Allen’s book, Getting Things Done for his technique on making progress.

• One of the most common forms of perceived productivity is the office workplace. How many people do you think are productive during the entire 8-hour day? This article by Glamour has the answers!

• Pressured productivity can also lead to a work mentality known as quiet quitting. Find out what that means here.

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