Bias to Output
Prototyping isn't physics.
When I read the book Designing Your Life by Bill Burnett and Dave Evans five years ago, I took to heart the idea of bias to action. Bill and Dave's premise was straightforward: the good life isn't the result of careful planning and execution, but a process of prototyping and testing. Bias to action is the central behavioral trait in prototyping. Don't think about doing stuff. Just DO stuff.
This is fantastic advice and it has served me well for years. However, with the benefit of experience and a little more familiarity with my own particular failings, I want to add a further clarification to the phrase. I've learned that prototyping isn't physics. Not every action has a reaction. But reactions are what matter. Reactions give you feedback and feedback is what moves prototyping forward.
An example of action without reaction, in my life, is going to the gym. It is a good thing, a necessary thing, but it will leave no impact on anyone but me. An example of the opposite, action with reaction, could be making a pot of coffee for my roommates in the morning. This action necessarily involves other people, they can reject my coffee or they can accept it. I'll be calling this "output" for the rest of this article. When the action that you're taking opens up an opportunity for acceptance or rejection from another person, you're producing output. Bias to output means structuring your life so that you are producing output quickly.
The most common way that I fail to move forward is by reversing the order of my priorities. When I was writing down goals for my literary life, I wrote the following:
Research MFA Programs
Pitch Magazines
Post on Substack
Viewing this list through the framework of bias to output, I've put all my "action without reaction" at the top. "Research MFA Programs," that's a precursor to a precursor to output. After the research, I would apply. After applying, I may or may not get accepted. After getting accepted, then I would finally start outputting. "Pitch Magazines," while this is good in theory, often editors don't have time to respond to pitches. This is action that puts me in a position to receive a reaction. But due to the logistical constraints of responding to thousands of inquiries, I actually won't get many reactions.
Posting on Substack is the action that I can take that guarantees I will receive reactions to my writing. It's pure output. I tell myself that what I care about is writing and thinking clearly. If that is true, why would I waste time doing anything except putting my writing into the hands of other people? Theory and planning can't take me where I'm going. I need to generate work and put it in a position to receive reactions.
The distinction between bias to action and bias to output is likely already addressed in Designing Your Life. I haven't picked it up in a few years and can't find my copy to verify. Yet, for me, the pull to inner life is so strong that I need to make this distinction. Action without reaction is easy. It seems like I'm moving forward, it feels good. But spinning your tires while your car is suspended won't get you anywhere. The rubber has to meet the road.