Zeigarnik effect vs my procrastination

I make commitments but don’t always deliver on time. In 2022, I ran an experiment to find out why I procrastinate.

In Jan-Feb 2022, I listed the top 2 things I wanted to get done each day and measured how often I completed them.

14 Jan.  Summarise from three research reports
12 Jan.  UIFactory experiment  Decide if I am a (…)
11 Jan.  UIFactory experiment  Agree on publishing in (…)
10 Jan.  Client video.  UIFactory experiment
09 Jan.  UIFactory experiment.  Attrition email as a story
07 Jan.  ZS visual
06 Jan.  Release Gramex Guide.  UWC application
05 Jan.  Publish network cluster post.  Release Gramex guide
04 Jan.  Publish network cluster post.  Release Gramex.
03 Jan.  Publish election TDS video.  Publish Network cluster post.
02 Jan.  Publish election TDS video.  Publish Network cluster post.
01 Jan.  Publish Network cluster post.  Finalize SG school.

I completed 23 / 57 things (40%). That’s one of my TOP priorities.

In Mar-Apr 2022, I started micro-journalling to find out why. Whenever I was working on something, I wrote down whenever I started, stopped, or skipped working, and why.

- Tue 01 Mar.  Create React app with any one Vega chart where attributes control chart signals
  - 09:30am. Skipped. INTERRUPTED. Shobana. Cleaning bedroom
  - 09:50am. Skipped. SCHEDULED. Breakfast
  - 10:10am. Skipped. INTERRUPTED. Naveen. Call
  - 10:50am. Skipped. DISTRACTED. LinkedIn. 3b1b videos
  - 12:30pm. Skipped. SCHEDULED. Calls
  - 01:30pm. Skipped. SCHEDULED. Lunch
  - 02:00pm. Skipped. INTERRUPTED. Shobana. Cleaning, Dhyeya airtel card
  - 02:30pm. Skipped. PROCRASTINATED. Didn't feel like working
- Sat 05 Mar.  Record Jio videos fully. Run productivity log alongside it.
  - 09:45am. Skipped. INTERRUPTED. Appa. Investment, music
  - 11:00am. Skipped. PROCRASTINATED. Only 2 hours to next call. Let's do it later. Plenty of time tomorrow.
  - 01:30pm. Skipped. PROCRASTINATED. Only 30 min to next call. Plenty of time tomorrow.
  - 03:45pm. Skipped. PROCRASTINATED. Half day wasted already. It’s OK to take one day off completely.
- Mon 07 Mar.  Record Jio videos fully. Run productivity log alongside it.
  - 09:37am. Started. ZEIGARNIK. Was thinking about this since morning.
  - 10:00am. Stopped. INTERRUPTED. Naveen. Called
  - 10:25am. Started. ZEIGARNIK. Just continued with momentum.
  - 01:00pm. Stopped. SCHEDULED. Lunch
  - 01:30pm. Started. ZEIGARNIK. Just continued with momentum.
  - 03:15pm. Stopped. COMPLETED.

After 2 months, a few patterns emerged.

Why I skip working

1. Distraction (50%).
   • Interesting things (22%) were the biggest. Less important things (e.g. programming, browsing/research)
   • Movies (10%) pulled me away
   • Email (8%) was fairly common
   • Organizing things (6%) like my calendar, TODOs, financials, etc.
   • Social media, interestingly, was not on my list
2. Procrastination (25%). There were 3 kinds:
   • It’s hard, and I’m stuck
   • I don’t feel like doing it
   • I don’t have time — my next task begins sooner than I can finish
3. Schedule (14%). I’d scheduled something else for then (usually food)
4. Interrupted (12%). Usually by family or close colleagues

Why I start working

1. Zeigarnik effect (68%). I keep thinking about the problem. So even after a break, I just plunge right in
2. Mindfulness (19%). I got started just by the act of writing the journal
3. Distraction (9%). Sometimes, distractions work in my favor. A movie gets stuck, or someone pings about the topic, or my mind is processing the problem in the background
4. Completed (3%). I finished the previous task and the momentum just took me to the next

Why I stop working

1. Schedule (47%). I have another meeting/task planned at that time
2. Interruption (35%). This is mostly by colleagues (22%), family (8%), or hunger/thirst (6%)
3. Exhaustion (10%). I’m just too tired to go on
4. Distraction (8%). To do this, I need to do THAT first, and I get sucked into THAT

What I learned

• The Zeigarnik effect helps me start. Once I start solving something the momentum carries forward. The next best is to write down why I’m not starting it (micro-journalling).
• To avoid procrastination, I should eliminate distractions first. Specifically, use a new Virtual Desktop, block movies, and block email & notifications.
• To avoid schedules interrupting me, I should batch meetings even more tightly, giving me longer or more flexible blocks to work on