Multi-tasking: how to survive in the 21st century – FT.com

Multi-tasking: how to survive in 21C http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/bbf1f84a-51c2-11e5-8642-453585f2cfcd.html Explains @gtdguy’s plan of closing "open loops" in terms of the Zeigarnik effect

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“The principle behind Getting Things Done is simple: close the open loops. The details can become rather involved but the method is straightforward. For every single commitment you’ve made to yourself or to someone else, write down the very next thing you plan to do. Review your lists of next actions frequently enough to give you confidence that you won’t miss anything.

This method has a cult following, and practical experience suggests that many people find it enormously helpful — including me (see below). Only recently, however, did the psychologists E J Masicampo and Roy Baumeister find some academic evidence to explain why people find relief by using David Allen’s system. Masicampo and Baumeister found that you don’t need to complete a task to banish the Zeigarnik effect. Making a specific plan will do just as well. Write down your next action and you quiet that nagging voice at the back of your head. You are outsourcing your anxiety to a piece of paper.”
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