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I was not aware of the term ‘Zeigarnik Effect’ till I came across a post on my WhatsApp group on the topic. To counter the irritants of routine life, some juggad (जुग्गाड) was deliberately developed without understanding the ‘Zeigarnik Effect’. I didn’t know that Ms. Bluma Zeigarnik, a Russian psychologist had already conducted a study on the memory of humans in the 1920s in which she concluded that memory of interrupted tasks is remembered better than completed ones; almost 125 years before we started countering its effect in our daily life. I also wonder why such phenomena are not written/published in Hindu scriptures. The researchers from advanced countries were good at marketing their scholarly work.
In hindsight, to overcome the Zeigarnik effect, I reflected upon completed routine tasks differently. This may be one of the reasons that the proverbial expression ‘necessity is the mother of invention’ is coined; we find new and inventive ways to do things when there is a strong and urgent need. In the Indian context, we sometime name them “Juggad” (जुग्गाड)
When I posed a similar question to “COPILOT” of Microsoft, the response was: the tasks may be challenging, but here are some effective strategies to help you, provided one remembers how/where one has completed tasks.
- Designated Spots: Assign specific places for each item. For example, always keep your keys on a hook by the door, your mobile on a charging station, and your spectacles in a case on your bedside table.
- Use Trays or Bowls: Place a tray or bowl in key areas like the entryway or your bedroom to collect items like keys, wallets, and spectacles.
- Labeling: Use labels to mark where items should go. This can be especially helpful for bills and invoices.
- Technology: Utilize tracking devices like Tile or Apple AirTag for items like keys and wallets. These devices can help you locate your items using your smartphone.
- Routine: Develop a routine for placing items in their designated spots. Consistency will help reinforce the habit.
- Visual Cues: Use bright or distinctive keychains, phone cases, or spectacle holders to make items more noticeable.
- Smart Home Devices: Consider using smart home devices like voice assistants to remind you where you placed certain items.
Quite frankly, some of the strategies suggested by COPILOT were not in existence 40 years ago.
I am sure every house may be overcoming the ‘Zeigarnik Effect’ differently to save precious and non-substitutable time. As per Zeigarnik, what happens in real life when a trivial task is completed, our brain hits the delete button. The reason our brain hits the delete button is we have an overload of other information that occupies the brain space. And our memory gets wiped clean. Our short-term memory struggles with space to retain so-called other information for the task yet to be finished. So it keeps only the unfinished tasks alive. And the minute a task is completed it hits the delete button. Distraction and forgetfulness arise due to an abundance of information. Therefore, it is essential to streamline petty and irritating but crucial issues at this age of life.
My wife Rita used to search for one of her pairs of spectacles, purse, house and car keys, pens or some time bills/warranty papers at least 10 times a day. Later, she added the mobile handset to the list. Her standard answer was I placed the item at a spot where her finger was pointed out but unfortunately in multiple directions. “I had just seen it somewhere” used to be her usual reaction. It was common for her to press a panic button by using repulsive words by prefixing ‘YOU HAVE’ with misplaced, lost, or thrown in the dustbin by mistake etc.
I also used to forget to keep my wallet safely after swiping credit card/debit card or exchanging currency notes. I had to rush back to the shop where I used these cards/given currency.
Searching for a mobile was a terrible task especially when the mobile was on silent mode; vibration and notifications were disabled. Till you didn’t locate the mobile, one started advance planning for filing a police FIR as the SIM card was suspected to be misused by the undesired element of the society and you couldn’t get the duplicate sim in India easily without FIR.
Another source of the Zeigarnik effect relates to bills of household purchases. Once the household items are purchased, we tend to forget bills or limited warranty documents. The documents are required by the vendors when the purchases were not to your satisfaction.
How do we maintain the continuity of these trivial and irritating issues as suggested by Ms. Bluma Zeigarnik?
We have developed a practice that keeps us stress-free. I ensured that the Zeigarnik effect didn’t prevail upon me. We have allocated one drawer each in a cupboard for Rita and for myself. As soon as we return from the market or after visiting our relatives/friends we stuff things like spectacles, purses, watches etc. in the respective drawers. We also know the fact that one can’t stay away from mobile phones for a minute nowadays. If at all it is to be kept, it has to be placed at the respective mobile charging stations; charging points are fixed in our house. We are not allowed to shift the charging points. Each time one has to go to the charging point for her or his mobile. The wallet, purses, and keys are in the respective drawers, and bills and invoices are in our cute and obedient Redbox.
The bills and invoices for exchangeable items within a warranty are kept in the 40-year-old Red Box. Instead of systematically filing them in a file we preserve bills and important documents in the Redbox. It is easy to dump the papers rather than clipping them in a file. Everyone in our house knows the location of the Redbox. We stuff any bills/invoices without a blink of an eye in the sweet Redbox. Only drawback in keeping the Redbox is when the lid of the box refuses to go to its place because of overflowing papers. Someone has to go through each paper residing in the Redbox once in a block of six months. One of us, earlier my daughter; then our son; and now poor me, discards papers which are not required to accommodate a new set of documents. We have adjusted our lives to this system.
Unfortunately, there are still some items we could not prevent the ‘Zeigarnik Effect’ like hair combs, a pair of goggles, and TV remote, etc.
In our case “predesignated fixed spots in the house” symbolizes the non-closure of the event studied by Ms. Zeigarnk. Looking for anything go to the pre-designated spot, you will find it. Her study to ‘keep the task unfinished’ is represented by ‘finished the task at predesignated points’ in the case. The system has worked for us for the last 40 years.
Please share your approach to “Juggad” (जुग्गाड) in your life.
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