(2025-02-18) Outcome Orientation As A Cure For Information Overload

Cedric Chin: Outcome Orientation as a Cure for Information Overload. The solution to my problems comes not from tool-use but from a new, internal stance. I learnt this from Dinesh Raju, who taught me this sometime in August last year. The technique originates from investing — it is fairly common to hear investment professionals say “curate your information sources”; I used to think this meant ‘keep a good, well filtered information diet’. I now realise this is mistaken

there is no way a ‘strict diet’ approach would work for them. ‘Outcome Orientation’ is more accurate a description of what they do.

At all times, whenever you are doing something or reading something, you should ask yourself the question: “What is the outcome I am trying to achieve here?”

The point is not to control your time allocation, the point is to always be aware of why you are consuming something, as you are consuming it

The results are wonderful. Over the past six months my mind feels less like a crowded library, and more like a clean, open field with plenty of space to think

As a result, increasingly it often feels like folks around me are losing their minds over the latest political fiasco or hot topic du jour, whereas I pay the minimum necessary attention to the articles, podcasts or videos shared by friends, extract what is important for my outcomes, and then move on.

Lots of folks I know think that a good solution to information overload is to implement what is commonly called an ‘information diet’ — that is, you filter your information sources

To be clear, this is a reasonable approach, and results in good outcomes. It was what I used to do before I learnt this approach.

But Outcome Orientation is more powerful, in just about every way

Why is this more powerful than an information diet? The answer is that it is more flexible.

Here is an example. If you invest in crypto protocols, like I do, it is important to follow all the actors around a project

You also want to keep a running tally of who is a scammer and who is not.

This requires you to spend a lot of time on CT (Crypto Twitter), which is a cesspit of scammers and emotionally compromised, slightly mentally unstable individuals

I find it possible to say, read a fight between a cat and a cryptopunk account on Twitter, and file away the information as “ok, this subculture is not pleased with this project” (Prove value by writing a note.)

Outcome Orientation also leads you to switch information sources, since you are constantly asking yourself “am I accomplishing my outcome?” as you are consuming

This example may be a little specific, but the technique is generally useful whenever you need to widen the aperture to sample more ... adversarial information sources

More Advanced Examples

I found myself following the Wordpress drama a little too obsessively. At some point I asked myself “what is the outcome I want to achieve here?” The answer is that I want to collect a new case study of a (what seems to me like) a new open source business model failure mode. I have considered starting an OSS company many times in the past. As a result of this outcome audit, I stopped following the insult-hurling on Twitter so closely, and refocused my attention on the court filings + the major decisions.

Whenever I write a tweet thread, I now ask myself “what is the outcome I want to achieve with this thread?” Every thread must have an outcome before I start writing.

I saw two tweets comparing SF + Bay Area innovation to Singapore’s (lack of) innovation. There was no benefit to be had from engaging. I failed.

I think one advanced form of Outcome Orientation is something that Visakan Veerasamy espouses, which comes from the same source (Dinesh is a mentor to both Visa and me): "basically you begin with the premise that your attention is extremely valuable and you allocate it like a VIP"

The way Visa puts this is “focus on what you want to see more of”.

Both of these tweet threads are the result of “taking this simple idea and taking it very very seriously.” Visa seems to have internalised this idea earlier and for far longer than I have. It is likely why he has been so prolific on Twitter: why his content is so generative, why he has such good reply game, and why he isn’t as psychologically affected by the shenanigans or fights on the platform.