The T.O.T.E. Model and the Importance of Finishing What You Start

Not finishing what we start is one of the most pressing problems of our time. The huge amount of information, the fast pace of life, and the desire to do it all lead people to juggle multiple tasks at once, leaving many of our projects unfinished.

There are always plenty of reasons for this:

• Simple lack of time
• Lack of necessary energy
• Plain laziness
• Self-sabotage, also known as procrastination, and so on

The harm of putting things off isn’t just that we don’t achieve our goals or fulfill our desires, but also that it lowers our overall effectiveness. Our brain works like a computer: when we start something new, it’s like opening another program. If there are too many programs running, the computer gets overloaded and starts to freeze. Likewise, unfinished tasks demand our attention, overload our memory, and drain our energy. If we don’t close these programs, our “computer” will freeze or, worse, break down.

Accumulating unfinished business leads to stress and negatively affects our self-esteem. In fact, many psychological traumas and complexes are rooted in events where we tried to do something but couldn’t finish it—where we failed to bring something to its logical conclusion.

To deal with unfinished tasks, we set priorities, delegate unimportant tasks, postpone them, or simply discard them. Time management is in high demand among professionals and can yield good results, but it doesn’t always fully solve the problem. To make time management more effective, it helps to look at the issue from a psychological perspective.

How the T.O.T.E. Model Can Help

The T.O.T.E. model (Test, Operate, Test, Exit) is widely used in NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming). It was originally developed in the 1940s as a control model for self-guided missiles, and later (in the 1960s) was used as a general model for goal-directed human behavior (Miller, Galanter, and Pribram, 1960). The advantage of the T.O.T.E. model as a way to describe (mental) behavior is that it’s simple (using only three or four concepts) but includes important cybernetic concepts like “goal” and “feedback” (Dilts, 1980).

The model includes the following steps:

1. Define the desired outcome and set a goal. Here, you determine what you want to achieve by taking a certain action. It’s important to have clear criteria to know when the goal is reached.
2. Test 1. Assess your current state compared to your desired state using your chosen criteria.
3. Operate. Take actions to achieve your goal. What can you do to realize your goal or get closer to it?
4. Test 2. Check whether the goal has been achieved. Compare the results of Test 1 with the results after your actions.
5. Exit. This is the decision point. If Test 1 equals Test 2, the process is complete, or you set a new goal based on what you’ve achieved. If Test 2 shows the goal hasn’t been reached (criteria not met), you look for new ways to achieve the goal, redefine your criteria, or change the goal itself. You might even decide to abandon the goal if it’s no longer relevant or there’s no way to achieve it.

In summary, the T.O.T.E. model assumes that a person:

• Can sense or measure (input) their current state
• Has a clear idea of their desired state
• Can compare these two states
• Has criteria to evaluate the differences (testing)
• Knows different ways to achieve the goal
• Can put these methods into practice

In other words, to achieve any result, you need to:

• Clearly envision your goal in the future
• Have effective feedback that shows your progress toward the goal (actual and perceived confirmation of results)
• Be flexible in your actions, adjusting your behavior to reach your goal as easily and effectively as possible

Questions to Help You Apply the T.O.T.E. Model When Setting Goals

• What is your goal? (Goal formulation)
• How do you picture it?
• In what images, words, sounds, feelings, and actions?
• Why is this goal important to you?
• What beliefs and values support it?
• What will you do to achieve your goal: first, second?
• How will you know you’re moving in the right direction?
• What will you see, hear, and feel as you work toward your goal?
• What intermediate results will you identify along the way?
• What difficulties and challenges might you face?
• How would you like to respond to them?
• How will you know you’ve achieved your goal?
• What will you see, feel, and hear when the goal is reached?
• How will you know the process is complete?

Analyze your goals and desires using the T.O.T.E. model. If they don’t fit, rephrase them, drop outdated goals, or decide to revisit them when the time is right. By clearing out your list of goals and desires, you’ll gain more clarity and energy in your life.