We find it very difficult to keep thoughts of unfinished tasks out of brains. Unfinished tasks invade our minds and break our focus.
But from follow-up research we also know that the brain doesn’t distinguish between an finished task and a task that is convincingly stored elsewhere, where we know we will see it later and complete the task. E.g. writing down in a to-do list
Quote
Zeigarnik successfully reproduced what is now known as the Zeigarnik effect: Open tasks tend to occupy our short-term memory–until they are done. That is why we get so easily distracted by thoughts of unfinished tasks, regardless of their importance. But thanks to Zeigarnik’s follow-up research, we also know that we don’t actually have to finish tasks to convince our brains to stop thinking about them. All we have to do is to write them down in a way that convinces us that it will be taken care of. That’s right: The brain doesn’t distinguish between an actual finished task and one that is postponed by taking a note.
Connections
Attention Residue Capturing Ideas
Reference
Book: How to Take Smart Notes Author: Sönke Ahrens Location: 1076