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_{Exploring open loops, organizational environments, and being pushed}

Happy Thursday and Happy Thanksgiving! Thanks for reading Intentional Dollar — where we look at old money ideas through a new perspective.

What’s inside?

• One idea to experiment with

• Two quotes from others

• Three questions to dig deeper

• Four lines of poetry for the point

Disclaimer: This is not investment advice. These weekly posts represent my simple thoughts, a few quotes, and some questions — for educational purposes only.

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_{One idea to experiment with:}

Open Loops:

David Allen said, “Anything that does not belong where it is, the way it is, is an ‘open loop,’ which will be pulling on your attention.”

In his productivity classic, Getting Things Done, Allen talks about open loops: incomplete commitments that live somewhere in your mind, quietly bleeding out energy. They often resurface as whack-a-mole distractions, and as long as they remain open, consume your brain’s finite RAM.

Each new task or to-do piles on top of the existing mound, forming a shapeless blob of mental weight that can drag you down into motionless angst.

So you procrastinate. You miss deadlines, responses, goals. You feel stressed and drained by the army of nagging tasks floating in your head.

Allen offers an ironclad remedy through a system to capture, organize, and effectively execute the barrage of to-dos that life, and each new day, throws at you.

But the same principle works just as well for money.

When it comes to our dollars, we’re often even more reluctant to act. Money tasks usually require outside input, paperwork, timing, or insight from hours of research. The stakes feel high. And just like open loops in productivity, financial tasks can linger unaddressed, hidden in our mine for years, while “status quo” remains just alright.

You might not notice a missing retirement account or beneficiary in your 20s or 30s, but by 60, those undone tasks could be disastrous.

Here’s the core of Allen’s approach:

1. Capture: Record every loose end, every open loop, financial or otherwise. Make an “in tray” list for all open loops on paper or through a notes app.

2. Organize: Sort your in tray into lists, buckets, or calendars. If it takes less than 2 minutes, do it now.

3. Define the next action: For every item, figure out the very next physical step you can take. Reduce or get creative to produce next actions.

4. Execute: systematically review the lists and work through the tangible next action steps.

Some example open loops that might be circling your mind:

• Update the net worth template

• Call the accountant

• Finish year end tax loss harvesting

• Research that new investment strategy

• Send that project-status email

• Hang that picture that’s been collecting dust in the corner for months

• Open the 529 account

• Change your beneficiary

• Update your will

• Write that block of code

• Order new air filters

• Fix the light fixture

Whenever a task is vague, multi-step, or complicated, ask yourself: what’s the next step I can take right now to move this forward?

• Can I call, email, or text someone?

• Can I schedule something on the calendar?

• Can I research, read, or write a bit?

Close your open loops and you’ll unlock a new level of mental clarity and monetary peace.

_{Two quotes on organizational environments:}

Status quo in organizations is often persistent because the designers of that system control the ultimate direction. Going down the beaten path is easier than losing short-term efficiency preparing a new direction.

_{Three questions on being pushed:}

Our stated and believed capacity is nearly always well below the levels we could operate if we had an effective push.

1. How much extra capacity could I have if I were pushed harder?

2. Who can I employ to help this productive pushing?

3. What if I increased the demands on myself, would I need to reengineer my systems?

Which question stuck with you? Questions like these are spotlights for the mind. Reply to this email and let me know which one shined light on a previously dark cave.

_{Four lines of poetry for the point:}

Contact Me:

Content ideas, questions? Reply to this email or reach out to me at [email protected]

Disclaimer: This is not investment advice. These weekly posts represent my simple thoughts, a few quotes, and some questions — for educational purposes only.

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