Addy Osmani recently shared something that caught my attention: "Change what you're doing, to change where you're going". He followed it with a hard-to-ignore truth: we want a different career trajectory, we want to ship something meaningful, we want growth, yet we keep repeating the same days.

That idea sounds obvious until you sit with it. If your calendar, evenings, and attention look the same as last month, your outcomes will probably look the same next quarter too. As Addy put it, your current actions are a near-perfect predictor of your future outcomes. If you want a different destination, you have to change the route.

In this post, I want to expand on what Addy wrote and turn it into something you can actually apply: how to spot your loops, pick the highest-leverage change, and build a system that makes progress feel inevitable.

The productivity loop: busy that goes nowhere

Addy called out something many of us have felt but rarely name: loops can feel productive. You are active. You are responsive. You are doing things. But activity is not progress.

"The question isn't 'Am I working hard?' - it's 'Am I working on the right things, in the right way, to get where I actually want to go?'"

I think this is the core reframe. Many careers stall not because people are lazy, but because they are over-invested in motion that is easy to justify:

Inbox zero
Another meeting to "align"
Tweaking a doc for polish instead of shipping a draft
Learning one more tool instead of using the one you already know
Waiting for perfect clarity before taking the first step

These are comforting because they provide short-term certainty. You can always explain them to yourself and to others. But they often fail the treadmill test: they burn energy without moving you forward.

Identify your loop with a one-week reality check

Addy suggested a deceptively simple exercise: track how you actually spend your time for a week, not how you think you spend it.

The reason this works is that vague self-assessments lie. A real log does not.

Here is a practical approach:

Step 1: Capture the facts (10 seconds per entry)

For 5 business days, jot down what you did in 30-60 minute blocks. Keep it low effort. Your goal is honesty, not a perfect time study.

Step 2: Label each block

Use three labels:

Progress: directly advances a defined goal
Maintenance: necessary to keep things running
Distraction: neither progress nor maintenance

Step 3: Look for the gap

Addy wrote: "Look at the gap between your stated goals and your daily actions. That gap is your loop." When you see it in black and white, it gets hard to unsee.

If you say you want to "become a tech lead" but spend zero time on mentoring, design reviews, or writing clear proposals, the loop is not mysterious. It is simply the default.

Get specific about the destination (vague goals create vague effort)

Addy nailed a common failure mode: vague goals produce vague effort. "I want to grow my career" is a wish. A target is something you can reverse-engineer.

Clear destinations make it obvious which behaviors are dead weight.

Try this template:

In 12-18 months, I want to be in role or level: __________
I will know I am there because: __________ (metrics, scope, impact)
The proof artifacts will be: __________ (launches, portfolio, case studies, leadership examples)

Then reverse-engineer into weekly actions. If the destination requires you to demonstrate leadership, your weeks need evidence of leadership, not just more individual output.

A small but powerful question: "What would make this week unmistakably aligned with my destination?" If you cannot answer, the destination is still fuzzy.

Change one behavior at a time (and choose the highest leverage one)

Addy warned against the full life overhaul. Most people can sprint for two weeks. Systems are built for month three.

So pick one behavior that creates leverage. Leverage means it improves multiple outcomes at once.

Examples of high-leverage behavior changes:

If you overthink: "Prototype on day one." (Addy's example for engineers)
If you hide in execution: "Write a one-page plan before building." (forces clarity and alignment)
If you are always reactive: "Protect two 90-minute deep work blocks." (creates consistent output)
If your work is invisible: "Share one weekly update that shows impact." (creates narrative and trust)

To select the best one, ask:

If I did only this for 8 weeks, what would noticeably change?
What is the smallest version I could start tomorrow?
What would my future self thank me for?

Make the new behavior the path of least resistance

This is where Addy shifts from motivation to systems thinking: willpower is finite, so redesign the environment.

"The best behavior changes don't require you to be a better person - they require a better system."

A few practical ways to make the right behavior easier:

Add friction to the old loop

Move distracting apps off your home screen
Turn meetings into 25/50 minute defaults
Add a rule: "No Slack before first deep work block"

Remove friction from the new loop

Open the draft before you open chat (Addy's writing example)
Keep a standing "prototype sandbox" repo ready
Create a checklist that makes "good enough" explicit

Use rules to prevent over-engineering

Addy suggested a simple constraint: no design that takes longer to plan than to prototype. Constraints are underrated. They convert endless debate into fast learning.

Three concrete scenarios (career, shipping, and growth)

To ground this, here are three common ambitions and what the route change can look like.

1) "I want a better career trajectory"

Loop: delivering tasks well but avoiding ownership.

Route change:

Weekly: volunteer for one ambiguous problem
Monthly: write one decision memo that clarifies trade-offs
Ongoing system: keep an "impact log" (wins, metrics, testimonials)

2) "I want to ship something meaningful"

Loop: learning, planning, and refining instead of releasing.

Route change:

Define a smallest shippable version in 2 hours
Commit to a public date (even if small)
System: a "two-week release" cadence with retros

3) "I want growth"

Loop: clinging to the familiar because it is safe.

Route change:

Choose one discomfort per week (present, ask, publish, lead)
System: track reps, not outcomes (reps create outcomes)

Why Addy's message resonated (and a quick note on LinkedIn content)

Part of the reason this became one of those viral posts is that it is both motivational and actionable. It names a pattern (loops), offers a metaphor (treadmill), and gives a simple process (destination, one change, reduce friction).

If you care about LinkedIn content or content strategy, this is a useful model: clear premise, relatable tension, and practical steps people can try today. Viral posts often spread because they help readers explain their own experience in a sentence, then hand them a next step.

A simple weekly system to stay off the treadmill

If you want to turn this into a repeatable practice, try a 20-minute weekly review:

Re-read your destination (2 minutes)
Pick one outcome for the week that supports it (3 minutes)
Schedule the behavior that produces that outcome (5 minutes)
Remove one point of friction (5 minutes)
Decide what you will not do (5 minutes)

That last step matters. Loops survive because we keep feeding them time.

Closing thought

Addy Osmani's point is uncomfortable because it removes the illusion that our future is primarily determined by hope, talent, or intensity. It is mostly determined by what we repeat.

If your actions do not match your ambitions, you do not need a personality upgrade. You need a route change. Pick one behavior. Make it easier than the old one. Then let consistency do what motivation cannot.

This blog post expands on a viral LinkedIn post by Addy Osmani, Director, Google Cloud AI. Best-selling Author. Speaker. AI, DX, UX. I want to see you win.. View the original LinkedIn post →