Anxiety Cost
Count the mental load created by delaying a ready decision
- Difficulty
- Starter
- Time to result
- ~days to results
- Steps
- 5
- Confidence
- 97%
Chris defines anxiety cost as the mental time spent revisiting something that could already have been completed. Like opportunity cost, it makes a hidden trade-off visible: every minute used to rehearse an unresolved task is attention that prompt action might have released. Apply the model only after confirming that the task or decision is actually ready. Then count not just the effort of doing it, but the repeated reminders, worry, and cognitive occupation created by postponement. If delay adds no useful information or protection, act as soon as practical. Chris illustrates this with routine tasks such as meditation or journaling: completing them earlier avoids carrying reminders through the rest of the day. The output is reduced open-loop load, not reckless speed.
Origin
Chris Williamson introduces anxiety cost as one of his own 'Bro Science' concepts on The Diary of a CEO.
Core principles
- 01Delay can consume attention before action occurs
- 02Inaction is still a choice
- 03Ready tasks completed sooner stop charging mental rent
How to run it
- 1
Name the open loop
Identify the task or decision that repeatedly returns to mind. Describe what completion would look like.
- 2
Check readiness
Confirm that the necessary information, authority, and resources are available. Distinguish avoidable delay from legitimate waiting.
Watch out Do not use anxiety reduction to justify an uninformed or irreversible decision.
- 3
Count the mental rent
Estimate how often the item interrupts thought and how long that is likely to continue. Include reminders and repeated re-deciding, not just conscious worry.
Pro tip Compare that recurring cost with the one-time effort required now.
- 4
Act when ready
Complete the task or make the decision as soon as practical once delay has no further value. Close any related reminders or notes.
Pro tip Do recurring essentials earlier when that reliably frees the rest of the day.
- 5
Verify the release
Notice whether the item stops consuming attention. Use that evidence when scheduling similar tasks in the future.
In the wild
Chris contrasts completing meditation, breathwork, dog walking, or journaling early with leaving them until evening and spending the day repeatedly remembering that they remain undone.
→ Earlier completion removes the day's recurring reminders about those tasks.
Common mistakes
Equating speed with readiness
The model supports acting once ready; it does not erase the value of research, consultation, or caution.
Ignoring the recurring cost
Comparing only the task's effort with doing nothing misses the attention consumed by continued delay.
Is it for you?
Best for
It is best for ready, bounded tasks or decisions that repeatedly occupy attention.
Not ideal for
It is not ideal when more evidence, consent, recovery, or deliberate waiting is genuinely required.
From the transcript
“Not making a choice is still making a choice.”
“It's called anxiety cost, right?”
“You're going to minimize the anxiety cost by doing things sooner.”
From the episode
Chris Williamson: The Shocking New Research On Why Men And Women Are No Longer Compatible!