Just nerding out a bit today. I love learning about stuff I didn’t know. Dig into some old research to learn something new to you! Have you heard about “The Zeigarnik Effect”? It’s a psychological phenomenon that states that people remember uncompleted or interrupted tasks better than completed ones.
The Zeigarnik Effect was first described by a Soviet psychologist named Bluma Zeigarnik in the 1920s. She observed that waiters in a restaurant were able to remember orders that were not completed or paid for much better than orders that were already completed and paid for.
This effect is based on the idea that the human brain has an innate drive to finish what it starts and that incomplete tasks are more likely to capture our attention and stay in our memory. It’s why we might find ourselves constantly thinking about unfinished projects or things we need to do, even when we’re doing something else.
The Zeigarnik effect has been studied in a variety of settings and it has been found that people remember incomplete tasks better than complete tasks, whether it’s in academic, professional or personal life.
One practical application of the Zeigarnik effect is that breaking a task into smaller chunks can help people focus and retain information better. It’s also been found that setting a deadline for a task can help to focus the mind and increase motivation to complete the task.
It’s an interesting concept that reminds us that unfinished tasks tend to linger in our minds, and it’s also a good reminder that breaking a task into smaller chunks and setting a deadline can help us to focus and retain information better.
More Personal Narrative
