Life would be so much easier if we only had to do things we actually wanted to do.
But it just doesn’t work that way. We all have things we’d like to avoid doing but can’t for one reason or another. And, for me, one of those things is washing dishes.
I hate washing dishes.
And, no, “hate” isn’t too strong a word. In fact, it might not be strong enough.
Every morning, I think about the dishes I’ll have to wash at some point, and a sense of dread falls over me. After all, who doesn’t dread doing things they know they’re going to hate.
Still those dishes have to be washed. And I know that the sooner I get it over with the better.
So I eventually drag myself into the kitchen and start cleaning, usually with a promise that I’ll only do one thing (like unstuck the dishwasher). Or maybe that I can quit after just 10 minutes.
But as soon as I get started, the dread fades away. It’s not that I suddenly enjoy washing the dishes. But once I’m doing it, it doesn’t seem nearly as bad as I thought it would be. And rather than stopping after the dishwasher is un-stacked or those 10 minutes have passed, I usually keep going until the kitchen is clean, and I’m free to do other, less painful things.
You’ve probably experienced the same thing when dealing with some dreaded chore, task or project. The thought of doing it was so overwhelming or unpleasant that you put it off for as long as possible. But, once you actually got started, it didn’t seem so bad. In fact, you probably didn't want to stop until you were finished.
That experience actually has a name. It’s called the Zeigarnik Effect.
What Is the Zeigarnik Effect?
“Just get started.”
This is popular productivity advice. The theory is that getting started is the hardest part of doing any task or project. Once you get over that initial hump, the project won’t seem nearly as bad as you thought it would be. Not only that, but you’ll suddenly be filled with the desire to keep working on the project until you’re finished.
It’s sound advice. And there’s actual, scientific proof to back it up.
A few years back, researchers did a study in which participants were asked to complete puzzles. Now, these weren’t the fun, relaxing puzzles you’d find in puzzle books. These puzzles were hard, the kind of hard that makes you grind your teeth in frustration.
Before participants could finish their puzzles, the researchers told them they could stop.
As you might expect, some participants were relieved to be let off the hook. They threw their incomplete puzzles to the side and didn’t look back.
But here’s the interesting part. More than 80% of the participants *didn’t* stop. Yes, the puzzles were challenging and teeth-grinding. But the majority of participants chose to keep working on their puzzles until they completed them.
This study proved the basic principal behind the Zeigarnik Effect.
Once we start something, even something unpleasant, we’ll usually want to finish it.
Say you’re procrastinating on a project. According to the Zeigarnik Effect, if you can just get started on it, even if you take one small, tiny step, you’re more likely to want to want to finish the project. And your desire to finish will make you less likely to procrastinate.
So if you have a difficult or unpleasant project on your plate, here are three ways you can use the Zeigarnik Effect to stop procrastinating and get that project done.
How to Use the Zeigarnik Effect to Overcome Procrastination
Just Get Started with One Small Step
You’re more likely to procrastinate on a project that feels big and overwhelming.
Just thinking about a big project, and how much work it will take to get it done, can paralyze you. And it’s hard to “just get started” on something when you can’t even move.
So forget don’t think about the project as a whole. Instead, focus on just one small piece of it.
Choose a task so small and easy that you’ll feel little resistance to doing it. If you have to write an essay or blog post, your “small step” could be brainstorming 10 or 15 possible topics or titles. Or maybe finding one article about your topic.
Doing one small thing related to a project, even if it only takes 5 or 10 minutes, counts as “just getting started.” And that tiny step could be enough to make the Zeigarnik Effect kick into gear.
Start By Figuring Things Out
Not knowing what to do can also cause procrastination.
Have you ever been given a task or project that you’ve never done before. You didn’t have the first clue how to go about getting it done, or even where to start.
Like being overwhelmed, no one wants to feel clueless. So, to avoid that feeling, you put off starting the project…until the last minute, when you had to scramble to figure the project out and get it done.
If a sense of cluelessness is keeping you from getting started on a project, make your first small step figuring out what you need to do.
Spend 5 or 10 minutes freewriting about what you already know about doing this kind of project (however little that might be). Do a mind map to find the gaps in your knowledge. Or start listing ways you could get more information about the project. (Like finding a good how-to article, or talking to someone who’s done a similar project.)
Thinking about how to do a project counts as “just getting started.” And the more you know about doing a project, the less you’ll procrastinate.
Schedule the Small Step
You tell yourself you’re going to start working on your project today. But you keep putting it off, promising yourself you’ll get started later.
And, before you know it, you’re in bed thinking about how you still haven’t started that project.
Fortunately, there’s an easy fix for this problem.
Once you’ve picked a tiny step for getting started on a project, pick a specific time when you’ll actually do it.
Once you pick a time, set an alarm so you won’t forget. Yes, you might remember just fine without the alarm. But set it anyway to make sure you don’t.
Choose a time when you’ll have at least 30 minutes free. That way, if you decide to keep going after you take that first small step, you can.
The next time you find yourself procrastinating on something, follow this simple strategy:
- Choose one small, easy step you can take to”just get started” on the project.
- Choose a specific time to complete that tiny task.
- Set an alarm to make sure you won’t forget.
As psychological theories go, the Zeigarnik Effect is pretty simple. But this simple technique could prove to be the most powerful tool in your anti-procrastination toolbox.
