[ Sense-making ]

The activity of sense-making includes explaining things, putting things in order, and understanding relationships.  Sense-making is the act of simplification and organising.  When we’re able to explain something, we’ve made sense of it.  When we’re able to predict what comes next, it makes sense to us.  If something is hard to explain, or we don’t know what will happen next, then there’s an open loop in our brain.  And that causes cognitive load.

Little things like predictive routines and familiar processes give us comfort, because it makes sense.  This is why standardisation and habits help: they close an open loop.