The Zeigarnik Effect

When interruptions predominate, little work gets done, observes Paul Radde, Ph.D. author of Thrival. Radde says "Cell phone use is not just plain rude, it is mentally distracting and abusive to others. Cell phone use captures the brain's interest in completing the conversation, so whether the user is broadcasting or simply within earshot, the Zeigarnik effect kicks in. This is the same desire for closure that makes the effects of multi-tasking akin to the effects of post-traumatic stress."

The Zeigarnik effect is characterized by the tendency for people to remember interrupted tasks better than those that have been completed. "Once taken off one task, without completing the transaction," Radde observes, "the mind continues to seek closure. If you have a number of things going, but none of them to completion, you have these tensions tending toward completion -- and that is stress-provoking."

Interruptions and Productivity

Paul Radde, Ph.D. author of Thrival says "Cell phone use is not just plain rude, it is mentally distracting and abusive to others. Cell phone use captures the brain's interest in completing the conversation, so whether the user is broadcasting or simply within earshot, the Zeigarnik effect kicks in. This is the same desire for closure that makes the effects of multi-tasking akin to the effects of post-traumatic stress."

The Zeigarnik effect is characterized by the tendency of people to remember interrupted tasks better than those that have been completed. "Once taken off one task, without completing the transaction," Radde observes, "the mind continues to seek closure. If you have a number of things going, but none of them to completion, you have these tensions tending toward completion -- and that is stress-provoking."

It's not that you can't get things done with the use of a cell phone; indeed, you can get a lot of things done. However, the nature of what you get done is highly skewed. Just as the man with only a hammer sees everything as nails, the incessant cell phone user accomplishes a variety of tasks, understandably enough, that accrue directly to having a cell phone. In other words whatever can be handled by a phone call is more likely to be tackled than say a problem that requires solitude and abstract reasoning.

Sometimes this get-it-done kind of individual overdoes this stay-in-touch aspect of what he's trying to accomplish. How often do you need to stay in touch with your office? Would every 60 minutes do it, or would 45 minutes be better, or 30 better still? What kinds of new tasks and new responsibilities at work are you creating for yourself and others as a result of the constant communication and, need I say it, over-communication?

A Crucial Skill

The number of potential distractions -- items competing for your time and attention -- is infinite and will become more troublesome in the future, not less. It's vital to learn today how to deal with them in ways that you haven't employed before to regain control over your life and be better prepared to meet the challenges of the future.

Multi-Tasking is a Bad Idea

What happens when you jump between different projects at one time? It may feel dynamic -- after all, you're exerting lots of activity. There's a severe loss of productivity, however, because your brain works on one thing at a time. Multi tasking is fine for computers but not so great for human beings.

Although it may seem like you're working on several things at once, your brain is turning back and forth between the tasks. Switching from task to task is not as productive as staying on one job until it is completed. Studies have been published that indicate the harmful, long term effects of multi-tasking. Practice the art of doing one thing at a time!

Don't Just Do Something

Don't just do something, sit there: Reading or merely looking out the window in contemplation could be the most important and productive activity you do today. Too often, people throw their time at tasks when they should be exerting more brain power.

The single best way to handle several different projects is to begin working on one thing at a time, until its completion, and then go on to the next project, and then the next, until you are finished.

Uncluttering Your Life

With the introduction of more channels on the television set, the Internet, which was not prominent before 1993, and all the consumer choices that exist, there are many things that compete for your time and attention. If you cram that into the same 24-hour day or 168-hour week that you have
always had, then your perception will be that time is speeding by.

For example, if you talk to a friend, watch a single television show while doing nothing else, read a book, or engage in any singular activity for one hour, you will have a certain perception of how quickly that hour will pass. But, if you pack more tasks into that same hour: the television being on, trying to read a book, maybe eating, maybe looking at 4-year-old; maybe a friend calls; maybe the PC nearby is on the Internet, and so on, then you perception of time changes. So, the more things that you can fit into that hour, then more things compete for your time and attention, and the faster that hour passes will seem to pass.

Does this seem like all the makings of a chaotic life? We each have 24 hours in day, so how are you supposed to fit in all of your daily tasks without getting so stressed out or frustrated that you cannot finish any? The answer is: less is more.

You can only eat one meal at a time. Focus on the task at hand and reflect on that 60's phrase, Be Here Now! You can actually taste the food when you are eating. You can actually watch the show that you are watching. You can actually play the sport that you are playing. Have the emotional and financial strength to let go of all the peripheral items competing for your time and attention and focus on the activity at hand.

The key to reclaiming your time is to practice the art, something I call an art, of doing one thing at a time. Sounds pretty simple, doesn't it? Focus on the task at hand and be present in the moment.

The message that is being disseminated in contemporary society is to practice multi-tasking. "Do multiple things at once." "Click here." "Push here." "Turn me on." "Switch me on." Every place you look, you are besieged by more items competing for your time and attention. Now, people
actually have dwindling attention spans. They lack the ability to remain focused on the same subject for more than a few minutes and, sadly, some people for more than a few seconds.