It’s also worth noting that getting tasks down onto paper or screen clears out a person’s limited short-term memory for other things. Not to mention that the way the human mind works hasn’t changed much in just a few decades. Sure, the study is a bit dated, but new lists aren’t the hottest scientific topic at the moment. In fact, a 1996 study demonstrated the power of list-making in recalling list items, even if you don’t look back at the list. Your brain registers each task as “unfinished,” making them easier to remember.īut it goes further: by glancing at your task list repeatedly, you begin to memorize your tasks. The Zeigarnik effect comes into play here. These smaller tasks make the main tasks more digestible. You can break a project down into tasks, then split those tasks into sub-items and manage them with a to do list. You’re also able to track finished and unfinished tasks, helping to plan further ahead. You can organize tasks by priority and knock out the most important items when you have the most mental energy. To do lists help you outline your tasks and make a plan of attack. So you know the psychology behind why we want to do lists, but how do these lists benefit you directly? Organization You have to resolve the suspense, so you turn the page or tune in to next week’s episode. This effect says that we tend to resume interrupted or incomplete tasks.Īgain, TV or book cliffhangers come into play here. You have this unbearable urge to see what happens next.Ī variation of the Zeigarnik effect is the Ovsiankina effect, named for psychologist Maria Ovsiankina. The Zeigarnik effect is why cliff-hangers in TV shows and books work so well. The Zeigarnik effect states that we remember interrupted or unfinished things - like tasks - more easily than completed tasks. The first is the Zeigarnik effect, named for Soviet psychologist Bluma Zeigarnik. To do lists boost your chances of finishing everything you need to do, thanks to 2 related psychological concepts. Get started with Why should I bother making a daily to do list? We’ll then close out with a particular Work OS platform that’s perfectly suited for your list-making. In this post, we’ll cover all the reasons why you should continue with your daily to do list habit, but also offer you some best practices to enhance your lists. They’re nifty little tools, but chances are you could make your to do list even more effective. Well, it sounds like you keep a daily to do list. You hopefully write your tasks down somewhere - maybe in a planner - and check them off as you go. Unless your brain is a computer, probably not. Do you wake up every morning knowing everything you have to do for the day - and the exact order you’ll do it in?
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