Zeiglanerfleck Effect

Ok, there's no such word as "zeiglanerfleck" but I can't pronounce the actual name of the phenomena described below, so--much like a child struggling to say 'spaghetti'--I've made up my own name for it.

As this article describes it, "the Zeigarnik Effect is the tendency to experience intrusive thoughts about an objective that was once pursued and left incomplete (Baumeister & Bushman, 2008, pg. 122). The automatic system signals the conscious mind, which may be focused on new goals, that a previous activity was left incomplete. It seems to be human nature to finish what we start and, if it is not finished, we experience dissonance."

This is--I believe--what David Allen would call "open loops" in his "Getting Things Done" time-management system.  [ht Logan M.]

The Value Creation and Principled Entrepreneurship Guiding Principles urge us to make the best use of our time, so I've been focusing on ways to use my time--and brainpower--more effectively.

I've just started experimenting with Allen's system.  Has anyone else used the GTD system?  What's your preferred system for managing time and priorities?

Comments

[Peter]

As I recall (it's been about 5 years since I read GTD), David Allen would encourage us to shape our work routines to minimize the Zeigarnik Effect, as time spent worrying about the past is time wasted. On one hand, this makes sense, and seems similar to the MBM imperative to ignore sunk costs.

For my own part, however, I don't think I'd want to block out the Zeigarnik Effect. I have had a tendency in the past to overrate my task-completion percentage. Becoming more aware of this has led me to make a number of changes to how I manage my time.

The GTD principle that I've hung onto is the value of an empty email inbox. Nothing inspires existential dread like an inbox with hundreds of messages, each with implied tasks.

[Andy Gillette]

That's interesting, Peter. Do you see value in the Z Effect in that it keeps you focused on things that need to be accomplished? Also, I'm curious: did you try to implement GTD full scale?

I have a tendency to like chaos, and sometimes the "open loops" overwhelm me to where I change task so frequently, or dwell unproductively various next steps, that I think I get less done. I'm hoping the GTD can help--I'll let you know what I find out.