What if you discovered that the old adage “you should always finish what you have started” is actually not the best advice in all cases? In fact, stopping something midway could yield some incredible benefits such as causing a surge of creativity.
Ernest Hemingway, a prolific writer who entreated his readers to over 25 classics during his lifetime capitalized on this trick. One of his favorite productivity techniques would be to stop his writing not at the end of a paragraph, but in the middle of a sentence. This act created a sense of incompletion that became the driving force to compel him to resume his work the following day with immediate momentum.
Generally, we like to finish what we have started and when we leave things incomplete, we feel bad about it and are eager to reconcile those feelings. This phenomenon is called the Zeigarnik Effect, which describes the tendency to remember unfinished tasks over finish ones. If we tell ourselves we are done with work for the day and still have incomplete tasks, our mind will eagerly anticipate the moment when we can continue the job with vigor and to a close.
However, there is one important condition to the Zeigarnik Effect - the undertaking needs to be interesting enough so that it compels a conclusion. If we find the assignment unattractive due to its banality or degree of difficulty, the Zeigarnik Effect ceases to occur. So, the next time, you are in the middle of your work, try stopping midway and see what direction you take your ideas the following day; you may be surprised with the additional and always-welcomed boost of motivation and ingenuity.
Quote of the day: “Make an empty space in any corner of your mind, and creativity will instantly fill it.” -CEO Dee Hock
Q: What activities in your life do you see this application having the biggest impact? Comment and share with us below; we would love to hear from you!
The Zeigarnik Effect