Closing the loop

Published on January 12, 2026 6:37 AM GMTSometimes you begin a conversation, or announce a project, or otherwise start something. What goes up must come down[1] and just so most things that get started should get finished. It's like starting a parenthesis, every open ( should be paired with a matching ). Some such things are begun by other people, but still need you to finish them."Finish the thing" often includes "tell people you've finished." I think of the tell people part as "closing the loop." Closing the loop is a surprisingly useful part of doing things when working in groups.The personal benefit in closing the loop is primarily in having one less thing to track as a dangling "should I do something about that?" I try to maintain a list of all the projects or tasks I've undertaking, sorted neatly by topic and priority but at least written down and not lost. When for whatever reason my ability to maintain that list in written form gets disrupted, I start tracking it in my head and start getting worried I'll forget something. My understanding is lots of other people do it in their heads most of the time, and are often worried they're forgetting something.The benefit to others is that they know the task got done. If they asked you to do it, plausibly it's still hanging around on their todo list to check and see if the thing got done. Why would they do that instead of just trusting you to finish the task in a timely and effective manner? Experience Because people commonly get busy or distracted, and the task winds up not getting finished. Actively telling them 'yep, job done' is helpful. Even saying 'https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/bkfgTSHhm3mqxgTmw/loudly-give-up-don-t-quietly-fade

https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/uBzDetYKD5LsXdCPn/closing-the-loop