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This bizarre phenomenon can stop you from procrastinating
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The Zeigarnik Effect
It suggests that not finishing a task creates mental tension, which keeps it at the forefront of our memory.
The only thing that will relieve this tension is the closure brought on by completion of the task.
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The Zeigarnik Effect for beating procrastination
The phenomenon proposes that making a start on something, no matter how big or small, keeps it ticking way at the back of your mind until you reach the end.
Thus, getting the ball rolling might be a good antidote to procrastination.
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The Zeigarnik Effect
Unfinished work continues to exert an influence, even when we try to move on to other things.
When you start working on something but do not finish it, thoughts of the unfinished work ...
The Zeigarnik effect and memory
It reveals a great deal about how memory works. Zeigarnik suggested that failing to complete a task creates underlying cognitive tension. This results in greater mental effort and rehearsal in order to keep the task at the forefront of awareness. Once completed, the mind is then able to let go of these efforts.
You can even use this psychological phenomenon to your advantage.
Get More Out of Your Study Sessions
- Break up your study sessions rather than try to cram it all in the night before the test. By studying information in increments, you will be more likely to remember it until test day.
- If you are struggling to memorize something important, momentary interruptions might actually work to your advantage. While you are focusing on other things, you will find yourself mentally returning to the information you were studying.
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Clean up your workspaces
End the workday by taking a minute to tidy your desk, save everything you’re working on, and close of all your tabs and windows. Make sure your work app notifications are automatically snoozed outs...
Review your "to-done’s"
Boost your mood and motivation by taking the time to review your completed tasks at the end of each day.
One of the easiest and most effective ways to stay motivated and build momentum at work is to celebrate your progress.
The procrastination “doom loop”
Confront the things you’ve been putting off. If you keep putting things off, you'll feel guilty and that makes you want to avoid them even more. You will get stuck in the “doom loop” of anxiety and avoidance.
Break this loop by identifying the tasks that you’ve been avoiding, break them down into smaller tasks and schedule the next step for the following day.
The brain is obsessed with unfinished tasks
When we have unfinished tasks, we think about them continuously. But the moment they are completed, we forget about them. If we have unread email, we constantly wonder what it says. But once it...
Incomplete tasks: What happens inside the brain
Once our brain receives information, it temporarily stores sensory memory (sight, hearing, smells, taste, and touch). If we pay attention to the information, it moves to our short-term memories.
If the task is incomplete, our brains can't let it go until it's done. That is why TV dramas use cliffhangers to end episodes.
How to capitalize on the Zeigarnik effect
- Reduce your tendency to procrastinate. If you have a task you've been avoiding, begin with the smallest thing to be done. The desire to close the loop will help you take small steps to get it done.
- Get people to take note of what you're saying. Try using ellipses instead of a full stop in your headline so that your reader will feel like "there's more to this."
- Memorize more information. Break your information up into parts. Or spread your learning over several days.
- Remember difficult names. Learn one part of the name, then come back to the second part when your done memorizing the first.