What? How annoying! I’d started it now!

There’s some pain in having to stop something you’re part of the way through. I knew it made no sense to finish the work because she might change her focus, but it was painful to have to abandon the task, semi-accomplished.

The ‘Zeigarnik Effect’ has been observed by psychologists in numerous studies on ‘suspense’. People are given a puzzle to complete, but not enough time to finish it. Researchers noticed that over 90% of people went back to complete the puzzle even though the experiment was ‘over’. More than that, they were able to discuss in more detail the incomplete puzzles than the completed ones. Incomplete tasks stay on our minds…

Let go of the need to get something ‘right’ or ‘perfect’. Start before you’re ready, start imperfectly, start anywhere along the process… just begin.

You’ll open the suspense in your mind. The project will now be ‘active’. You’ll have done something towards it. It’s going to be harder to leave it alone now, because your brain worries about things that have not achieved ‘closure’.

The Zeigarnik Effect is one of the theories we’ve used to back up a task in My 15 Minutes @ Work. The program helps people become more productive in their professional lives and reduces overwhelm at work.

You can download a print-friendly overview of the program here. The investment is only $97+gst, so it’s an economical way to increase your productivity at work, without leaving your desk.

Take care