Escape tunneling by creating structured slack that protects upstream work

When work gets crowded, our brains narrow. I used to arrive at my desk, glance at a blinking chat icon, and spend the next two hours reacting. Lunch would be a granola bar eaten while scrolling. At 4:55 p.m., a preventable issue would pop up—again—and I’d file it under “later.” Later never came. The day rewarded speed, not foresight, and I went home wired and annoyed.

I tried something small: a 10‑minute standing huddle at 9:40 a.m. We asked three questions: any near‑misses, any wins, one fix. A designer mentioned we kept losing time asking for the same logo files. The fix was a shared asset folder and a link in the welcome email. It took twelve minutes to set up, the exact length of the coffee that went from hot to sippable. The next day, the question felt easier to ask.

I also blocked a “maker hour” three times a week. The first morning, I felt guilty and checked email anyway. The second, I turned on Focus mode and wrote a two‑line script that prefilled a report. The small stuff piled up: a checklist for handoffs, a template for client updates. The afternoon fires didn’t disappear, but they were smaller and came less often. You know that relief when you realize the gas tank is full before a long drive? It felt like that.

There’s science behind the feeling. Scarcity captures attention and induces “tunneling,” which reduces bandwidth for planning. A tiny dose of protected time restores executive function, while a daily forum creates a feedback loop for learning. The point isn’t heroics, it’s habit. Huddles and buffers give prevention a seat at the table, every day, until the system starts to learn on its own.

Pick a time tomorrow for a 10‑minute standing huddle and invite the team with three prompts: a near‑miss, a win, and one fix. Then block a 60–90 minute “maker” window on your calendar this week and guard it like any meeting. Before your day starts, jot one tiny system tweak you’ll ship during that block, something you can finish in twenty minutes. These small rituals release you from the tunnel and make space for prevention to happen in real life. Try one huddle and one block this week.