Sales Letter to Myself #25: Take Advantage of the Zeigarnik Effect

original: Facebook post written on November 30, 2021: https://www.facebook.com/mike.ying.personal/posts/pfbid02bNY9mdzYnBwVDQLSEeZgiUutz85bDoo8aWRwrQNwRc2dqpwNPN7Y22WvbdBW6Fqpl

Take Advantage of the Zeigarnik Effect

You may think that you need to finish everything you start and get the habit of finishing things.

And that's true.

But you can delay it.

It's true that it's a bad thing to start thousands of different things without ever completing them.

You would scatter your focus without achieving anything.

It's like the analogy of digging for oil everywhere on the surface but never deep enough to actually get oil.

But today, I want to convince you that you can be more effective by not finishing something directly but delaying it and finishing it later.

The Zeigarnik effect.

Open loops.

Basically, you remember unfinished and interrupted tasks better than completed tasks.

You will also have more motivation to start and work further on something you already started than something you didn't start yet.

Open loops and the Zeigarnik effect is something that humanity used since ancient times.

They are very common techniques used in marketing and storytelling.

MrBeast always says what will happen in the beginning of his YouTube video. He gives a big promise that creates an open loop in your head that will create anticipation for you to watch the entire video.

A good story always starts with a main character that has a weakness, a desire, and a strong opponent. You want to know how the story ends so that you know how the main character gets stronger, defeats his opponents, achieves his desires, and transforms throughout the story.

In marketing and storytelling, you open loops that don't close directly but only later.

You get better attention and better retention rate.

You build anticipation, motivation, and excitement.

You build tension then release it unexpectedly.

MrBeast says that the secret to make it big on YouTube is to have a retention rate above 66%.

In copywriting, one of the main principles is that the main purpose of a sentence is for the reader to read the next sentence.

Open loops help with these.

Now, how to apply this to your productivity and personal growth?

Simple: have more unfinished tasks.

Start more tasks without completing them directly.

Transform your task into a soap opera.

Divide your task into episodes that end on a cliffhanger.

You will be so motivated to start tasks you already started, it's crazy.

Instead of finishing reading the chapter of a book, stop before the conclusion of the chapter.

Don't be afraid to start tasks.

Unfinished business is good.

Easy hack to create extra motivation.

Your head will be full of thoughts of unfinished tasks and you will have a really easy time to be more productive.

When you need extra motivation to work on something, take advantage of the Zeigarnik effect.