Workflow Series
Open Loops
I believe Bluma Zeigarnik was the first to name the psychological phenomenon referred to as an "open loop". I first heard about it from David Allen, the author of the Getting Things Done series.
Also referred to as the Zeigarnik Effect an open loop is a side effect of the fact people remember uncompleted tasks yet forget completed ones. These uncompleted tasks act as mental distractions, reduce your focus, and act as an obstacle to productivity.
This seemly insignificant phenomenon produces measurable strain on your efficiency and state of mind. While there is no way to make incomplete tasks just disappear from your mind, there are things you can do to reduce their impact on your state of mind.
Two Minute Rule
The two minute rule is really simple, if a task takes less than two minutes to complete, do it immediately. That's it.
As simple as this is, this single idea will prove to be immensely effective on your productivity. This is a technique I learned from David Allen in his Getting Things Done series. I highly recommend checking out his series, although I don't agree with all of it, it can provide some good techniques and awareness to increasing your productivity.
I said there were two things you can do to reduce the impact of open loops on your state of mind and productivity. The second effective defense against open loops is writing things done in a trusted place. This could be a todo list, a voice recorder, a task list, or anything you frequently review and check. Throwing it on a random piece of paper on your desk isn't going to reduce the burden of open loops and it likely will end up getting lost. You need to use something you have established trust with that you know won't be lost or ignored.
I will go into a few options in future posts and show you the tools I use.
In summary, an open loop is some task or responsibility that is nagging at your attention and mentally drains your focus. The best defense against open loops is immediately resolving that task or responsibility or documenting it somewhere you trust so you can focus on your task at hand. Knowing it will be there when you are ready to tackle it is a huge relief and comfort.
Let me know in the comment section if you give this a try or have questions.