Why You Feel the Zeigarnik Effect?
Do you have intrusive thoughts about something you haven’t finished yet?
Are you feeling regretful for not completing those tasks that you assigned last week?
Maybe an incomplete task is eluding your good night’s sleep.
Or maybe that task you’ve been procrastinating for a while now.
There is however a reason why it is hard for you to stop thinking about those incomplete tasks or procrastinating tasks.
Interestingly, the psychologists called it the Zeigarnik effect.
In this post, I will go over a simple explanation of the Zeigarnik effect and provide you with examples of why you tend to remember unfinished tasks rather than completed ones.
In the end, I will additionally provide you with efficient strategies on how to use this effect to your advantage.
Read on till the end to learn more about this powerful effect.
What is the Zeigarnaik effect?
Guess what, this effect is something you experience more than you are aware of.
When you start working on a task but do not complete it, thoughts of the unfinished work will probably continue to pop into your mind even when you’ve moved on to other things.
These thoughts urge you to go back and finish the task you started. The effect is also why you keep thinking about a page-turner novel you’re halfway through or a video game you haven’t yet beat.
In your day-to-day life, you have multiple tasks that command your attention.
But you may find that these things you’ve left unfinished tend to creep into your mind even when you’ve started working on something else.
Soap operas and serialized dramas also take advantage of the Zeigarnik effect.
For example, an episode may end, but the story is clearly not over. These “cliffhangers” leave viewers eager to see what happens next, and thanks to the Zeigarnik effect, they will be motivated to come back and watch the next episode to find out.
Zeigarnik Effect Examples
You probably experience the Zeigarnik effect often in your daily life.
For example:
- You went grocery shopping and took your kids to school, but you can’t stop thinking about the laundry you didn’t finish folding.
- You replied to a bunch of emails but didn’t get to them all before the end of the workday on Friday. You think about the ones you have left all weekend.
- You tune in to the season finale of your favorite TV show and it leaves with a major cliffhanger. You’re still thinking about what happened weeks later.
- You have a notification that you haven’t checked, and even though you have to work, you’re distracted by the unread text.
How Does It Work?
Short-term memory is limited in both capacity and duration.
Typically, we can only retain so many things in our memory.
Even then, we need to keep rehearsing information to hold on to it.
This process requires quite a bit of mental effort. The harder you try to keep it in your memory for the short term, the harder you’ll have to work to get it to stay put.
The Zeigarnik effect does not just affect memory in the short term.
Unfinished tasks, such as goals that we still want to reach, can also continue to intrude into our thoughts over longer stretches of time.
How to Make the Zeigarnik Effect Work for You
More than just being an interesting observation about how the human brain works, you can use the Zeigarnik effect to your advantage.
Common sense might tell you that finishing a task before you stop is the best way to approach a goal.
However, the Zeigarnik effect suggests that being interrupted during a task may be an effective strategy for improving your ability to remember information.
Get More Out of Your Study Sessions
If you are studying for an exam, break up your study sessions rather than cramming the night before the test.
By studying the information that you need to learn in increments, you will be more likely to remember it until test day.
If you are struggling to memorize something important, momentary interruptions might work to your advantage.
Rather than simply repeating the information, review it a few times, and then take a break. While you are focusing on other things, you will find yourself mentally returning to the information that you were studying.
Overcome Procrastination
Procrastination is related to the Zeigarnik in some familiar ways.
We often put off tasks until the last moment, only to finish them in a frenzied rush at the last possible moment to meet a deadline.
Unfortunately, this habit leads to stress and poor performance.
One way to overcome procrastination is to put the Zeigarnik effect to work for you.
Start by taking the first step, no matter how small.
Once you’ve started — but not finished — your work, you will find yourself thinking about the task until you complete it.
You may not finish it all at once, but each small step you take puts you closer to your goal.
This approach can motivate you to finish and lead to a sense of accomplishment once you finally complete a task and can put your mental energies elsewhere.
Generate Interest and Attention
Advertisers and marketers use the Zeigarnik effect to encourage consumers to buy their products.
Creatives like filmmakers and TV writers also use the effect.
For example, think about how movie trailers are designed to attract your attention by teasing you with some, but not all, info about the plot and characters.
The trailer draws your attention but leaves you wanting more. To find out what happens, you’ll have to see the movie.
TV episodes often end with a moment of high action, a cliffhanger moment, which leaves the fate of characters or the outcome of the situation unresolved.
To relieve the tension created by cliffhanger endings, viewers have to remember to watch the next episode when it comes out.
Promote Mental Well-Being
The Zeigarnik effect is not always beneficial. When you do not complete tasks, they may weigh heavily on your mind and create stress.
The stressful, invasive thoughts can lead to anxiety and affect your sleep.
That said, the Zeigarnik effect has a way of getting you to resolve the stress.
The repeated thoughts you’re having will motivate you to finish what you’ve started, and this can relieve stress and improve your self-esteem, and self-confidence.
Final words
The Zeigarnik effect started with a simple observation of how restaurant waiters manage to remember many customer orders.
Since then, research has shown that we tend to better recall unfinished tasks than completed ones.
While many factors can influence the Zeigarnik effect and its strength, you can often use it to your advantage.
For example, by taking deliberate breaks while studying, you may find that you can better remember important details you’ll need for a test.
Thank you for reading!
