At work and at home I see this pattern of life emerging. To over generalize greatly, there are 2 kinds of people in the world. The OpenLoop thinkers who consider themselves efficient in that they only do what they need to in order to get what they want. And the closed loop thinkers who would consider themselves responsible and they do more than they need to for the greater good. The open looper sees the immediate result and upon achieving the desired result, wanders off to find something else of interest. The closed looper sees not only the result, but the effect on others, the need to repeat the result again in the future and everything along the way to that result that could be improved.
The term. GTD or "Getting Things Done uses the terminology of "closing loops" and so does practically everyone else who writes on productivity. The idea is that a task truly isn't complete until you have "closed the loop" You may have activity, but you haven't returned your environment to an ordered state until you close the loop. If you think like an engineer, you understand that closing the loop on an electrical circuite allows power to flow and achieve work. The open loop folks are leaving bits and pieces disconnected in their environment. Pieces that affect others and have an adverse effect on their productivity.
Lets grab some household stereotypical irritations. "Leaving the lid off the toothpaste", "putting an empty jug of milk back in the fridge","forgetting to take out the garbage", "leaving the toilet seat up", "not picking up laundry and putting it in the clothes hamper". All of these examples are part of a cycle that repeats, and which in most cases involves other people. Failure to complete these actions creates additional work for others, creates a cluttered, smelly and unprepared environment. You get it but I'll follow one of these threads anyways; "Not picking up laundry and putting it in the clothes hamper;
- creates a source of odor on the bedroom floor which detracts from the enjoyment of that room.
- creates a tripping hazard In the dark,
- prevents the hamper full of clothes from being simply moved to the laundry area,
- detracts from the tidyness and order of a space that is supposed to be restful.
Wearing the clothes is the immediate need. (Can't go to work with nothing on.) After that need is met and the clothes have been worn, they are exchanged for nighttime attire. At the point they are being removed, those clothes are in the hands of someone who could;
A - put them in the laundry hamper - Closing the Loop
B - drop them on the floor - Not closing the loop.
Option B doesn't really save any energy (eventually they have to go in the hamper), and as we see above it actually presents 3 other costs. An open loop thinker tends to focus on their next immediate want/need/activity. The idea that their actions cause others inconvenience is either ignored, or simply not recognized. The concept that the clothes can't be worn until they are washed and returned to the dresser also escapes the open loop thinker. And yet they often choose option B.
If the system being considered is the system by which clean laundry is made available, then thinking about the clothes travelling through a cycle makes closed loop thinking natural. If we were to extend this to the plumbing in your house, consider what happens when you notice moisture or hear a faint dripping and realize that a pipe broke. Life as you know it stops and you get that fixed because it is going to cost thousands of dollars later if you don't fix it now. The financial pressure (for those who get it) forces closed loop thinking and a timely response (which might explain the rates plumbers can charge...
Open loop thinking for the same scenario might look like this; Water comes in, is heated, travels through pipes, leaks under the cabinets, rots the floor, causes the collapse of some plaster board which is patched and painted over. The house smells funny, things don't seem level but that doesn't stop the cable vision or access to the snack cupboard so who cares. Silverfish invade the house but they don't use the TV or eat the snack food so they are tolerated. Heating bills seem a little higher. Monthly air freshener and bug spray expenses seem higher. The fridge disappears through a hole in the floor and lands on the freezer. WOW how did this ever happen to us. We are so unfortunate to suffer this tragedy. The insurance guy says there are 10s of 1000s of dollars damage. Why me God?
So needless to say I'm a fan of closed loop thinking. Of putting things back the way they were in preparation for the next "cycle" or the next time they are required. The examples of this in my home life and in my work life are countless. Let me just say in closing as I see berets on the floor and pieces of tape on the couch bearing my daughter's name that three year old girls are not in any way closed loop thinkers. Fortunately growing older enables us to see the consequences of our choices and affords us the opportunity to think and act in closed loops.
Cheers,
Greg.
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