Feedback Loops — Systems Theory

Shorter feedback loops means more iterations, and it’s the number of iterations, not the number of hours, that drives learning. - Naval Ravikant

Feedback loops happen when the outputs of a system are routed to the inputs. The system is then said to feed back into itself.

Feedback loops are a concept in systems theory but I first internalized this through agile methodology in software development. Depending on the company, teams have a 7 or 14 day sprint cycle. A sprint cycle is one iteration in which we plan what we are building, implement it, then review our performance and product feedback. We then repeat that process all over again using the feedback we acquired from the previous cycles.

I use this mental model anytime I’m building something or learning a new skill. I used it when creating my learning plan for writing. I wanted to focus on improvement and I knew that I had to keep the feedback loop tight, which is why I now write everyday.

The shorter the feedback loop, the more feedback I get, meaning I’m able to adjust my product or behavior more quickly.