Why am I a little cranky right now?
Why can’t I relax even though it’s the end of the day?
Why am I tired even though I haven’t done very much today?
Have you ever asked yourself one of these questions? In my recent transition to a new city and a new role, I found a tiny logistical answer to these questions. It goes back to fundamentals. Here is a slither of my diagnosis to anyone who is a chronic stress-er in life like myself.
It’s called the Zeigarnick effect.
This is a state of being where you’re asking your body to do what it was never meant to do. We are not storage systems. When we treat ourselves like a storage system, we will inevitably encounter the Zeigarnick effect.1
I would sum up the effect this way: When your attention is on everything, your attention is truly on nothing.
A professional by the name of Dr. Baumeister conducted an experiment to prove this point. He asked two different groups to think of an important project in their minds. One group was asked to write down the specific tasks while the other group did nothing with it. After asking both groups to read a few pages out of a novel, they tested each group to see which group retained more of the information.2
As you can guess, those who wrote down what they needed to do were able to focus on the task they had moved on to do.
The conclusion of the study found that our subconscious doesn’t do well with lingering tasks, to-do’s, emails, and projects hanging over your head. David Allen, a productivity specialist, calls these things in life “open loops.” Calling your grandmother. Picking up bananas. Writing an email to your professor. Reviewing the project at work. All of these are “open loops” because they are tasks that your brain is always working on because it doesn’t know when specifically it will work on them.
This is what leads us to a state of stress. Our brains should think. Our planners/journals should hold what we think. It’s conclusive that you need one place where all your “to-do’s” are recorded. No combinations of sticky notes, your note app on your phone, and your calendar.
It all needs to be in one place.
When I transitioned to a new season of life, I also transitioned to a new way of organizing my life. Here are my three tips that have reduced my stress levels:
(1) Write everything you need to do in one place. I carry a planner that I record everything in and separate into three categories: (1) Writing (2) Projects (3) Life.
(2) Don’t open a text message until you can properly and promptly respond to a text message. If you know a certain text or group message is going to take some time, and you don’t have the time when you receive it, wait till a better time to open and respond (if not time sensitive).
(3) Use the phrase “Let me know” instead of “I will let you know.” When people mention doing something that you’re not equally excited about, instead of locking yourself in by saying “I’ll let you know” place the initiative on their plate. Turn the “I’ll let you know when I’m free” to “Let me know when you want to get together.” What’s interesting is you will find half of the time people aren’t as passionate about what they suggest.
Remember, you are a human being not a human doing.
Don’t ask your body to do what it was never meant to do.
Let your body be.
References
1Jordan Raynor, Redeeming Your Time: 7 Biblical Principles for Being Purposeful, Present, and Wildly Productive (Colorado Springs: Waterbrook, 2021), 23-26.
2Roy Baumeister and John Tierney, Will Power:Rediscovering The Greatest Human Strength (New York: Penguin House, 2012). 81-83.
3David Allen, Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress Free Productivity (New York: Penguin Books, 2015), 14.