Tie Your Knots

Messy hair, untied shoes, shirt-tail flapping in the breeze—no judgment, but it doesn’t exactly scream focus or efficiency. I had my hair cut last week, my shirt stays tucked, and I stopped leaving my shoes untied sometime around 16. (Maybe that was the 80s version of “pants on the ground.”) These days, I double-knot.

Here’s the point: I don’t like loose ends. They mess with me. Sure, they look sloppy—but more importantly, they quietly drain energy and trip me up. I’m not talking about the big stuff—family time, key projects, client calls. I’m talking about the little nagging things that clutter your mind while you’re trying to focus on what matters.

Picture walking the dog with your laces untied. You’ll finish the walk, probably without incident. But it bugs you. And under the wrong conditions, it could trip you up. That’s how loose ends work—they don’t stop you, but they slow you down, distract you, and steal a little piece of your day.

I had a file on my desk for two months—a call to a service provider. Not urgent, not critical, but helpful. Every day it sat there, whispering: “I’m still here. Not a priority, but I’m still a thorn.” Then another admin task joined it. Same whisper. Louder. Soon, I had four files whispering at me.

Eventually, I’d had enough. I opened Outlook, blocked an hour the following week, and committed to clearing the pile. The whispering stopped. A week later, I made the calls—15 minutes, done. But those two months? That file stole a sliver of my focus every single day. It didn’t need to.

Loose ends don’t just clutter your desk—they clutter your mind. They waste valuable real estate in your headspace that should be reserved for creativity, clarity, and momentum. They sap energy, shift attitude, and steal time. So, tie them up. If it’s quick, do it now. If not, schedule it. Then show up, knock it out, and move on.

I don’t like untied laces. So now I double-knot. That’s part of the will to prepare to win—but we’ll save that for another Time Out.