PARADOXMental model
OODA loop template
See it, make sense of it, choose, act, and go round again before the situation changes.
Free. Works in your browser. No card needed.
What is the OODA Loop?
The OODA loop comes from fighter pilot John Boyd: observe, orient, decide, act, and repeat. The faster you go round the loop, the better you handle change. PARADOX gives each step its own box, so you end with one decided action and what would prove it wrong.
When to use it
- Things are moving fast and you need to decide now
- You keep overthinking instead of acting
- You want a repeatable way to make decisions under pressure
How the template works
Observe
What is actually happening? Facts only.
Orient
What does it mean? Check your bias.
Decide
Pick one action. What would prove it wrong?
Act
Do it now. The result is your next observation.
What you leave with
One decided action, and what would prove it wrong.
More mental models
Eisenhower Matrix
Sort everything by impact and urgency, then find the one thing that makes the rest easier.
SWOT analysis
Map what helps and hurts you, inside and out, then make the four boxes talk to each other.
First principles thinking
Strip a goal, problem or skill down to what must be true, then rebuild from those pieces only.
Circle of competence
Map your edge, the edge of your competence, and what is not your thing. Then move one thing inward.
Debrief
Take a finished task, project or goal apart: what you meant, what happened, why, and one change.
Brain dump
Get everything out of your head onto one page, then map it into a chart or a model.